One of the movies that helped launch Jack Nicholson's career, 1974's Chinatown has a stunningly dark ending that still has the power to shock. Directed by Roman Polanski and written by Robert Towne, Chinatown offers a unique spin on the detective stories of the 1940s, giving it a much darker twist than movies of the era would ever allow. Chinatown was immediately recognized for its greatness and received a slew of accolades, among them an impressive 11 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture, and was honored as part of the AFI's 100 greatest films list in both 1998 and 2007.