Tag: Touch of Evil

2014 TCM Film Festival: Touch of Evil

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I knew this TCM Film Festival was going to be a brief one for me, as having a one-year-old daughter lessens ones flexibility considerably, even with a very considerate husband. My major goal was to find one thing that he and I could go to together since he was going to spend a lot of the rest of the time alone with our daughter while I galavanted off to watch movies. As soon as I looked at the schedule, it was clear which film that would be. We both name Touch of Evil as likely our favorite Orson Welles film (yes, over Citizen Kane), and have done so long before we even knew each other. The chance to see it at the TCL Chinese (no, I’m still not used to calling it that) in the version cut according to Orson Welles’ notes – it was just meant to be.

Going to a movie at the TCM Film Festival when one of you has a pass and the other is depending on the standby line is something of a stressful situation, but thankfully we got there early and he got in fine. It was the first time I had been in the Chinese theatre since TCL bought and remodeled it, and I’m a bit ambivalent on the new look. The decor is as resplendent as ever, but it’s all stadium seating now, which results in some 230 fewer seats (though 900 seats is still a lot) and generally makes it feel much less communal than it did before. It’s still a great way to see a movie, but it didn’t feel as much like a classic movie palace experience. But I’m being nostalgic for a time I never knew.

Touch of Evil Aspect Ratio Outcry


I don’t really have anything to add to this discussion, but I have to love the fact that cinephiles are up in arms over the the new Universal edition of Touch of Evil, which has three different cuts of the film (the 1958 studio-cut theatrical version, a pre-studio-interference preview version, and the 1998 restored version), but fails to display any of them in the originally shot 1.37:1 aspect ratio, instead using the 1.85:1 widescreen ratio. Dave Kehr has a post with video clips showing the difference and his post has garnered some 350 comments arguing for one aspect ratio or another (I didn’t read them all, I admit). There’s also a ton of discussion, with screencaps, going on at Criterion Forum. Glenn Kenny joins in with a bit more info on the history of the multiple ratios.

I’m so used to arguing for widescreen over pan-and-scan when going from 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 theatrical formats to 1.33:1 televisions that it seems strange to hear arguments for fullscreen over widescreen. But sure enough, looking at the clips Kehr posted, there’s definitely a more claustrophobic feel to the widescreen one. On the other hand, several of the shots did look better framed to me in widescreen. According to Kenny, it seems likely that Welles intended to shoot 1.37:1, not taking into account that the film would be matted to 1.85:1 for release. Frankly, it’s a fantastic film in any form, but now I’m curious to see the whole thing in both ratios.

So apparently after two DVD releases of Touch of Evil, there’s still room for one more. :) I’ll be on the lookout for the 4-version edition.

Touch of Evil Opening Shot

Anne Thompson highlights the justly famous opening tracking shot of Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. And it’s worth reposting. When Touch of Evil was made in 1958, this was the longest tracking shot ever created, a record which stood for a long time; I believe Robert Altman’s The Player broke it, but Touch of Evil‘s is better for my money. And can I just say, in this current era when most movies have an average shot length of about two and a half seconds, how refreshing it is to watch a shot that lasts for three minutes and fifteen seconds?

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