Apr. 29, 2002 - 10:46 pm
wow, two entries today. i'm kicking butt.
ok, so Touch of Evil. what's the importance of this one you may ask. well...number 62 on the imdb top 250. after this i only have 3 more to go on that list! well, actually for now i've only been working on the top 100. so really i only have 3 left out of those 100.
this is one of Orson Welles' most recognized works besides Citizen Kane (1941). he directed and starred in it along with Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh (who you'll remember from Psycho (1960)).
like another of Welles' films, The Third Man (1949), it falls into the film-noir genre. this is one genre that really doesn't agree with me. it's odd because films in this category generally take place within a very contained space, which i generally love. but somehow i just can't handle them. inexplicable i guess.
interesting note about Touch of Evil- the original release of the film was highly protested by Orson Welles. they apparently recut the film without his permission and he wrote a 58 page note to the production house telling them the specifics of how it needed to be revised to fit his vision for the film. they refused. the film remained as they redid it for 40 years. then, in 1998, Charlton Heston revealed that HE, in fact, had possession of the 58 page memo. the film was recut and worked to fit with Welles' original vision. lots of changes. so yes, i watched the new, revised director's cut on dvd.
cinematography was excellent. lots of deep focus shots like Welles (and I) likes. interesting framing too. but the only acting that was truly impressive here came from Welles himself. Charlton Heston was supposed to be a Mexican??? come on! and i hated the way the plot began. i guess it's just that film-noir thing getting to me. so i decided on 7/10. worth a glance, but i probably won't be watching it again any time soon.