Touch of Evil: Restored

In 1998, after 40 years, the world finally got to see Orson Welles TOUCH OF EVIL as the director intended it. And unlike some other Welles films that have been restored, rediscovered or re-edited, the changes in TOUCH OF EVIL were carried out with a scrupulous attention to detail, that is truly in the spirit of Orson Welles. Touch of Evil is an absolute classic of the noir genre. The opening scene is intense and iconic. Someone plants a bomb in the trunk of a car, a couple gets in the car, and then they drive a few blocks through a gritty border town, completely unaware of the cargo they’re carrying. All while the audience waits for it to blow up. And it does. That is just the beginning of the film. The explosion soon brings together a Mexican drug investigator named Ramon Vargas (Charlton Heston) and an idolized police detective named Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles). The story does not only revolve around this mystery, but it also touches on the harrowing ordeals Vargas’ wife (Janet Leigh) endures while awaiting her husband’s return to their hotel room. The acting is top notch. Welles has a commanding presence in this film. He clearly expresses Quinlan’s racism and hubris, and he almost steals every scene he is in. I say almost because every other actor is memorable in some way or another.