The Two Jakes (Special Collector's Edition) – DVD Review

Film, Reviews

Available at Amazon.com

Director

Jack Nicholson

Cast

Jack Nicholson ……. J.J. ‘Jake’ Gittes
Harvey Keitel ……. Julius ‘Jake’ Berman

The Movie

Jack Nicholson has played many of the same types of roles over the years, but has only played a detective twice. That was Jake Gittes, a role he originated in Chinatown, a private eye who walked the fine line between good and evil. Originally meant to be a trilogy spaced out in chronological years and actual years, to show true aging of both the scenery and the characters, the series ended with the Nicholson helmed The Two Jakes.

Gittes is in the middle of another mess this time around. Some time has passed since the events of the first film and Gittes has become much more successful than he used to be. His agency is now a security firm, though he still does a lot of surveillance work on cheating spouses. When one of those spouses winds up dead, and another (Harvey Keitel) stands to gain a windfall for it, Jake is lured back into the world he’s oddly familiar with if only because it’s comfortable territory.

And for a film with a relatively legendary production, for all the wrong reasons, The Two Jakes is a cohesive film that bears none of the trouble that the production itself had. It has a solid narrative and captures the genre well; it’s a surprise to see that Nicholson is the director (as well as the star) because Nicholson’s directorial prowess never really has been shown over a small number of films. If anything it sets the series up for a triumphant end to the trilogy that never occurred. It would be interesting now, with Nicholson in his 70s, if he reprized the role for Cloverleaf.

Nicholson the director tells a straightforward narrative that’s derivative of Chinatown if only because it’s a direct sequel to it. He uses a lot of the same types of shots and story-telling mechanisms Roman Polanski used in the first film; it’s easy to see why Nicholson made that decision. The Two Jakes extends the first film as opposed to being a sequel in how it evolves Jake Gittes over the years. He’s served in World War II and his business has expanded as well; Jake has developed and evolved in the time since and the aging of everyone involved is refreshing in a way. Jake has aged 14 years and so has Nicholson; the fact that the film treats him 14 years older is really refreshing. We’re not supposed to believe Jake is still young, as Nicholson aged considerably between the films, and the film is smart and handles it in the same manner.

The Two Jakes suffers because inevitably the comparison to Chinatown comes up. Chinatown is one of the great films of our time. The Two Jakes is a top notch film that suffers because it’s a sequel, not because of anything it does as a film.

A/V QUALITY CONTROL

Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby Digital presentation, the a/v for the DVD has been improved in the same way as the a/v features for Chinatown were. They have been improved significantly, allowing another quality score and dialogue to come through wonderfully. The picture has been improved as well; it already was good but it’s a bit sharper now.

The Extras

Jack on Jakes is a retrospective piece from Nicholson about the film. It’s interesting to hear Nicholson talk about his early film career, as he resigned himself to being a writer/director until his big break in Easy Rider made him a movie star. There’s a tinge of regret as Nicholson discusses his lack of a wide rage of directing choices in his cinematic past. The feature focuses on the entire production from the pre-production through the film’s tumultuous production, as Nicholson single-handedly guides us through everything about the film. He painstakingly went back to find as much of the original cast as possible in order to keep the film in the same universe, as opposed to recasting old parts. Running around 20 minutes, it’s an interesting piece about the series and the film.

The film’s Theatrical Trailer is included as well. It’s interesting to see the trailer and note the major differences between it and the trailer for Chinatown in terms of how films are marketed.

The DVD Lounge’s Ratings for the Two Jakes: Special Collector’s Edition
CATEGORY
RATING
(OUT OF 10)
THE MOVIE

9.0
THE VIDEO

9.5
THE AUDIO

9.5
THE EXTRAS

56.0
REPLAY VALUE

9.0
OVERALL
8.0
(NOT AN AVERAGE)