Chinatown and The Two Jakes

We all know where we stand on Chinatown and The Two Jakes. For many of us, Chinatown is one of the landmark American films -- and arguably the summit of director Roman Polanski's distinguished career -- while The Two Jakes is its flawed, but occasionally worthwhile successor (sadly, the latter film's commercial failure prevented Robert Towne and Jack Nicholson from making their planned third installment in the series). But I'm not here to write about the films, I'm here to write about the new DVDs. On the surface, this appears to be a pointless double-dip, designed to cash-in on a new pair of matching DVD covers. And yes, to some extent, that's precisely what this is. However, short list of supplements notwithstanding, these discs offer a bounty of fascinating new material.

My original concern was that the three new featurettes on Chinatown would simply re-hash interview clips from the 1999 DVD. Thankfully, that's not the case (in fact, it might be worth hanging onto your old Chinatown DVD, even if you pick up the new one). Paramount's secret weapon is DVD maestro Laurent Bouzereau, who shot brand new interviews with Nicholson, Towne, and even Polanski, who's always been a pleasure to watch (though I still don't have the courage to sit through Rush Hour 3) due to his youthful, mischievous sense of humour, but he's especially relaxed and amusing here. The 1999 clips of Robert Evans -- mysteriously shot in profile -- are also included, but they're used sparingly.

The real shock of this new material? Nicholson, Towne, and Polanski have all managed to remember and/or invent some fresh anecdotes that I don't recall hearing anywhere before. The showstopper is a lengthy tale of an especially rowdy dispute between Polanski and Nicholson that ends with Polanski struggling in vain to smash a seemingly unbreakable TV and Nicholson tearing off his own clothes until he's walking around the set in his underwear, utterly humiliated. I don't want to spoil anymore of the details (of this story or others), as new Chinatown anecdotes are almost as valuable as new Polanski movies (okay, not really, but who doesn't love a good grouchy Faye Dunaway story?). In just under an hour, Bouzereau and his subjects manage to add several enlightening and informative new layers to the Chinatown legend and you certainly can't complain about that.

The extras are even less plentiful on The Two Jakes, but the main attraction is a keeper: an 18-minute interview with director/star Nicholson (recorded at the same time as his new Chinatown interview). Clearly pleased to talk about his poorly-received third (and to date, last) directorial effort, Nicholson acknowledges the film's commercial and critical failure, but looks back on it fondly. He also tells more memorable tales of his erratic on set temper and answers the million dollar question: what did Polanski think of The Two Jakes? Possibly out of politeness, it seems that he liked -- or at least respected -- the film. Apparently, Billy Wilder was also a fan and he helped Nicholson position the voice-over during post-production.

While I hate to champion a shameless double dip -- and who knows, Paramount may be scheming to release an HD DVD in the next few months (which I will shamelessly buy) -- let's face it, if ever a film warranted an infinite number of dips, it's Chinatown. The Two Jakes is a different story but, as an extension of Chinatown, it also makes for a rewarding revisit, particularly now that Nicholson has sat down to clear up a few longstanding mysteries surrounding the production.

If you're even remotely interested in these films or filmmakers, this should make for a satisfying helping of cinemautobiogossiphistory (whatever that means), not to mention a pair of excellent new transfers. Watch them with your daughter, your sister... your sister and your daughter! -- Jonathan Doyle