The Film
The story behind the film Touch of Evil is even more famous than the film itself. Orson Welles was so dissatisfied with the theatrical version of his 1958 crime thiller, the filmmaker/star wrote up a 58-page memo to Universal Pictures. Yeah, that's not a typo.
I can't think of anything I'd write 58 pages about, but Welles was thorough like that. He was also a genius. Touch of Evil is a wonderful film -- especially the version that he actually wanted.
That brings us to the recent Touch of Evil: Limited Edition Blu-ray that Universal just released. The long overdue single-disc set includes three versions of the film on one disc. Naturally, it has the original 1958 theatrical version. However, there's also a "Preview" version, which was discovered back in 1976 and includes some of Welles' requests. Finally, a "Reconstructed" version was re-edited in 1998 based on Welles' complete vision.
All three have the same film noir elements and the same story. Welles is Hank Quinlan, a creepy, crooked police officer, who frames a Mexican boy for a car bombing. Charleton Heston is Mike Vargas, the Mexican (!) drug enforcement officer looking to bring him to justice. While Vargas is busy with all of that, gang members are looking at his new bride Susan (Janet Leigh) as collateral.
While fans of the film will certainly want all of the versions available on this disc, the Reconstructed option will most likely be a favorite. How can you go wrong with what the filmmaker intended, especially when that filmmaker is Orson Welles? Besides the backstory, Touch of Evil is oozing with his genius. It's the type of film that classes are built around and is certainly worth the purchase price, just for that opening scene alone.
The Picture
In late 2011, British distributor Eureka Entertainment released a "Masters of Cinema" Blu-ray edition of Touch of Evil. It included the three versions of the film featured here, as well as two additional options. Basically, these were the same Reconstructed and Theatrical versions of the film, but in the 1.37:1 aspect ratio. Those are not present here, with Universal opting to include all three versions of the film in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Now, I never got the chance to check out the British version, so I can't say whether or not Universal has done anything to enhance this "Limited Edition" image. The Blu-ray case says that the film has been "digitally remastered and fully restored." We just don't know who did that work and when. I put out a request to the studio and I'm still waiting on a response.
In the meantime, if you didn't snag one of those imports, this image will be a pleasant surprise. Like the film itself, I prefer the Reconstructed version from an image standpoint. I didn't sit through the other two versions from start to finish, but compared a few key scenes. I just found the most recent version to be the most stellar, with less noise and more clarity overall. Also, I recently caught Touch of Evil on TV (in HD) and can verify that this Blu-ray does offer a nice boost. It has excellent contrast and is just really sharp overall. The texture on Janet Leigh's clothing, Charlton Heston's mustache and Orson Welles' sweatiness are all impressive and detailed, especially given the fact that the movie is 56 years old.
The Sound
If you're expecting the sound to get an immersive audio boost, well... don't expect that. All three versions have a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Although it doesn't have the immersive sound that we're used to with newer releases, the dialogue is always crystal clear and the effects are bold as well. Also, a few bonus points should be given for Henry Mancini's excellent score.
The Extras
Final Thoughts
If you were able to snag a copy of the 2011 "Masters of Cinema" release, the Touch Of Evil: Limited Edition Blu-ray will seem limited in a bad way. It's missing the two extra versions of the film and doesn't seem to have any additional AV tweaks or new special features. If not, this one is absolutely worth the purchase price for the film itself, as well as the interesting commentary tracks and previously released featurettes.
Product Details
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