Yes,the comparison is a little strange,but I saw some similarities between the films.Tragic endings,detectives with accidents in their past,the blonde females (ok ,in vertigo's case mostly blonde)with sad deaths and secrets...
Personally for me the comparison is rather difficult,depends on my mood,since vertigo is more a psychological thriller,while Chinatown is more a neo noir criminal thriller.
Which film do you prefer?
You're not the only one who thought this, I as well was reminded of Vertigo while watching Chinatown. Chinatown for sure has the better score but overall movie id go with Vertigo.. a better mystery that is almost impossible to predict. It had the feeling of being a psychological film but it really wasn't.. Chinatown was also a great mystery but just didn't have that shock factor for me that Vertigo had.
Ive seen both only once by the way, just finished Chinatown.
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Vertigo is better for sure. i gave it a 7/10!
shareChinatown for me. It's a film I can't fault.
As of right now, I have rated 652 films on this site, and only 4 of them got 10 stars. Chinatown is one of them.
Chinatown is a masterpiece of character, plot, atmosphere, direction, score, everything. Vertigo (to me - opinions may vary) succeeds mostly in its direction and technical merits, but I find it lacks much in the way of story.
I don't really think they have too much in common. They are both very much in the noir mould, but like you say, Vertigo is much more psychological and surreal, where Chinatown is more of the story-based ilk.
Never defend crap with 'It's just a movie'
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SPOILERS for Vertigo and Chinatown
I definitely see the connection, and since Vertigo came first, I'll assume that Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne -- whether consciously or subconsciously -- used Vertigo as his foundation for Chinatown.
In both films, a cop is responsible for a death(well, definitely a death in Vertigo -- the cop who falls at the beginning; maybe in Chinatown, the woman Gittes "made sure got hurt"), becomes a private detective, gets entangled in a new mystery, tries to "save" a person...gets THAT person killed...and ends the movie in devastated, catatonic state. In Vertigo, TWO more people die after the first , but one of the deaths(Madeleine) is not what it seems. Judy's death at the end more matches Evelyn's death at the end of Chinatown.
I call this "The Failed Redemption of the Double Death."
Both films are Paramount Pictures. Both films begin with the "Paramount Mountain" stylized (sepia in Vertigo; gold in Chinatown), both films launch from the Paramount Mountain into a credit sequence with powerful, emotional music that sets the tone for the entire movie to follow.
And both films posit "cities as characters" San Francisco. Los Angeles. Ghostly. Moody places.
Of the two, I prefer Chinatown for its tougher edges. But Vertigo is a real achievement, too.
Vertigo although Chinatown is really good.
shareChinatown
shareTough choice. I prefer 'Vertigo.' I think it has more mystery. Also it edges it for atmosphere.
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