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Touch of Evil Blu-ray Review - Highly Recommended
The following review quotes a bit from my 2008 review of the 50th Anniversary Edition DVD, but I have made some adjustments to address the obvious improvement for the new Blu-ray release.
Touch of Evil gets a first class treatment from Universal on Blu-ray, complete with lovely high definition transfers for all three versions of the film on the single disc. It is my belief that the theatrical and preview cuts are presented together via seamless branching, but the 1998 Reconstruction cut is a completely different kettle of fish. All three look terrific. As with the 2008 DVD, care has been taken to present the film in the best possible condition, as well as to carry over the extensive supplements found in the 2008 package. The film itself has a checkered history, as the last studio picture directed by Orson Welles, containing multiple character cameos and an unforgettable opening shot that is still discussed today. It’s a brilliantly executed film, if a bit murky in its plotting, showing Welles’ skill in composition and juxtaposition throughout. The basic plot, involving corruption on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, functions mostly as a vehicle to showcase the gifts of a quite varied cast (including a surprising cameo by Dennis Weaver and an appearance by Marlene Dietrich that surprised the studio execs) and Welles’ considerable gifts in telling the story. Unfortunately, the film Welles may have intended to release has never been available, due to a series of recuts and reshoots done at the behest of the studio after Welles disappeared during post-production. After the film had been reshaped with new scenes directed by Harry Keller, Welles’ attended a preview screening and issued a 58 page memo, indicating a series of changes he hoped the studio would make to bring the film closer to his intentions. His memo was not followed, and the studio in fact made further cuts before releasing a version of the film at 96 minutes in the second position on a double bill. Years later, a longer preview cut of the film was discovered and released for fans, including more footage but bringing fans no closer to Welles’ vision of the film. Finally, in 1998, a new version of the film was released, this one attempting to follow Welles’ memo as closely as possible, using the existing prints. This restored version is not a “director’s cut” as Welles did not participate in it, but it at least tries to bring the film more in line with what Welles had in mind. (I should note that an unknown amount of Welles’ footage from the film was destroyed around the time the film was released, so it is impossible to ever know what a true “Welles cut” would look like.)
The new Blu-ray edition includes all three versions of the film on a single disc. Each version of the film gets its own scene-specific commentary, with the restored version getting two separate commentaries. Much of this material appears to have been prepared back in 1999 for the original DVD release of the restored version, including interviews and commentary with Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. (My understanding is that litigation prevented the inclusion of the commentary and the featurettes at that time.) The earlier DVD contained just the restored version of the film and an onscreen copy of Welles’ memo, along with some production notes and the film’s trailer. The 2008 DVD contained all three versions, the commentaries, the trailer, the featurettes and a stapled copy of the memo in the DVD packaging. The Blu-ray edition includes all the same content, only now the memo is presented in a more easily readable bound copy.
I’ll stress here that the new HD transfers of the movie, done in 4K over a year ago, have resulted in an extremely pleasing picture for whichever version of the movie you choose to watch. The mono soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD but without trying to gussy up the sounds or project them into multiple channels. Quite simply, this is the best presentation ever made for this movie, and it’s an obvious one to recommend for purchase. This Blu-ray is Highly Recommended for purchase.
Restored Version Feature Commentary with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and producer Rick Schmidlin – This is a wide-ranging discussion of the production of the film with the two leads, as engaged by restoration producer Schmidlin. Some of the information is repeated in the featurettes, but it’s still a lot of fun and an education to hear these things directly from Heston and Leigh. (Given the fact that neither is with us today, and that Heston was stricken soon after with Alzheimer’s, it’s a gift that this commentary exists at all. I believe that this commentary was prepared for the earlier DVD but could not be included at the time. Thankfully, it is included here.)
Restored Version Feature Commentary with producer Rick Schmidlin - While the first commentary consists of Schmidlin asking Heston and Leigh questions about the film’s production, the second one finds Schmidlin on his own discussing his work on the film at length. This is a little more technical than the chatty exchanges on the first commentary, but it is equally helpful.
Theatrical Version Feature Commentary with Film Critic F.X. Feeney – The theatrical cut gets a running commentary from the longtime critic for the L.A. Weekly and many other publications. Feeney openly states his appreciation for the theatrical cut right off the bat, describing it as the fastest moving of the three. Like the others, he discusses the history of the production and the choices involved with the editing of the film down to the original release length.
