10 Movie Special Effects Nobody Believed

6. Jack Nicholson's Sliced Nose - Chinatown

The Special Effect

Roman Polanski's film noir classic Chinatown is a mostly grounded, sober movie with little in the way of complex special effects.

However, it does boast one particularly remarkable (and subtle) effect when P.I. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) has his nostril sliced by a gangster (played by Polanski himself), causing blood to spurt all over his face.

The effect is actually incredibly simple - the knife had a hinge built into it on one side, ensuring that any pressure against the blade would cause it to fold into the handle rather than cut into the object.

Due to ongoing tension between Nicholson and Polanski on the set, however, the director would often flip the knife over between takes, ensuring Nicholson never knew whether the knife blade was "safe" or not.

In the take that was actually used, Polanski quickly pulls the blade away from Nicholson's nose, and if you look closely, you can see him press a concealed button on the knife handle, which triggers a squib of fake blood to squirt over Nicholson's face.

Given that the entire effect transpires over the course of about a half-second, it's incredibly tough to spot, and extremely convincing.

Why Nobody Believed It

Hilariously, Nicholson and Polanski are both to blame for the apocryphal claim that the director actually cut his star's nose for real.

The scene's realism prompted many to ask the men how it was achieved, and after being exasperated with having to answer the question so many times, they ultimately decided to claim that the cut was legit.

Granted, it helps that the execution of the effect is itself pretty much perfect, but their flat-out lies sure helped sell it.