Chinatown

Chinatown is the only motion picture made in color that deserves to be included in my list of the nine greatest film noir movies ever made. Color, by definition, is the opposite of film noir. But Director Roman Polanski and his camera crew muted the color in ways that make you forget that the color is even there. Chinatown recreates the criminal career of William Mulholland, whose manipulation of water rights made Los Angeles possible and will one day destroy it. When the snowfall in the mountains drops to one pint per acre, I don't know where the bloated population of southern California will find its next drink. As always, buy this film at Patrick's Film Noir Store.