the two jakes Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Everyone knows about Chinatown and how it's one of the great screenplays of all time. Some people know about the sequel, The Two Jakes, and how it was a critical and commercial failure. Few people know about the plans for a third film that was planned from the beginning yet never came to be. But now Jack Nicholson, who starred in the first two films and directed the second, has resurrected the idea of a Chinatown trilogy, claiming that he'd still consider doing it. During an interview conducted by MTV News, Nicholson discussed the plan for the third film, which he says was to be titled Gittes vs. Gittes. Set in 1968, which would be twenty years after the events of Jakes, the film focuses on no-fault divorces, which went into effect in California that year. Nicholson's Jake Gittes is divorcing his wife (I never bothered to watch Jakes, but I'm assuming his wife is Meg Tilly's character from that film), which somehow leads him to involvement with Howard Hughes, and I guess something to do with planes and flight. See, Nicholson explained that Chinatown represented water, Jakes represented fire (oil) and Gittes would represent air. Hmm, what about the fourth element, land? Or the fifth element, Leeloo?

It's cool that Nicholson is into reprising the role of Jake Gittes, and it seems in the chronology that now would be a good time to do something set twenty years after the last film (released in 1990). But the strange thing is that this is a completely different plot from the one most of us have read about. That one, mentioned as trivia on the IMDb and Wikipedia and elsewhere, even had a title, too: Cloverleaf. Set in the 1950s (making sense after the '30s and '40s setting of the prior two), this other planned film focused on the building of the Los Angeles freeway system. There was still to be an element theme, though; the sequel was to deal with air pollution. So, did Nicholson just make this story up, or has he and screenwriter Robert Towne really always have this fourth idea? Was there to be four parts for the four elements? Did they change this one to fit with the air theme? It's all so complicated -- which I guess is fitting for Chinatown.

I admit to being a little depressed after seeing Roman Polanski mugging frantically in the Rush Hour 3 trailer and Jack Nicholson frolicking at the beach in those unfortunate paparazzi photos. Let's just say that those moments will not be how they are remembered in cinema history. Thinking back to more glorious times, perhaps the career peak for both of them came in 1974's Chinatown, justly celebrated for its eminently quotable dialogue by Oscar-winner Robert Towne and the juicy performances by Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston and Polanski himself ("You're a very nosy fellow, kitty cat.") According to DVD Times, Chinatown will be issued in a new "Special Collection's Edition" on November 6, along with The Two Jakes, the ungainly, belated, Nicholson-directed sequel that finally appeared in 1990.

Both were originally released on DVD in November 1999. The first edition of Chinatown featured an anamorphic transfer, the original mono track, a remixed DD 5.1 audio version, the theatrical trailer and retrospective interviews with Nicholson, Polanski and producer Robert Evans. The forthcoming edition promises a restored mono audio track and four featurettes. Given the advances in DVD technology and the years since the original Chinatown transfer was completed, remastering the video would seem a given -- and would justify a double dip -- but no mention of a new transfer has been made.

The first DVD edition of The Two Jakes was even more bare bones: it had just the theatrical trailer in addition to the anamorphic transfer. The new "Special Collector's Edition" adds one featurette: "Jack on Jakes." Frankly, I'm having a hard time seeing how the new releases will be either special or collectible. The Two Jakes is strictly a curiosity item; a rental would suffice. But Chinatown is a classic; it rewards multiple viewings and deserves the deluxe treatment, which it evidently won't be getting anytime soon from Paramount.