Post by klep on Aug 20, 2018 6:39:58 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/20: Touch of Evil
1950s WEEK!
Touch of Evil starts with one of the most famous tracking shots in film history - a 3-minute sequence following a car slowly through a Mexican border town with a bomb ticking in its trunk. It's an incredible sequence, not only because of the complexity of following a car through a city set that you need to look authentically busy, but also because of what director Orson Welles does with it. Once the clock is set, he never reminds us of it - never gives us an indication of how much time has passed. And he lets the car pass in and out of the frame, so there are a number of moments where you aren't sure exactly where it is. The effect is to heighten the tension - you forget how long it's been, and fret constantly for our protagonists (Janet Leigh as Susan Vargas and regrettably Charlton Heston as Mike Vargas) who are also introduced in this shot as pedestrians. You know the bomb is going to explode, but who is it going to take with it?
I've read that Peter Bogdanovich told Welles it took him more than one viewing to notice Touch of Evil's story, because he was so busy admiring the direction. It's easy to understand that sentiment, because that outstanding opening shot is hardly the only great moment - it's not even the only great long take. A couple shots in particular that I love are the ones groups of characters going up and down stairs - which of the characters get to use the elevator highlights the characters' relationships with each other and those left outside - and the careful camera movements in the final sequence are also stunning. While color photography was common by this time, Welles choice to stick to black and white was perfect - a noir like this almost requires the stark contrasts, and it also had the side benefit of helping to obscure the awfulness of the studio-mandated use of Charlton Heston in brownface.
Which isn't to say the story isn't also excellent. Exploring border town corruption, Heston, Welles, and Leigh give us a tale of a good man trying to do the right thing the right way and the obstacles put in his way - whether criminals or cops gone too far down the rabbit hole to tell the difference. Welles in particular is brilliant as a cop corrupted over time by the slow moral decay of a man who is willing to cross the line to get his man. Marlene Dietrich's fortune teller Tana (one of her last roles) is a small part, but she manages to imbue it with decades of history and weight. My only real complaint is that Leigh's character is basically in the movie only to be put in peril. She's brilliant with what she's given, deftly making Susan Vargas an intelligent and perceptive woman not blinded by the assurances of the men around her, but ultimately she could reasonably effectively be replaced by a sexy lamp for all of the agency she's given.
Despite the sharp, clear contrasts of the black and white cinematography, Touch of Evil is seedy as all hell. More than just touched, it's practically dripping with evil and menace as Mike Vargas works to set things right. But while Heston performs admirably as the hero, it's Welles both behind the camera and as the villain in front of it who makes it the deliciously sick movie that it is. It's truly tragic Welles didn't get the credit he deserved when he was making films like this - with this film it was decades before we could see it in a form even approaching what Welles had envisioned. But he plugged on at his craft despite all the meddling from studios and the struggles to find funding - continuing to try and make the movies he saw in his head. Fortunately, posterity has recognized his genius and the restored Touch of Evil is one of its best attempts to make amends.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/27: Tampopo
ASIAN FILM WEEK!
Sure ramen is how you didn't starve in college, but did you know it's also at the center of a masterpiece of cinema? Join us next week as we tackle Tampopo! Tampopo is available for streaming on Filmstruck's Criterion channel.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/21: Jaws
Next week the podcast kicks off a pair of episodes about going in the water and the safety (or lack) thereof. join us Wednesday for a discussion of the quintessential shark movie, Stephen Spielberg's Jaws. Jaws is available for rent on Amazon Video, where it is free for Prime members.
1950s WEEK!
Touch of Evil starts with one of the most famous tracking shots in film history - a 3-minute sequence following a car slowly through a Mexican border town with a bomb ticking in its trunk. It's an incredible sequence, not only because of the complexity of following a car through a city set that you need to look authentically busy, but also because of what director Orson Welles does with it. Once the clock is set, he never reminds us of it - never gives us an indication of how much time has passed. And he lets the car pass in and out of the frame, so there are a number of moments where you aren't sure exactly where it is. The effect is to heighten the tension - you forget how long it's been, and fret constantly for our protagonists (Janet Leigh as Susan Vargas and regrettably Charlton Heston as Mike Vargas) who are also introduced in this shot as pedestrians. You know the bomb is going to explode, but who is it going to take with it?
I've read that Peter Bogdanovich told Welles it took him more than one viewing to notice Touch of Evil's story, because he was so busy admiring the direction. It's easy to understand that sentiment, because that outstanding opening shot is hardly the only great moment - it's not even the only great long take. A couple shots in particular that I love are the ones groups of characters going up and down stairs - which of the characters get to use the elevator highlights the characters' relationships with each other and those left outside - and the careful camera movements in the final sequence are also stunning. While color photography was common by this time, Welles choice to stick to black and white was perfect - a noir like this almost requires the stark contrasts, and it also had the side benefit of helping to obscure the awfulness of the studio-mandated use of Charlton Heston in brownface.
Which isn't to say the story isn't also excellent. Exploring border town corruption, Heston, Welles, and Leigh give us a tale of a good man trying to do the right thing the right way and the obstacles put in his way - whether criminals or cops gone too far down the rabbit hole to tell the difference. Welles in particular is brilliant as a cop corrupted over time by the slow moral decay of a man who is willing to cross the line to get his man. Marlene Dietrich's fortune teller Tana (one of her last roles) is a small part, but she manages to imbue it with decades of history and weight. My only real complaint is that Leigh's character is basically in the movie only to be put in peril. She's brilliant with what she's given, deftly making Susan Vargas an intelligent and perceptive woman not blinded by the assurances of the men around her, but ultimately she could reasonably effectively be replaced by a sexy lamp for all of the agency she's given.
Despite the sharp, clear contrasts of the black and white cinematography, Touch of Evil is seedy as all hell. More than just touched, it's practically dripping with evil and menace as Mike Vargas works to set things right. But while Heston performs admirably as the hero, it's Welles both behind the camera and as the villain in front of it who makes it the deliciously sick movie that it is. It's truly tragic Welles didn't get the credit he deserved when he was making films like this - with this film it was decades before we could see it in a form even approaching what Welles had envisioned. But he plugged on at his craft despite all the meddling from studios and the struggles to find funding - continuing to try and make the movies he saw in his head. Fortunately, posterity has recognized his genius and the restored Touch of Evil is one of its best attempts to make amends.
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 8/27: Tampopo
ASIAN FILM WEEK!
Sure ramen is how you didn't starve in college, but did you know it's also at the center of a masterpiece of cinema? Join us next week as we tackle Tampopo! Tampopo is available for streaming on Filmstruck's Criterion channel.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 8/21: Jaws
Next week the podcast kicks off a pair of episodes about going in the water and the safety (or lack) thereof. join us Wednesday for a discussion of the quintessential shark movie, Stephen Spielberg's Jaws. Jaws is available for rent on Amazon Video, where it is free for Prime members.