Rating: 
Summary: All's well that's "Orson Welles"
Review: Okay, first lets get the questionable, or all out bad, things about this movie out in the open.1)The plot is confusing and maybe a bit contrived. but that's okay since plot isn't important in this movie. 2) Janet Leigh's character can be a bit annoying and stupid. but that's okay since her annoyingness and stupidity get her in big trouble in the movie. 3) Charleton Heston's make-up job is a bit distracting because everytime he kisses Janet Leigh I'm expecting to see a large brown smudge rub off on her face. but that's okay because. . . well . . . okay that's still kind of gross, but you'll just have to put up with it. Whew! Now the good stuff. I don't want to sound too technical or highly intelligent (oh, you're too kind), so I'll just say that the camerawork rocks. I could watch this movie on mute without paying any attention to the story and I'll still get a small smile on my face from the pure joy I experience from every shot. Also Orson Welles character "Hank Quinlan" easily adds another star to this rating. Even though Hank does some bad things (oh, what with framing criminals, murdering, and dog-gone-it just not being too swell of a guy) he inextricably makes us want root for him nomatter what terrible deed he is doing. Most of the fun of this movie is seeing Quinlan interact with anyone. He is disrespectful, witty (in his own dumb way), and has the "dont give a damn" attitude that immediately makes us love him. Quinlan is the only character in this movie, aside from his partner, who we get to see many dimensions of. If you really look at the other characters, they may be multi-dimensional, but we don't get any firsthand experience of it. In closing, I'll say that this is one helluva movie. It has its moments of cheesiness, illogic, and unoriginality, but Orson Welles directing is so damn good, that he makes this film into more than the sum of it's parts.
Rating: 
Summary: Substandard Work for an excellent film-maker.
Review: While Orson Welles may be viewed as one of the greats in cinema's history, Touch of Evil (restored or not) does not come up to par. This can be paralleled with Welles own physical appearance in the movie, as he is bloated and glib. Citizen Kane, for example, was a visual masterpiece. Showcasing the young directors talents and daring. But TOE lacks the youthful exuberance of his earlier work. Yes, the opening shot is fantastic. Notice where the focus of your eyes is, and how Welles magicly guides it across the screen. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie slides downhill. The characters and script are dry, not able to keep your interest throughout the entire film. Welles is not god. It is ok to say that some of his movies are not divine pieces of work.
Rating:
Summary: Film noir from Orson Welles -- It can't get better
Review: A sense of evil pervades "A Touch of Evil", every screen shot conveying a underlying menace of violence. Charlton Heston plays a Mexican police detective and Janet Leigh his new Anglo wife, with director Orson Welles as the most corrupt of border town cops. While it may not equal "Citizen Kane" as a film classic, "A Touch of Evil" is still a strongly effective piece of cinematic work from one of the true greats.
Rating:
Summary: Doing a LOT with a little
Review: I had the good fortune to see TOUCH OF EVIL on its theatrical re-release. What an AMAZING experience! The suspense in the opening shot builds and builds and BUILDS until that car drives out of sight... which of course, is when it finally BLOWS! Seeing the studio-tampered version some time later on a TV rerun, I could see how putting opening credits over it COMPLETELY ruined the mood & suspense! TOE predates LETHAL WEAPON 2 by several decades by putting all the credits at the END. I read a comment that Welles apparently took what would have been an average plot and used every iota of his talent, skill & ingenuity to turn this into the most interesting film it could possibly be. I think he succeeded!!! Among the many highlights are one of Charlton Heston's best roles (would you believe I saw this the SAME month as a reissue of PLANET OF THE APES?) and Dennis Weaver as a halfwit motel manager menacing Janet Leigh (was her later casting in PSYCHO really a piece of type-casting??). One of the great joys I get from time to time are theatrical reissues of old films, especially if they've been restored. But for anyone who missed it that way, I highly recommend the DVD! Now, lights out, and sound up...!
Rating: 
Summary: Not a masterpiece, but a heckuva lot of fun.
Review: First, let me say that it's a darn good thing that *Touch of Evil* has been restored to Welles' original conception. Some have found that the plot is more confusing as a result, but I believe that when Welles directs, more Welles is better Welles. Besides, the plot of this movie was mostly pulp fiction rubbish anyway and is the least element to be savored. I mean, does anyone CARE what the plot is in, say, *The Big Sleep*? Of course not. We love both these movies for other reasons. One of these reasons is Welles himself as actor. He's not above making glum fun of himself. A Mexican prostitute tells him to "lay off the candy bars". But he used his relatively newfound corpulence to great effect in this movie -- he's a walking symbol of tinhorn corruption at its most ludricously bloated. Another reason we love *Touch of Evil* is the audaciousness of its style, especially the famous opening minutes -- all one shot. Had this been done before? Or if so, as well? Indeed, the entire film is baroquely shot: wide angles and panoramic vistas (a minor quibble here is that some of the dialogue gets lost in the canyonesque scene composition) . . . then, suddenly, zeroing in on the actors in sweaty close-ups. Put it this way: Welles despised static cinema. Another source of delight are the characters -- so individualized and so funny, especially Dennis Weaver as the motel manager. The broad strokes in the characterizations are brilliantly done and serve this material well. All in all, of course, a great movie. Not on par with *Kane* or the even more astonishing *The Magnificent Ambersons* (never to be restored, apparently -- something film lovers can seriously weep for), but still a worthy piece in the Welles oeuvre.
