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Premium Content Chinatown: Polanski’s Definitive Noir Critique

By Matthew Jeffrey Kessler - November 23, 2009

Film noir frequently explores the extremes of the American character, illuminating its dark and treacherous capabilities but also its capacity for decency and truth. Although many critics agree that the quintessential period for noirs occurred during the 1940’s and 1950’s, Roman Polanski’s 1974 film Chinatown re-invokes the tradition, functioning…

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