John wrote:
"I think everyone knows the memorable ending to CHINATOWN is
director Roman Polanski's contribution, and not screenwriter
Robert Towne's."
Which makes it highly ironic that the script, published under
Towne's name, features the Polanski ending (along with a few
other Polanski changes). As recently mentioned, Jon Tuska's
The Detective in Hollywood
(and a Towne interview in American Film magazine) make it
very clear that, at the time, Towne was anything but happy
with Polanski's ending, and producer Robert Evans's decision
to back the director's vision. Maybe winning the Oscar for
the script changed Towne's mind.
In my opinion, Polanski took what would have been a very good
period PI film and turned it into a film classic.
Mark
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