Like so many of his films, Orson Welles' 1958 thriller Touch of Evil had
a troubled history. Originally released in a butchered 95 minute version,
a restored director's cut was finally made available in 1998.
The film sees Charlton Heston play a Mexican cop investigating the car
bomb killing of a businessman at the US/Mexico border. His work is
hindered by a corrupt American cop (Welles), while his wife (Janet Leigh)
is kidnapped by a gangster with a grudge.
Courtesy of Eureka Entertainment, Touch of Evil makes its UK Ultra HD bluray debut on September 25th.
Special features include all three versions of the film; four audio commentaries, featuring: restoration producer Rick Schmidlin
(reconstructed version), actors Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh, with
Schmidlin (reconstructed version), critic F. X. Feeney (theatrical
version) and Welles scholars James Naremore and Jonathan Rosenbaum
(preview version); new video interviews with critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet, critic Tim Robey and author and critic Kim Newman; two video pieces, featuring interviews with cast and crew, as well as
critics and admirers; original trailer; and a 100-page book featuring writings by Orson Welles, François Truffaut, André Bazin, and
Terry Comito, interview excerpts with Welles, a timeline of the film's
history; two new essays by critic Richard Combs and rare stills and
imagery.
Check out Eureka's new trailer and artwork below.
The official synopsis reads:
Charlton Heston portrays Mike Vargas, the Mexican chief of narcotics who sets out to uncover the facts surrounding a car bomb that has killed a wealthy American businessman on the US side of the border. As Vargas investigates, his newly-wed wife Susie (Janet Leigh, two years before Hitchcock’s Psycho) is kidnapped by a gang out to exact vengeance for the prosecution of the brother of their leader (Akim Tamiroff). Meanwhile, Vargas’ enquiries become progressively more obfuscated by the American cop Hank Quinlan (played by Welles himself, in one of the most imposing and unforgettable screen performances of his career), a besotted incarnation of corruption who alternately conspires with Susie’s captors and seeks solace in the brothel of the Gypsy madame (Marlene Dietrich) who comforted him in bygone times.
