Few mystery movies have enjoyed such wide acclaim as 1974’s “Chinatown.” Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, it was number two on the American Film Institute’s list of top ten mystery films, and The Guardian declared it the best film of all time in 2010. Considering the talent involved, it should come as no surprise that “Chinatown” would be a masterpiece. Directed by Roman Polanski with an Oscar-winning script by Robert Towne and starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway at the height of their careers, few films of the era had a finer pedigree. Set in 1937, “Chinatown” was inspired by the real story of Los Angeles’ battle for water, specifically the diversion of water from Owens Valley to L.A. via a massive aqueduct. Nicholson’s character, Jake Gittes, is something of a post-Watergate version of earlier hardboiled detectives such as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, Faye Dunaway is the femme fatale (or is she?), and the film owes more than a little to its film noir predecessors. Roger Ebert wrote that the movie “was seen as a neo-noir when it was released – an update on an old genre. Now years have passed and film history blurs a little, and it seems to settle easily beside the original noirs. That is a compliment.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown_(1974_film) The Hawaii Theatre and the Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation are offering the community a film series to provide seniors and other cinema lovers an opportunity to enjoy a morning of camaraderie with coffee, snacks, and a classic movie. Over the course of the year, we’ll present this series and offer tickets on a “pay what you can” basis. Lobby opens at 10:30 AM with complimentary sponsored coffee! Showtime is 11:30 AM.