Chinatown

1974 · directed by Roman Polanski · 130 min

27,256 feet · Prominence

67th of 15,261 films scored

Not coveredThe 67th highest film on the mountain, and The Rewatchables has never done it.

How this film scores

Draw61

$30m worldwide in 1974 — $201m in today's money.

As released$30mIn 2026 money$201mRank1,646 of 8,589In 197415 of 42

How Draw works

Inflation-adjusted worldwide box office, on one global curve, and nothing else. It does not know whether a film was good.

Praise97

Critics 95, awards 97. Half each, so Praise lands at 97.

Critics95 → 48Awards97 → 48

Oscars1 won Original Screenplay10 nominated Picture, Director, Actress, Actor, Cinematography, Costume Design, Production Design, Film Editing, Original Dramatic Score, Sound

Golden Globes4 won Motion Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplay

BAFTAs3 won Direction, Actor, Screenplay2 nominated Production Design, Costume Design

How Praise works

Half critics, half a tiered award record where Picture and Directing carry most of the weight. Praise is the verdict at the time; Legacy is the verdict since.

Legacy88

Judged directly: Chinatown reviewed.

Verdict88 of 100IMDb8.1 from 375kWikipedia56k views a monthAge52 years

On the listsNational Film RegistryAFI 100Sight & Soundevidence, not an input to the score

Scored beside it · 42 of 3,430 films judged

88Rocky (1976)

88Ghostbusters (1984)

88Halloween (1978)

88Grease (1978)

88Die Hard (1988)

88A Clockwork Orange (1971)

88Chinatown (1974)

If it does not belong in this company, the number is wrong.

How Legacy works

Legacy is a judgment, not a formula. A film can be adored by critics and culturally quiet, or lightly reviewed and permanently lodged in the culture, and no arithmetic over IMDb numbers tells the difference. Every signal behind it keeps updating.

draw 61 praise 97 legacy 88averages 82, which places it at27,256 ft

How the three become one number

Added, not multiplied, so a film transcendent on one pillar and weak on another is not zeroed out. A compression curve then squeezes the top, because the seven greatest films ever made should not be four thousand feet apart.

In these careers — elevation for this film

Jack Nicholson22,721 ft Faye Dunaway22,503 ft