Preview Version Feature Commentary with Orson Welles Historians Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore - This commentary finds the two men discussing the movie with each other, and noting the differences for this edition. As with the other commentaries, this is another “film school in a commentary” and it is just as helpful as the other ones in this set.
Bringing Evil to Life (20:58, 4x3, 480p) – This featurette discusses the original production of the film and what happened in post production after Welles left to pursue another project. (Heston is admirably frank about the consequences of that action, noting that Welles committed a major no-no and never got to direct a studio picture again in the United States.) (This featurette was clearly prepared around the same time as the cast commentary, with contemporary interview footage of both Heston and Leigh.)
Evil Lost and Found (17:05, 4x3, 480p) – This featurette discusses the work done by Walter Murch with Rick Schmidlin, Jonathan Rosenbaum and others to follow the Welles’ memo in re-editing the film. There is some repetition with the first featurette, but this is still all helpful material. Curtis Hanson takes the viewer on a tour of the various locations in Venice, concluding with the bridge location on the Venice canals for the film’s climax.
Theatrical Trailer – (2:09, 4x3, 480p) – As with the 2008 DVD, it’s not listed on the packaging, but the original trailer is again available here. This is the same copy available on the prior DVD release.
Digital/Ultraviolet Copy – The packaging has an insert that contains instructions for downloading a digital or ultraviolet copy of the movie.
Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish for the film itself, as well as for the special features. A standard chapter menu is included for quick reference for each version. I should note that the disc menu is structured so that you must select which version of the movie you wish to view before you can proceed further. Once you get to the specific version, then you have access to a chapter menu and an extras menu that includes the featurettes, the trailer and the appropriate commentary.
Touch of Evil crosses the border to Blu-ray with an edition that provides impeccable HD picture to three variations of the movie while preserving all the bonus features from 2008’s 50th Anniversary Edition DVD. The film, Orson Welles’ last opportunity to work with a major studio, continues to show Welles’ ability to stage bravura sequences and summon indelible performances from a wildly varied cast. This edition, complete with Welles’ infamous 1957 Memo and multiple scene-specific commentaries, is a classic example of a “Film School on a Disc”. Students of film history, fans of Orson Welles, and aficionados of bold filmmaking will want to purchase this as soon as they can. This release is Highly Recommended.
Studio: Universal
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HDMA
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French
Rating: Not Rated, PG-13
Run Time: 1 hr 36 mins (Theatrical Release), 1 hr 49 mins (Preview Cut), 1 hr 51 mins (Reconstruction Cut)
Package Includes: Blu-ray, Digital Copy, UltraViolet
Disc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: ABC
Release Date: 04/15/2014
MSRP: $29.98
The Production Rating: 4/5
The following review quotes a bit from my 2008 review of the 50th Anniversary Edition DVD, but I have made some adjustments to address the obvious improvement for the new Blu-ray release.
Touch of Evil gets a first class treatment from Universal on Blu-ray, complete with lovely high definition transfers for all three versions of the film on the single disc. It is my belief that the theatrical and preview cuts are presented together via seamless branching, but the 1998 Reconstruction cut is a completely different kettle of fish. All three look terrific. As with the 2008 DVD, care has been taken to present the film in the best possible condition, as well as to carry over the extensive supplements found in the 2008 package. The film itself has a checkered history, as the last studio picture directed by Orson Welles, containing multiple character cameos and an unforgettable opening shot that is still discussed today. It’s a brilliantly executed film, if a bit murky in its plotting, showing Welles’ skill in composition and juxtaposition throughout. The basic plot, involving corruption on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, functions mostly as a vehicle to showcase the gifts of a quite varied cast (including a surprising cameo by Dennis Weaver and an appearance by Marlene Dietrich that surprised the studio execs) and Welles’ considerable gifts in telling the story. Unfortunately, the film Welles may have intended to release has never been available, due to a series of recuts and reshoots done at the behest of the studio after Welles disappeared during post-production. After the film had been reshaped with new scenes directed by Harry Keller, Welles’ attended a preview screening and issued a 58 page memo, indicating a series of changes he hoped the studio would make to bring the film closer to his intentions. His memo was not followed, and the studio in fact made further cuts before releasing a version of the film at 96 minutes in the second position on a double bill. Years later, a longer preview cut of the film was discovered and released for fans, including more footage but bringing fans no closer to Welles’ vision of the film. Finally, in 1998, a new version of the film was released, this one attempting to follow Welles’ memo as closely as possible, using the existing prints. This restored version is not a “director’s cut” as Welles did not participate in it, but it at least tries to bring the film more in line with what Welles had in mind. (I should note that an unknown amount of Welles’ footage from the film was destroyed around the time the film was released, so it is impossible to ever know what a true “Welles cut” would look like.)
