Generally considered as the ultimate Film Noir (and the last film of the genre), TOUCH OF Immoral is certainly one of the most macabre, bizarre poignant films ever produced in Hollywood. The director Orson Welles is of course the man who made CITIZEN CANE, but many Welles affectionados such as Peter Bogdanovich actually assume TOUCH OF Snide better than KANE; as a matter of fact the best film Welles has ever directed.
Welles’ bravula mise en scene, with the assist of Russel Metty’s startling black-and-white lighting and blooming camera movement, transform Venice, California into a chaotic frontier town between the US and Mexico. Charlton Heston, often refereed to as the most wooden actor in American cinema, gives a performance of his life as a Mexican cop. His casting may sound droll, but please forget that it’s the same guy who played BEN HUR and Moses in the TEN COMMANDMENTS watching this movie then his highly energetic, rather over-the-top performance is actually convincing, especially as opposed to Welles’ deliciously vicious portrayal of a corrupted American cop. It was actually Heston who suggested Universal that Welles would not only act in this film but also express it, so you should give him some credit. Janet Leigh plays Heston’s all-American wife “from Philadelphia”, and is also quite worthy in the plan she turns out to be something else that we first reflect she is. With Hitchcock’s PSYCHO and Anthony Mann’s THE NAKED SPUR, this is probably her best performance. Metty’s contrasty black-and-white photography also makes her very delicate. She looks always better in blacho and white than in color, don’t you believe so?
This unorthodox casting works, because the film is a bigger than life caricature. It is often unbelievably droll indeed, which makes the viewer unconfortable because the thematic matter treated in this film is certainly not a comic one. Of course that was Welles’ method, to challenge and provoke the audience. The comely supporting cast including Welles’ celebrated actors Ray Collins and Joe Cotten (from the Mercury Theatre and CITIZEN KANE) and Akim Tamirof hightens the caricature nature of the film. Joseph Caleia who plays Welles’ side-kick proves to be a excellent actor, one of the best performance in the entire Welles filmography (that is, from another actor than Orson himself) . The gloomy hummour of the film reaches one of the darkest, poignant criticism about justice and how the conception is executed in reality. How great is it allowed for a police officer to finish justice, what is the thin line between justice and the abuse of justice that leads to fascism and a police site? This significant inquire of in our unique society is the theme Welles attacks in this film. But as in most of Welles immense achievments, the political/social concerns turns out to be only one aspect of the account. It also becomes deeply deeply emotional in the plan it becomes a personal true conflict as well.
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There stale to be two versions of the film. The one hour and a half theatrical released version and the nearly two hours restored version. Though the longer version includes shots that were not done by Welles and Metty, the anecdote is more comprehensible and Welles often proclaimed that he preferred the longer one (it was Universal who made the retakes and made the longer version, and why they did not released this one is a great mystery) . But in the early 90’s, a memo by Welles suggesting re-editing the 110 minutes version was discovered. So this so-called newly restored version (which should be called a re-construction since this version never existed; a expansive injustice that Welles was not allowed to touch the footage he himself had directed) was made, which is now on this DVD; with a comely digital wide-screen transfer that captures the deep blacks, menacing shadows and radiant whites of Russel Metty’s cinematography.
The heaviest changes are made on the sequence that you might have imagined no re-editing could be done; the noted 3 minutes long consume which opens the film. This newly reconstructed version (and Welles’ memo reproduced as a supplement of this DVD) confirms one vital aspect of Welles’ works that he was almost obsessive about, but few critics have been noticing; his halt attention in the expend of sound. You can also witness his obbsession about making a film that sound distinctively different from passe movies by listening to the audio commenatary by Bogdanovich on THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI-DVD (and reading the vast book of Welles-Bogdanovich interview edited by Jonathan Rosenbaum THIS IS ORSON WELLES; check the amazon.com bookstore!) .
Some TOUCH OF Execrable fanatics may regret that the distinguished Henry Manicini’s opening theme music is now gone, but one has to admit that in the procedure Welles envisioned, the opening long rob becomes far more noteworthy. As a stylish echnical tour-de-force as it is, the opening shot has now an almost documentary feeling about it, so immediate and raw, which obviously must have been the touch that Welles intended in this characterize.
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Though there are not too many distinct changes made in what you stare from the dilapidated restored version (except that most of the explanatory re-takes done by Harry Keller are mostly gone now), what you hear is very different and the atmosphere you score from the entire film is now something else. The film that feeble to be concerned as the ultimate example of Welles stylism has now became a huge example of Welles’ realism. His “realism” is something different from Rossellini’s realism or Ken Loach realism. I would venture to say it’s closer to something like Scorsese realism or Oliver Stone realism (if Orson were alive today, he ceratinly would have worked with Robert Richardson as his DP), and this incredible realistic feeling you glean from the unique TOUCH OF Imperfect will certainly blow your mind away, even to those whom who have seen the movie for more than 20 times.
Yes, “Touch of Substandard” is definately a classic.
A couple of words about the aspect ratio as well as the various versions of the film that are available.
TOE was originally released at 1.33:1 — it was never filmed as a widescreen movie.
There are three versions of the film floating around on video. The first was the theatrical release version that was edited without Welles’ approval. It includes some sequences shot by other individuals at Universal to construct the anecdote easier to understand. This was the only version available up through the mid-80’s.
Around 1985, Universal attempted a restoration edit of the film that was closer to Welle’s plan. Released to art house theatres and on video, this is the commonly available version found on home video from Universal. The restoration did have its detractors — the restoration, in addition to putting wait on more material intended for the film by Welles, also set in more of the material shot by the studio without Welle’s permission.
The third version, and probably the closest to Welles’ intent, was released in 1999. In this case, recent memos from Welles were customary to re-edit the existing material and to eliminate the material not shot by Welles. The film also includes the fabulous opening sequence of the film without the opening titles superimposed — the credits are seen at the destroy of the film. Also, the parallel stories in the film are more closely intertwined in the editing throughout the entire film. (In the current and first restoration, the state lines are developed in a more frail fashion.) This is the version due to be released on DVD.
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