Chinatown [25th Anniversary Edition]

"Most serious movie-lovers regard Roman Polanski's Chinatown as an essential film to have in their collection, making it all the more important that Paramount's DVD edition of the film be satisfactory. There is probably still room for improvement; nevertheless, there is much to recommend this disc. It is doubtful that Chinatown could possibly look any better than it does in this format. The widescreen anamorphic transfer exhibits a superb degree of detail and completely natural colors. The sound is also vastly improved (the original mono audio track is available for purists), with a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that never lacks clarity and adds an extra dimension to Jerry Goldsmith's outstanding score. The additional features on the disc include the original theatrical trailer and a set of retrospective interviews with Polanski, producer Robert Evans, and screenwriter Robert Towne. The interviews are about 15 minutes long, but it is very interesting to hear the filmmakers putting Chinatown in a modern perspective. Given that Chinatown is generally regarded as one of the best films ever made, Paramount might well have done even more in the way of supplementary features. But given how wonderfully the film itself is rendered, this disc should cause few complaints."