The new Blu-ray edition includes all three versions of the film on a single disc. Each version of the film gets its own scene-specific commentary, with the restored version getting two separate commentaries. Much of this material appears to have been prepared back in 1999 for the original DVD release of the restored version, including interviews and commentary with Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh. (My understanding is that litigation prevented the inclusion of the commentary and the featurettes at that time.) The earlier DVD contained just the restored version of the film and an onscreen copy of Welles’ memo, along with some production notes and the film’s trailer. The 2008 DVD contained all three versions, the commentaries, the trailer, the featurettes and a stapled copy of the memo in the DVD packaging. The Blu-ray edition includes all the same content, only now the memo is presented in a more easily readable bound copy.
I’ll stress here that the new HD transfers of the movie, done in 4K over a year ago, have resulted in an extremely pleasing picture for whichever version of the movie you choose to watch. The mono soundtrack is presented in DTS-HD but without trying to gussy up the sounds or project them into multiple channels. Quite simply, this is the best presentation ever made for this movie, and it’s an obvious one to recommend for purchase. This Blu-ray is Highly Recommended for purchase.
Video Rating: 5/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 5/5
Special Features Rating: 5/5
Restored Version Feature Commentary with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and producer Rick Schmidlin – This is a wide-ranging discussion of the production of the film with the two leads, as engaged by restoration producer Schmidlin. Some of the information is repeated in the featurettes, but it’s still a lot of fun and an education to hear these things directly from Heston and Leigh. (Given the fact that neither is with us today, and that Heston was stricken soon after with Alzheimer’s, it’s a gift that this commentary exists at all. I believe that this commentary was prepared for the earlier DVD but could not be included at the time. Thankfully, it is included here.)
Restored Version Feature Commentary with producer Rick Schmidlin - While the first commentary consists of Schmidlin asking Heston and Leigh questions about the film’s production, the second one finds Schmidlin on his own discussing his work on the film at length. This is a little more technical than the chatty exchanges on the first commentary, but it is equally helpful.
Theatrical Version Feature Commentary with Film Critic F.X. Feeney – The theatrical cut gets a running commentary from the longtime critic for the L.A. Weekly and many other publications. Feeney openly states his appreciation for the theatrical cut right off the bat, describing it as the fastest moving of the three. Like the others, he discusses the history of the production and the choices involved with the editing of the film down to the original release length.
Preview Version Feature Commentary with Orson Welles Historians Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore - This commentary finds the two men discussing the movie with each other, and noting the differences for this edition. As with the other commentaries, this is another “film school in a commentary” and it is just as helpful as the other ones in this set.
Bringing Evil to Life (20:58, 4x3, 480p) – This featurette discusses the original production of the film and what happened in post production after Welles left to pursue another project. (Heston is admirably frank about the consequences of that action, noting that Welles committed a major no-no and never got to direct a studio picture again in the United States.) (This featurette was clearly prepared around the same time as the cast commentary, with contemporary interview footage of both Heston and Leigh.)
Evil Lost and Found (17:05, 4x3, 480p) – This featurette discusses the work done by Walter Murch with Rick Schmidlin, Jonathan Rosenbaum and others to follow the Welles’ memo in re-editing the film. There is some repetition with the first featurette, but this is still all helpful material. Curtis Hanson takes the viewer on a tour of the various locations in Venice, concluding with the bridge location on the Venice canals for the film’s climax.
Theatrical Trailer – (2:09, 4x3, 480p) – As with the 2008 DVD, it’s not listed on the packaging, but the original trailer is again available here. This is the same copy available on the prior DVD release.
Digital/Ultraviolet Copy – The packaging has an insert that contains instructions for downloading a digital or ultraviolet copy of the movie.
Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish for the film itself, as well as for the special features. A standard chapter menu is included for quick reference for each version. I should note that the disc menu is structured so that you must select which version of the movie you wish to view before you can proceed further. Once you get to the specific version, then you have access to a chapter menu and an extras menu that includes the featurettes, the trailer and the appropriate commentary.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Reviewed By: Kevin EK
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