Rating:
Summary: Touch of Genius
Review: Hi... a quick note about this restoration. I had the chance to see the restored version of Touch of Evil in it's limited theatrical release a few years ago and it was stunning. I'd always appreciated the mood of the released version but found it choppy and hard to follow... I heard an NPR show in which the person who restored it discussed the 58page memo and changes, and it makes a world of difference. A must for any Welles fan.
Rating:
Summary: He was some Kind Of A Man,
Review: Yeah I know others have used this line but it is so appropriate that you can not improve on it. How about "Your future is all used up." My mistake was watching programs about the movie before watching the movie it's self. You do not need the physiological mumbo jumbo or artsy fartsy descriptions to understand this or enjoy watching this movie. This is one movie that you can feel and it even has several places where you can say "stay in the car." I had to watch this movie twice because the first time I closed my eyes during the motel confrontation. After you watch the film then it is fun to go back and read all the odd things about it like, Janet Leigh broke her left arm before filming commenced, but appeared nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: He Was Some Kind Of A Man
Review: Touch Of Evil has been my all-time favourite film eversince I first viewed it with eyes fixed & mouth agape at the stunning opening sequence. The cinematography is amazing (apart from Robert Foster's corny inserts). Heston agreed to do the movie because he heard Welles was signed on. He would have done anything Welles told him to do, and it shows. Orson gives one of his best cinema appearances as the bent cop, Hank Quinlan. He uses great make-up & costume for the role which still fools viewers till this day. I'd like a dollar for every idiot who comments, "He's not looking too good in this film". Janet Leigh gives nice performance with broken arm & Akim Tamirof nearly steals all the thunder from the others with great character as head Grande. Dennis Weaver is perfect as goofball nightman & Deitrich is unforgetable. This is the greatest film noir ever made. With Welles behind & in front of the camera, it is a feast for all film lovers. After seeing the standard UCLA art house print & the restored print from recent years, I was so glad that someone decided to re-edit the film according to Welles' 58 page memo to MGM. The result is impressive to say the least. Not only do we get to see that famous opening crane shot without obtrusive opening credits, but the entire movie flows a hell of alot smoother & is easier to follow than the earlier theatre cut. Soon we'll all be able to see this masterpiece on DVD, re-edited & including Welle's 58 page memo. Who could ask for more?
Rating:
Summary: An incredible film with or without restoration
Review: In what is probably Orson Welles' second most famous film (Citizen Kane, of course, being his most famous), he proved to the world one last time why he is thought to be one of the greatest directors of all time. All of Welles' films were intensely personal, even confessional- and as 'Kane' was like the young director looking through a warped crystal ball at what his own life would become, 'Touch of Evil' was seemingly his own eulogy to himself as a filmmaker-- he never completed another film. Welles' character in the film seems to have been a mirror-image of what he saw in himself- a well respected, but washed up man, bloated by his own ego and willing to do anything to succeed one last time. Indeed, it was all summed up in that immortal exchange between Welles' character and Marlene Dietrich in the final passages of the film: Welles--"Come on, read my future for me" Dietrich--"You haven't got one... your future's all washed up"
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: When I first saw Touch of Evil I was a little disapointed. It had some great scenes but the movie didn't seem to fit together properly and it really dragged at points. It wasn't until later I found out that the studio re-edited the film against Wells's wishes and new scenes were shot. Now after seeing the special edition, I find it sad that such a great movie was ruined by studio executives. The special edition is the way the film was intended to be seen and it's a great film. The movie opens whith a close up of a bomb. We then see the bomb tossed into a car with an old man and a young lady. The camera fallows them as the drive around and cross the Mexican border. Along the way the pass a Mexican cop(Heston) and his new American wife. Then, the car explodes. While the film looks like a traditional "whodunit" at first, it ends up being far more. Rather, it is a look at how this murder adds a "touch of evil" to the story and brings out the worst in the people of this small border town. Instead of focusing on the murder, the film focuses on the curropt police force and it's racist attitudes. Like I said, the film contains some excellent shots and show what a master of film Wells truly was. However, now that the film has been restored to it's origional form, it no longer has the slow pace of the version we have all known untill now. If you didn't like Touch of Evil the first time you saw it, see this version and it may change your mind. If you liked it then you'll find more to like. And if you have never seen it, you should definatly check "Touch of Evil (Special Restored Edition)" out.
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