It took 16 years for a sequel to Chinatown, partly due to a false start in the ‘80s. The Two Jakes never caught on like the original and the third film in the Jack Gittes (Jack Nicholson) saga never happened. But the new 4K UHD release of Chinatown gives us a hint at what Chinatown 3 would have been, and it wasn’t Tokyo Drift.
Author Sam Wassen, who also wrote a great book about Francis Ford Coppola, speaks about the history of Chinatown in the bonus features. Since Chinatown was about water and The Two Jakes about oil, the third film was going to be about the air space over Los Angeles in the ‘60s.
“A very poetic idea for a trilogy and the third film was to be called Gittes vs Gittes and it was to be based also around Gutter’s divorce,” Wassen said. “Gittes was going to be married and divorced. [Screenwriter Robert] Towne has said various things about what state the script of the third was in but it didn’t get very far.”
The 4K UHD boasts that unique look of a stylized ‘70s film which never existed in real life, but now looks photorealistic in 4K. A hint of sepia tint covers Los Angeles and the desert. You still see the grain of the film though.
At night, it’s pitch black on the coast staking out reservoirs, or sitting in the car in the dark. Under Mulwray’s desk it’s deep black too. Even the shadows in Gittes’ office during the day. Faye Dunaway’s black ensembles with hats and veils cut through the daylight scenes too.
There are a few surround sound effects in Chinatown. Water floods the surrounds. Driving through the orange groves, leaves rustle in the rear. Seagulls chirp in the background on the coast too.