Touch of Evil
 | Restored to Orson Welles' VisionStarring: Joe Basulto, Joseph Calleia, Ray Collins, Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor Universal Studios, 1958, DVD Customer Rating: 161 reviews Recommend |
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Heston and leigh are newlyweds framed for murder by a corrupt police chief. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 07/06/2004 Starring: Charlton Heston Janet Leigh Run time: 111 minutes Rating: Nr Director: Orson Welles
Considered by many to be the greatest B movie ever made, the original-release version of Orson Welles's film noir masterpiece Touch of Evil was, ironically, never intended as a B movie at all — it merely suffered that fate after it was taken away from writer-director Welles, then reedited and released in 1958 as the second half of a double feature. Time and critical acclaim would eventually elevate the film to classic status (and Welles's original vision was meticulously followed for the film's 1998 restoration), but for four decades this original version stood as a testament to Welles's directorial genius. From its astonishing, miraculously choreographed opening shot (lasting over three minutes) to Marlene Dietrich's classic final line of dialogue, this sordid tale of murder and police corruption is like a valentine for the cinematic medium, with Welles as its love-struck suitor. As the corpulent cop who may be involved in a border-town murder, Welles faces opposition from a narcotics officer (Charlton Heston) whose wife (Janet Leigh) is abducted and held as the pawn in a struggle between Heston's quest for truth and Welles's control of carefully hidden secrets. The twisting plot is wildly entertaining (even though it's harder to follow in this original version), but even greater pleasure is found in the pulpy dialogue and the sheer exuberance of the dazzling directorial style. — Jeff Shannon
Title: Touch of Evil (Restored to Orson Welles' Vision)
Sales Rank: 9486 in DVD
Actor: Joe Basulto, Joseph Calleia, Ray Collins, Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Studio: Universal Studios, 2000-10-31, Theatrical Release: 1958
Format: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC, Acpect Ratio 1.85:1
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Audience Rating: Unrated
Region Code: 1
Running Time: 95 minutes
Package Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches, 0.15 pounds
- Another Sorry Mess. Highly regrettable. Bad storytelling.
- A big "Citizen Kane" fan in my youth, I saw Touch of Evil in 1981 and thought it was simply awful. Then recently I heard of this reissue, and thought I'd buy it and watch it again. I discovered that in our youth we often know what's right, but often doubt ourselves. The movie is still awful. It may be more true to Welle's vision, but it's still… More reviews
- unleashes an electrical charge!
- A bomb goes off in a car across the Mexican border and a man is chosen to take the rap. Meanwhile another man of the law who's on his way to his honeymoon with his bride, suspects a police frame-up. Forced by his conscience, he takes on the corrupt and the criminal and puts himself and his newlywed wife in grave danger. Welles' Touch… More reviews
- "He was some kind of a man." "Adios."
- I love this set,definitely worth the wait. If your a fan of classic cinema,or love Orson Welles. Get it. "You know he's pretty good." More reviews
- One of the best murder scenes
- The great underappreciated actor here is Akim Tamiroff. Next time you watch it try to picture how much less great it would be if an inferior actor had played his role. "Make 'em nice an' big!"… More reviews
- Welles and film noir: a winning combination
- Simply put, Touch of Evil (as Orson Welles wrote and shot it) ranks as one of the best film noirs in Hollywood history. Touch of Evil attains this classic status through the brilliant directing of Orson Welles, a script that remains true to the spirit of film noir, and exceptional acting.
Welles' finesse behind the camera quickly sucks… More reviews
