One of the Greatest Crime Thrillers Ever Made Is Finally Available on Paramount+

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Jack Nicholson turning to his right in Chinatown

Published Mar 7, 2026, 3:40 PM EST

Rohan Naahar is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal of introducing audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

As Paramount enters a new era under new management, it's worth remembering what many regard as the studio's heyday in the 1970s. Paramount was at the forefront of the New Hollywood movement, spearheaded by a group of trailblazing filmmakers who changed the face of studio films. They were supported by executives such as the flamboyant Robert Evans, under whose leadership Paramount released some of the best, most daring films ever made. The industry has changed drastically since then; Paramount's latest release is Scream 7, and it was recently announced that the studio is working on a G.I. Joe reboot. During Evans' tenure, the studio released a string of hits, including the horror film Rosemary's Baby, Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, the romance classic Love Story, and a noir masterpiece that ranks among the most influential movies ever made. The movie is now available to a new generation of audiences on streaming.

The film was directed by Roman Polanski, who also made Rosemary's Baby for the studio. Polanski is, of course, a fugitive who has spent the last several decades living in Europe. The movie featured Jack Nicholson as an investigator who uncovers monumental corruption in California; he was joined in the cast by Faye Dunaway and John Huston. It remains a landmark of the film noir genre and the last Hollywood movie made by Polanski before he fled to Europe after being indicted for statutory rape. The movie earned 11 Oscar nominations, winning in the Best Original Screenplay category for Robert Towne.

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Here's Where You Can Watch the Noir Classic

We're talking, of course, about Chinatown. The film was released in 1974 to critical and commercial success. It grossed around $30 million worldwide against a reported budget of a little over $5 million. Chinatown is now regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made and remembered for its gut-punch of a climactic twist; it holds a near-perfect 98% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The website's consensus reads, "As bruised and cynical as the decade that produced it, this noir classic benefits from Robert Towne's brilliant screenplay, director Roman Polanski's steady hand, and wonderful performances from Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway."

The movie is now available to stream in the United States on the Paramount+ platform. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.