NPR and LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan

“It grabs hold of you and never ever lets go.”
That’s how NPR and LA Times film critic Kenneth Turan describes the classic movie, Chinatown.

Voice of Vashon is bringing Turan to Vashon for a special showing of Chinatown Wednesday, August 28 at 6:00 p.m. It’s a fundraiser to support Voice of Vashon’s community service operations with support from the Vashon Theatre.

“I’ve seen Chinatown more times than I can count, but I’m looking forward to watching it again on the big screen because each time I see it I notice something else exceptional. Squarely in the film noir tradition, it beautifully combines a serious historical theme and ecological concerns with the character-driven narrative drive of the best of Raymond Chandler’s classic detective stories,” Turan said, in praise of the film.

Turan will talk before the show about the influence Chinatown has had on movies in the 45 years since it was released and there will be a Q&A after the showing as time allows. The film was released in 1974, winning the original screenplay Oscar and ten other nominations. Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway star.

Kenneth Turan is film critic for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition and the LA Times as well as the director of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes. He teaches film reviewing and non-fiction writing at USC. His most recent books are “Never Coming To A Theater Near You” and “Free For All: Joe Papp, The Public and The Greatest Theater Story Ever Told.”

Tickets for the fundraiser showing are $20. A few tickets are available for an additional $20 for a pre-event reception at 5:00pm at Voice of Vashon’s nearby Jean Bosch Broadcast Studio where movie fans can meet Turan personally.

Tickets are available at the Vashon Theatre box office and  VashonTheatre.com.