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<blockquote data-quote="Crimson" data-source="post: 346610" data-attributes="member: 5079">I thought THE TOWERING INFERNO would be (barely) in the &#039;plus column&#039;, but I&#039;m three for three for disliking the films in my Dunaway retrospective -- so, time to just jump to the best.It&#039;s CHINATOWN.It&#039;s one of best films of the decade, if not the best; it&#039;s also the best of the neo-noirs.&nbsp; The film just about perfectly evokes the vibe of 40s detective noirs; minus the Big Reveal (which never would have gotten past the Hayes Office) one could easily imagine this being made 25 years earlier with Bogart or Ladd.&nbsp; The only real drawback to the movie is that it&#039;s rather bland looking, with none of the visual panache of noir.&nbsp; I&#039;m not sure if any consideration was given to filming in B&amp;W, but noir can be effective in color too.&nbsp; CHINATOWN looks like a flatly lit TV-movie.Despite getting an Oscar nom, it seems Dunaway&#039;s contributions to the movie are often overlooked.&nbsp; It&#039;s been said Jane Fonda was the first choice of Towne and possibly Polanski (I&#039;ve read differing accounts).&nbsp; I think the film would have been a dud with Fonda.&nbsp; She&#039;s as good of an actress as Dunaway -- maybe even more versatile -- but she&#039;s never had Faye&#039;s Old Hollywood mystique; Dunaway is a 40s movie queen born three decades too late.&nbsp;&nbsp; It&#039;s remarkable Dunaway brings so much to the role, because there doesn&#039;t seem to be much to it.&nbsp; I can&#039;t help but feel Polanski&#039;s guidance to her was about as helpful as saying, &quot;Look mysterious&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; Her attention to the character&#039;s appearance seems to have been regarded by her peers as mere movie star vanity, rather than painstakingly building her character through visual cues.&nbsp; [ATTACH=full]41835[/ATTACH]</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Crimson, post: 346610, member: 5079"] I thought THE TOWERING INFERNO would be (barely) in the 'plus column', but I'm three for three for disliking the films in my Dunaway retrospective -- so, time to just jump to the best. It's CHINATOWN. It's one of best films of the decade, if not the best; it's also the best of the neo-noirs. The film just about perfectly evokes the vibe of 40s detective noirs; minus the Big Reveal (which never would have gotten past the Hayes Office) one could easily imagine this being made 25 years earlier with Bogart or Ladd. The only real drawback to the movie is that it's rather bland looking, with none of the visual panache of noir. I'm not sure if any consideration was given to filming in B&W, but noir can be effective in color too. CHINATOWN looks like a flatly lit TV-movie. Despite getting an Oscar nom, it seems Dunaway's contributions to the movie are often overlooked. It's been said Jane Fonda was the first choice of Towne and possibly Polanski (I've read differing accounts). I think the film would have been a dud with Fonda. She's as good of an actress as Dunaway -- maybe even more versatile -- but she's never had Faye's Old Hollywood mystique; Dunaway is a 40s movie queen born three decades too late. It's remarkable Dunaway brings so much to the role, because there doesn't seem to be much to it. I can't help but feel Polanski's guidance to her was about as helpful as saying, "Look mysterious". Her attention to the character's appearance seems to have been regarded by her peers as mere movie star vanity, rather than painstakingly building her character through visual cues. [ATTACH type="full" width="655px"]41835[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]

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