Touch Of Evil (50th Anniversary Edition)

Touch of Evil is a good film, but it is not a masterpiece. Early in the movie, it is very clear that we are watching actors on a created set, which disturbs the viewer's focus. Sets are fine, but they should not be "visible." A distinct plot weakness is putting the "wife" in an out-of-the-way seedy motel. You see that she will be isolated and thus targeted miles before those sceens arrive. And that she or her seemingly unaware husband would allow her to be put in the situation undermines the "intelligence" of the two. Another weakness is the local crime boss following her to the motel. He does it in such a way that he can't help calling attention to himself and thus getting picked up by the polic. Nice film noir and good acting by Welles even though his techniques are clearly dated. This film really could have been great, but it is not.

I disliked the story. It may be great film noir, but I couldn't find the story of corrupt cop compelling. I wasn't convinced by the ending where a very complicated situation is conveniently solved for Heston, the film's hero. I also found quite disturbing the way the film's story maintains its tension with Janet Leigh, playing the sexual bait in the story. This is a motif that is carried on almost throughout the entire film.
I also thought that it was big deal being able to watch the different versions. I don't see any significant changes in interpretation because of the film. Ironically, as in Orson Well's Citizen Cane, the downfall of this corrupt cop resembled in some strange way the demise of the director himself. In this way, Wells shares some autobiographical material with the public.

In its restored glory, Touch of Evil is without doubt a masterpiece. From the beginning, it drives ahead relentlessly, and the suspense generated by that famous first shot is incredible. This is the kind of film that rewards multiple viewings. Like Fellini, Welles populates his films with grotesques. Unlike Fellini, they actually serve the story -in this case, one of the most hard-bitten, cynical tales around. The ending will leave you feeling like you've been punched in the gut. Marvelous, marvelous storytelling. And the included 58-page memo Welles wrote the studio protesting the changes they made -it's a master class in film, all by itself. This was Welles's final Hollywood film (if I remember correctly) and a mighty blast it is, a towering work of film noir.

Touch of Evil was an excellent black and white classic noir film by Orson Welles. I heard about how great this film was and how it had the best cinematography and lighting in any film ever made and yes they weren't kidding. Off course this film from every technical aspect whether it was the acting or the direction or the great script and fantastic storyline was just perfect but the only slight problem I had with this film was probably the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican police officer, but this is only a slight problem but I still think he was miscast. Touch of Evil opens with what must be one of the finest sequences ever, a bomb is planted in a car on the Mexican side of the U.S./Mexico border and in one flawlessly conceived shot is followed as it makes its way into the U.S. only to erupt into a ball of flames, taking a rich American developer and his mistress with it. Meanwhile Mexican police officer Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) and his bride (Janet Leigh) have just ended their honeymoon in the same border town when they become involved in the murder investigation that just took place. Also on the case is a veteran American cop named Hank played by Orson Wells who has a habit of winning convictions by planting evidence. Hank was the despicable, corrupt and racist police captain and Welles does a terrific job portraying this character. As a star, Wells is bloated and repellent police captain and the villain you love to hate; as the director though he's very creative and surprising.

How much you like this movie depends on how much you like the film noir genre. This is a typical hard-bitten crime story filmed mostly at night or in deep shadows in shabby locations with terse dialogue and no-nonsense characters. Although Heston isn't convincing as a Mexican, he was still dynamic and sincere. Janet Leigh who had a broken arm for most of the filming was great as the American wife who's obsessed with solving the crime, it was pretty interesting to see the ways the cast on her arm was hidden. Just like the beginning of the film, the finale once again combines Welles mastery of both sight and sound. After effectively ratcheting up the tension throughout the film it unwinds in a satisfying ending. The final scene is famous and spectacular. This fifty-year anniversary edition includes three editions of the film. The Restored Version (111 minutes) which was released in 2000, is the definitive cut of the film restored to Orson Welles' vision based on his detailed 58-page memo to the Universal studio. This is on disc one and rated PG-13, because of some violence and drug content.

Disc two includes the two other releases which are not rated. The Preview Version (109 min) includes some of Welles' requests and was discovered by Universal in 1976. This actually includes some of Universal's post-production re-shoot footage - Welles' was out of the country at the time and had no idea. It famously includes Henry Mancini's score incorporated into the beginning as well as more emphasis placed on the capture of Susan in the motel room, which suggest gang rape. After a Hollywood screening to the public, a viewer walked up to a studio executive and said the film was one of the dirtiest films she'd ever seen and smacked him with her handbag. After the assault, the studio decided to re-edit it before presenting it to the public!.

The film was eventually snipped down to 96 minutes and is included as the Theatrical Version seen by U.S. audiences in 1958 (off course back in those days everything was more strict and conservative), which still includes Mancini's score at the beginning. This version is also on disc two. brilliant filmmaking at it's best. The film was a stunning portrait of corruption and abuse of power and it really does grab your attention. I highly recommend this to fans of Orson Welles and 50's classic noir films. Each of the three films is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic video with all displaying consistent quality. The sound is as good as 2.0 mono can get, and is clean and pristine. In Welles' memo, he specifically had ideas on the soundtrack, such as the music that played over the infamous long opening shot. While the studio insisted on some generic Henry Mancini stuff, Welles wanted different music blaring from each individual nightclub Vargas and his wife passed, something that is genuine to the environment. I personally liked this better since I really like Latin music and the soundtrack was fantastic. The Restored Version features two audio commentaries. The first is by restoration producer Rick Schmidlin and actors Janet Leigh and Charlton Heston. There are some good featurettes and these include Bringing Evil To Life (21 minutes), Evil Lost and Found and Welles' famous 58-page memo is included in paper booklet form and finally a trailer. Touch of Evil is brilliant filmmaking at it's best, it was truly a groundbreaking film in terms of technique, style and storytelling. The rich story about political corruption across national boundaries and the interwoven plots certainly warrant re-watching, I highly recommend this and two thumbs up!.

The Bottom Line:

One of the last (if not the last) film-noirs, Touch of Evil has a number of masterful scenes and a great performance by Orson Welles; the murder mystery aspect of the plot doesn't work as well but everything else is so interesting that the movie is easily worth watching or owning.