GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #53 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View Chinatown film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Private eye Jake Gittes lives off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Private investigator Jake Gittes is hired to follow Los Angeles water official Hollis Mulwray, but discovers that the woman who retained him was an impostor. The real Evelyn Mulwray draws him toward missing water, land deals, and a powerful family.

Why it belongs

Under Roman Polanski, restricted viewpoint, Los Angeles water politics, and Gittes's incomplete knowledge let Chinatown frame detective control as an encounter with entrenched power.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Polanski and Towne construct noir from partial knowledge: reflections, photographs, water records, Los Angeles locations, and Jack Nicholson's restricted viewpoint steadily widen a routine investigation into a study of civic power and private violation.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards1 win1975 · official ceremony record ↗
Writing (Original Screenplay)1975 · Robert Towneofficial ceremony record ↗
Golden Globes4 wins1975 · official film record ↗
Best Motion Picture - Drama1975 · Chinatownofficial film record ↗Best Director - Motion Picture1975 · Roman Polanskiofficial film record ↗Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama1975 · Jack Nicholsonofficial film record ↗Best Screenplay - Motion Picture1975 · Robert Towneofficial film record ↗
BAFTA4 wins1975 · official BAFTA 1975 Film Awards results ↗
Best Direction1975 · Roman Polanskiofficial BAFTA 1975 Film Awards results ↗Best Actor1975 · Jack Nicholsonofficial BAFTA 1975 Film Awards results ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound146IMDb Top 250171AFI 10021
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.7
Engagement9.3
Ease8.5

English · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Tense & Absorbing