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Movies / On DVD / Touch of Evil
Touch of Evil

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Touch of Evil (1958)

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Reviews Counted: 51

Fresh: 48

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 8.5/10

Runtime: 1 hr 51 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Orson Welles's TOUCH OF EVIL is nothing short of a masterpiece. Beginning with a three-minute-plus tracking crane shot, the film explodes onto the screen, literally--the marvelously expressive opening shot ends with a car blowing up,... Orson Welles's TOUCH OF EVIL is nothing short of a masterpiece. Beginning with a three-minute-plus tracking crane shot, the film explodes onto the screen, literally--the marvelously expressive opening shot ends with a car blowing up, and that detonation sets into motion a classic noir tale of betrayal and murder. In a complex exploration of character and morality, Welles plays the racist Captain Hank Quinlan, a grotesque, troubled, and powerful figure who runs his small U.S. border town according to his own version of the law. Quinlan's brutishness and vulgarity contrast starkly with the idealism and playboy good looks of Charlton Heston as Mike Vargas, a Mexican detective trying to put away the leader of a dangerous family of drug dealers--the Grandis. In the U.S. with his new bride, Susie (Janet Leigh), Vargas becomes consumed with exposing Quinlan and his highly questionable methods--too busy to see that his own beautiful blonde bride is in serious danger from both Quinlan and the Grandis. In 1998, Welles's film was restored closer to its creator's original vision, and it is a joy to behold. Every shot is impeccably crafted, every word of dialogue concise and pointed. The camerawork (by Russell Metty and John Russell) is stunning, particularly in the opening scene and the long single take in which Vargas believes he has caught Quinlan planting evidence. The supporting cast, led by Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Weaver, Akim Tamiroff, and Joseph Calleia, gives exhilarating performances. TOUCH OF EVIL, Welles's last studio film, is a near-perfect examination of the dark underbelly of society and the tragic downfall of a once proud man. [More]

Starring: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia

Starring: Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Marlene Dietrich, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ray Collins

Director: Orson Welles, Harry Keller

Director: Orson Welles
Producer: Albert Zugsmith
Director: Harry Keller
Screenwriter: Orson Welles
Composer: Henry Mancini

[See More Credits]

DVD Info

 
 
 
 
Release:

Oct 31, 2000

No Details Exist

Reviews for Touch of Evil

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Ratings Image

Do yourself a favour and catch Touch of Evil.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Delightfully entertaining to watch, it is filled with interesting characters and it is playfully irreverent.

Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope | comment Comment
04/29/08
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image

When druggies stash Leigh in a hotel room and throw a party, the movie threatens to turn into Reefer Madness, albeit with the visual panache of Citizen Kane.

Full Review Source: LarsenOnFilm | comment Comment
04/17/08
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Ratings Image

It is a testament to Welles' genius that he was able to turn a piece of pulp literature into such a disturbing, sophisticated and, above all, entertaining study of depravity.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
04/07/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

One of Welles masterpieces (his first American film in years), this noir thriller of drugs and corruption served as reminder to Hollywood what a brilliant artist he was, using film as vibrant form in its own right, not as extension of drama or literature

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
05/06/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image

...Welles' baroque border-town murder mystery is a wild masterpiece, a sleazy, grimy, jittery, and ultimately dazzling work of cinematic magic.

Full Review Source: Seattle Weekly | comment Comment
04/30/07
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Weekly
Ratings Image

A cinematic masterpiece and arguably the last great film noir.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
04/06/07
J.D. Lafrance
Film Threat
Ratings Image

I first saw it when I was 14 and thought it was one of the worst pictures ever -- garish, oppressive, and appallingly overacted. Grown up, I'd go with those same adjectives, except now I think it's one of the best.

Full Review Source: Slate | comment Comment
04/06/07
David Edelstein
Slate
Ratings Image

A sweaty thriller conundrum on character and corruption, justice and the law, worship and betrayal, it plays havoc with moral ambiguities.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
02/05/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/03
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
06/25/03
Mark Palermo
Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
Ratings Image

Where Mr. Welles soundly succeeds is in generating enough sinister electricity for three such yarns and in generally staging it like a wild, murky nightmare.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/21/03
Howard Thompson
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Dark, sinister and not altogether comprehensible, this is nonetheless an intriguing study of the art of filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly
Ratings Image

No review available.

comment Comment
04/27/03
Michael Szymanski
Zap2it.com
Ratings Image

...embodies everything that is so exhilarating and maddening about Welles. Both inspired and confused, Touch of Evil is the work of a master who cannot quite give life on screen to what he imagines in his head.

Full Review Source: AboutFilm.com | comment Comment
10/11/02
Carlo Cavagna
AboutFilm.com
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No review available.

comment Comment
07/27/02
Rob Vaux
Flipside Movie Emporium
Ratings Image

This tale of the narcotics underworld along the U.S.-Mexican border packs a terrific punch that will have audiences on the edge of their seats.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
06/05/02
Boxoffice Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Um estudo extremamente interessante sobre o caráter de um homem que, para agir de acordo com os seus princípios, não via mal algum em infringi-los.

Full Review Source: Cinema em Cena | comment Comment
05/31/02
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
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Latest News for Touch of Evil

April 07, 2008: Charlton Heston's Most Memorable Performances
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