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Touch of Evil (1958) https://letterboxd.com/smudgeefc1985...touch-of-evil/
I read after watching this that it was cut and edited by the studio without director Orson Welles' input, and I think you can definitely tell. All round, there is so much right going on here. The camera angles and lighting are fantastic, creating a dark and dirty mood throughout. The performances are excellent, (even with Charlton Heston playing a Mexican?) Welles himself being the obvious standout as cop Hank Quinlan, so hulking and filthy, you can almost smell the sweat. The passive aggressive racism between the Americans and Mexicans is palpable, more so as the tension grows.
The only real downside...is the plot. Its not so much the plot itself, and it isnt that confusing, just the way it's put together makes it almost confuse itself. It would be interesting to watch the 1998 re-edit and see how it compares, as there is so much here that's good, and so much potential. It just slightly misses the mark.
I read after watching this that it was cut and edited by the studio without director Orson Welles' input, and I think you can definitely tell. All round, there is so much right going on here. The camera angles and lighting are fantastic, creating a dark and dirty mood throughout. The performances are excellent, (even with Charlton Heston playing a Mexican?) Welles himself being the obvious standout as cop Hank Quinlan, so hulking and filthy, you can almost smell the sweat. The passive aggressive racism between the Americans and Mexicans is palpable, more so as the tension grows.
The only real downside...is the plot. Its not so much the plot itself, and it isnt that confusing, just the way it's put together makes it almost confuse itself. It would be interesting to watch the 1998 re-edit and see how it compares, as there is so much here that's good, and so much potential. It just slightly misses the mark.