#12: Chinatown
Roman Polanski’s Chinatown plunges Jack Nicholson into 1930s LA as a private eye uncovering a web of corruption, water rights scandals, and family secrets darker than the city smog. Faye Dunaway’s enigmatic femme fatale keeps you guessing until the devastating final line hits like a slap.
Its moody neo-noir atmosphere and that gut-wrenching ending turned a detective yarn into a bleak masterpiece about power, greed, and the futility of fighting city hall.
