Touch of Evil
This exceptional film noir portrait of corruption and morally-compromised obsessions stars Welles as Hank Quinlan, a crooked police chief who frames a Mexican youth as part of an intricate criminal plot. Charlton Heston plays an honorable Mexican narcotics investigator who clashes with the bigoted Quinlan after probing into his dark past. A memorable supporting cast including Janet Leigh as Heston's inquisitive wife, Akim Tamiroff as a seedy underworld leader, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Marlene Dietrich as an enigmatic gypsy complete this fascinating drama engulfed in haunting cinematography and a magnificently eerie score by Henry Mancini.
a touch of evil @fergi2008
weird portrayal of orson welles who writes, driects and stars as a loser but worth it for the cameo appearances of marlene dietrich who can talk without moving the cigarette in her mouth and whose last words and last images at the end of the film are priceless
Versions Indeed @Johnny2Bad
Not sure which one this is but it sez "restored" Then again there's this from a review over at Amazon: "There are three versions of the film floating around on video. The first was the theatrical release version that was edited without Welles' approval. It includes some sequences shot by other individuals at Universal to make the story easier to understand. This was the only version available up through the mid-80's. Around 1985, Universal attempted a restoration edit of the film that was closer to Welle's opinion. Released to art house theatres and on video, this is the commonly available version found on home video from Universal. The "restoration" did have its detractors -- the restoration, in addition to putting back more material intended for the film by Welles, also put in more of the material shot by the studio without Welle's permission. The third version, and probably the closest to Welles' intent, was released in 1999. In this case, original memos from Welles were used to re-edit the existing material and to eliminate the material not shot by Welles. The film also includes the fantastic opening sequence of the film without the opening titles superimposed -- the credits are seen at the end of the film. Also, the parallel stories in the film are more closely intertwined in the editing throughout the entire film. (In the original and first restoration, the plot lines are developed in a more conventional fashion.) This is the version due to be released on DVD."
Buy the Criterion Restored Version Instead! @StiffyB
The Criterion release contains a painstakingly restored version that is in accordance with changes requested by Welles and ignored by the Studio. Not "Welles' Version", exactly - but closer to what he apparently intended. This is the original Theatrical release, the shortest and most flawed of the Three existing cuts of the Film. Spend the $$ on the superior version.
Not the restored version @BRBonowicz
Unsure who’s responsible for something like this but the version of the film being sold is not the restoration.
THIS IS NOT THE DIRECTOR @kakjd;alkjdfad
BEWARE THIS IS NOT THE DIRECTOR'S CUT AS ADVERTISED. THERE ARE CREDITS COVERING THE OPENING 3 MINUTE SHOT. THIS IS NOT THE RESTORED VERSION RELEASED IN 2000 LIKE ADVERTISED, IT'S THE RE-RELEASE OF THE ORIGINAL THEATRICAL THAT CAME WITH A THREE DISC SET. BEWARE BEWARE BEWARE, DO NOT BUY THIS!!!!