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Marlon Brando and Orson Welles share enough common that, despite their difference in age, several things stand out. Both started out as matinee idols who were absolutely brilliant in the beginning and whose careers finished in a manner unbefitting. Whereas Brando took the best acting chops of the last 100 years and flushed it away with his behavior, Welles found himself as a director 40 years ahead of his time clashing with studio heads who couldn’t understand his story-telling manner.
After Citizen Kane, which almost 70 years after its initial release is still considered by most to be the greatest film ever made, Welles had more than his fair share of problems within the studio system as it stood then. With The Magnificent Ambersons being hacked down from his original vision and the lost footage destroyed, his experience on Touch of Evil would be his last in America as a director.
Brando and Welles are both remembered for their youth than their later years. Brando is always remembered for being the matinee idol of A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, as well as iconic as Don Corleone in The Godfather. We don’t want to remember Brando sleep-walking through the latter part of his career in the same way we don’t want to watch the footage of Welles doing commercials incredibly intoxicated. We want to remember him as Harry Lime from The Third Man and Charles Foster Kane, not as a voice in the first Transformers film.
So for years, when the studio cut of Touch of Evil left us hollow with the knowledge that Welles didn’t have the “final cut” provision that most modern directors have, it left us feeling that there was a masterpiece in the making while watching it. Even the film’s “Preview” cut, which added some footage back into the film, still isn’t very satisfying.
And in 1998, taking Welles 58-page memo of changes he wished to make at the time, a “restored” version of the film was released and quickly brought Touch of Evil from a maligned film to one deemed worthy of Roger Ebert’s “Great Movies” list. Now, compiled for the first time on DVD, Welles’ film in all its intended glory (for the most part) is available on DVD.
Following an intricate tale of corruption involving a Mexican youth, this isn’t Citizen Kane but it’s a step between that film and The Magnificent Ambersons, in terms of quality. A tale of corruption starting with the murder of someone prominent, the film follows Quinlan (Welles) and Vargas (Charlton Heston), two cops on opposite sides of the U.S / Mexico border, and their investigation together. Leading to a violent finale, the film is gripping and involved as it focuses on two main storylines at a slow pace. It’s an interesting look at the nature of good and evil as shown by two men who try to be good. Quinlan is a drunk who pushes the limit to try to get justice. Vargas is impeccable in his morals and values, wanting to put bad men in jail the right way.
Welles is masterful in developing the story, which was adapted from the novel “Badge of Evil,” and it’s a shame he never was able to have the sort of creative freedom guys like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg have now. The piece, as he advised to see fit, is a gripping piece of cinema that holds up many years later because of Welles’ story-telling ability. It’s something that a man who never really was able to get his vision of film-making into the cinematic lexicon crafted two of the greatest films ever made.
Perhaps the last great noir piece in the era that defined the genre, Touch of Evil is an essential DVD to own.
Presented in a full screen format with a Dolby 2.0 soundtrack, the film has been cleaned up to take out any grit and aging but it isn’t an a/v marvel by any stretch of the imagination. It’s sufficient for the era, but it’s not the sort of DVD to use to test out a DVD system.
Bringing Evil to life is about the film’s production. Running around 20 minutes, it’s fascinating to see archival footage of Heston combined with recollections in the present from everyone involved who is still alive. They trade inside stories from the film’s production to their general thoughts on the film itself, making for a fascinating story.
Evil lost and found is about the film’s storied production past. Going into all the gritty detail, it’s fascinating to hear about everything that happened at the time and the process it took to re-cut the film into the manner closest to Welles’ original vision.
There’s an Audio Commentary and the film’s Theatrical Trailer is included as well.
We live in interesting times when it comes to cinema. Whereas Hollywood now is for the most part creatively bankrupt when it comes to story ideas for current films, it does have a certain flair for revamping the older films from Hollywood past for a new audience in terms of re-releases. For a film buff it’s a golden age of sorts; all the great classics that have been available on cruddy DVD releases, if at all, are now getting new versions for a new audience ready to embrace them. It’s nice to see Touch of Evil get a terrific treatment for a new generation. Highest recommendation.
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Universal Studios presents Touch of Evil. Directed by Orson Welles. Starring Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh. Written by Orson Welles (Screenplay) and Whit Masterson (Novel, “Badge of Evil”). Running time: 111 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: October 7, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
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