Touch of Evil

 Welles, O. (1958) Touch of Evil is a classic with complex cinematography and a very well paced narrative. The great genius about the film for me was that you didn’t have to delve as deep as possible into the film you can see there is still an impression created in an analytical rich work of craftsmanship.

“ I close this memo with a very earnest plea that you consent to this brief visual pattern to which I gave so many long hard days of work” Orson Welles

The statement from Welles is key when analysing his philosophy to me it reads I hope that you enjoy the methods and making of my film and appreciate the commitments of which I atoned when making the film. The camera angles make the film a commercial spectacle and an amazing piece of art in its own right. Like most noir a key feature of the film is the lighting when considering atmosphere and tension it sets the mood immediately with the explosion of the car. The framing of most sequences throughout the film are remnant of stills with a voice over narrative as the scene is set with an establishing shot and the action inhabits the scene rather the action already being present when the still is shown.  

.An element which also adds to the genius of Welles was his persistence in character as universal called for improvement on his edit and so the film which was originally released did not satisfy Welles. Had it not been for the unique idea of writing a memo stating his original copy as a result of this the film was re-released in 2000. Touch of evil brought about a new mark of directing style for Welles, he produced a dynamic script so that his characters could speak over each other making sure that the narrative and flow of the story matched to meet the speed of speech.

The use of music throughout the film is extremely affective and it suited the representation with the Latin rock n roll representing a climax when the path of the narrative changes it almost becomes a tool for the unspoken word.

However the real genius lies in the story itself with effective symbolism and a view point of the justice system in relation to the attitude present in the narrative with the US against Mexico which is important when grouped with both Quinlan’s and Vargas’s locations which throughout is used to show opinions and views shared by both characters. The film is no doubt a great and should be held in high regard by keen noir viewers.