Chinatown is one of the most beautiful films ever made. It might not be art—that depends on your definition—but it is an object of beauty beyond all question….

[Robert Altman's] The Long Goodbye may have defined the excitement [of the detective story], but Chinatown defines the values. (p. 44)

[Polanski] steers the story along so seductively, preparing us for every twist and shock so adroitly, that we are surprised and delighted to find that something this old-fashioned can still work so well. Remember the well-made story? Here it is again.

What's new is the atmosphere, which captures the '30s better than most '30s movies. This is the dark side of California we know from the books of [Ross] Macdonald and Raymond Chandler, but given a new burnish of style….

For years Polanski has been prowling over the landscape of evil like a man who had...