Product Description

Experience director Orson Welles’ masterpiece Touch of Evil like never before in an all-new 50th Anniversary Edition DVD! Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Orson Welles himself, this exceptional film noir portrait of corruption and morally compromised obsessions tells the story of a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot.

Now for the first time ever, see all three versions of the film – the preview version, the theatrical version and the restored version based on Orson Welles’ vision. The Touch of Evil 50th Anniversary Edition commemorates a true cinematic achievement and is an essential addition to the very movie lover’s library!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #351 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-10-07
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Black & White, Dolby, DVD-Video, Restored, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com essential video
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

From The New Yorker
There have been three subtly different versions of Orson Welles's ornate thriller since it first came out, in 1958. The fourth should be the last: working from a memo that Welles wrote at the time, after the studio had messed with his original cut, producer Rick Schmidlin and editor Walter Murch have come as close to honoring the director's intentions as anyone ever will. At first glance, little has changed; the titles (and Henry Mancini's brassy theme) have disappeared from the celebrated opening shot, but from then on the basic thrust of this Mexican border tale (filmed in Venice, California) remains intact. We still have the manly Vargas (Charlton Heston) struggling to solve the case of the car bomb while his wife (Janet Leigh) feels the heat from a gang of local hoods; we are still thrown by the freakish cameos by Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mercedes McCambridge, and the horrific slaying-a kind of jazz strangulation-of the fleshly Grandi (Akim Tamiroff); and, of course, we still see Welles himself as police chief Hank Quinlan, looming over the action like a Falstaff gone to seed. If anything, the cuts and repairs make the work more fluid and less flamboyant; it was sometimes the studio, rather than Welles himself, who liked to go over the top. His scenes with brothel-keeper Marlene Dietrich have nothing to do with the plot and everything to do with the rotting heart of this amazing fable: the apotheosis of pulp. -Anthony Lane
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Grimy and gritty film noir
Mexican narcotics officer Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) and his bride (Janet Leigh) have just ended their honeymoon in a border town when they become involved in a murder investigation. Also on the case is a veteran American cop (Orson Wells) who has a habit of winning convictions by planting evidence.

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. Heston isn't convincing as a Mexican, but he's dynamic and sincere anyway. Janet Leigh had a broken arm for most of the filming and it's fun to see the ways the cast is hidden. As a star, Wells is bloated and repellant and the villain you love to hate; as the director, he's creative and surprising. Dennis Weaver gives a terrific performance as a very nervous motel employee.

Film noir is not my cup of tea, but I can see that this is a complex and well-made movie that many film-lovers would enjoy.

One of Orson's Best!
Shadow Watcher
Nobody Drowns in Mineral Lake


Orson Welles' movies never cease to mesmerize me.

Filmmakers learn from Welles. In fact, I've written about Welles on several occasions, including a one-person play.

Unfortunately, as innovative and fascinating as his films might be, Welles' movies do not appeal to a mass audience, like, for example, the work of Alfred Hitchcock.

Part of the problem is that Orson's movies are usually populated with unsympathetic characters. Even his heroes are not people that audiences tend to like.

Nevertheless, when one is in the mood for a Welles film, one will get a filmmaking experience like no other. His work with camera, lighting and sound was uncanny.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has come out with a terrific 3-disc "Special Edition" of TOUCH OF EVIL (1958), which not only includes the previously released "Restored" version of Welles' film, but also the original "Theatrical" version and a "Preview" version, created by Welles prior to the movie's 1958 theatrical release.

There is also a reproduction of Welles' lengthy memo to Universal, audio commentaries and retrospective featurettes.

In TOUCH OF EVIL, director Welles plays a corrupt police captain who is challenged by honest Mexican cop Charlton Heston when he plants evidence to convict a suspected bomber.

Janet Leigh co-stars in this tense film noir, which features a legendary opening shot that other filmmakers continually try to emulate, as well as a stunning memorable moment when gypsy fortune teller Marlene Dietrich tells Welles' character, "You have no future. Your future is all used up."

This was Welles' last film for a major studio. It is also one of his best.

-Michael B. Druxman, author of ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (available December 2008)

"Touch of Evil" presented in its three different variations with actor commentary
Over looked when it was released (except in France where it won awards and critical praise), "Touch of Evil" was Orson Welles' last major studio project as writer-director-star. When the original director bowed out, Welles (supported by star Charlton Heston)asked for the chance to write and direct the film. Welles' revamped Paul Monash's screenplay, recast Heston as a Mexican offical and delivered efficently (it was only 1 day over its shooting schedule and slightly over budget). Shot in Venice, Ca which stood in for a Mexican border town, "Touch of Evil" looks marvelous with a sharp beautiful restoration done for the film.

Based on Whit Masterston's novel BADGE OF EVIL, Welles plays the corrupt police chief of a border town who butts heads with Vargas (Heston) a newly married Mexican D.A. trying the Grande crime family. His wife (Janet Leigh) and his life are threatened because of the case.

Edit: An important thing to know is that the restored version is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio (more in keeping with what Welles had wanted)vs. the 1.33:1 full screen aspect ratio of the previous release for the restoration. While all three versions of the film look good the attention went to the restoration with a much cleaner image and crisper, sharper presentation as well.

We get all three versions of the film--the original theatrical cut (96 minutes)edited by the studio with new footage shot by director Harry Keller, the "preview" version that features 15 minutes of footage shot by Welles and cut prior to release and this restored version which features most of Welles' footage restored and the film re-edited according to a lengthy memo Welles wrote to the studio (included here).

We get four commentary tracks. The first commentary on the restored version features stars Heston, Leigh and Rick Schmidlin. Schmidlin jogs the stars memories using the extensive research from the call sheets, Welles' memos and Welles biographies to clarify the making of the film with the two of them and put old myths to rest. Schmidlin also appears solo on one commentary track focusing detailing the painstaking detail it took to recreate the version Welles envisioned.

Film critic F.X. Feeney provides us with a very good commentary track on the 96 minute theatrical cut and the preview version features Welles authorities James Naremore and Jonathan Rosenbaum discussing the difficult birth of Welles' last major studio film as a director.

We also get the original trailer as well as two brief featurettes focusing on the restoration of the film and the location shooting in Venice, California hosted by filmmaker Curtis Hanson (Venice stood in for the border Mexican town in the film.

Although Universal had previously released the restored version of the film, it had no extras. This special edition a worthwhile double dip corrects that oversight and makes this the complete version of "Touch of Evil" for fans of Welles' classic film noir. I'd highly recommend this.