Touch of Evil Analysis

Touch of Evil was clearly written and directed by Orson Welles.  The film had all of the aspects that Welles incorporates into his famous films.  Just like Citizen Kane, there are plenty of low key lit shots, deep field of view, crafty camera work and intriguing editing making the movie an engaging mystery with a formidable plot.  The shots contained the dark and mysterious lighting that is typical of film noire, however, consisted of many deep field of view shots that gave the movie the Welles signature.  One scene I was very fond of was the opening crane shot that was a single take introducing the audience to the Mexican-American border town and the main couple.  It displayed the amount of time and skill that Welles put into each of his movies.  The plot was intriguing, as most mysteries, with a climactic ending that left me thinking.  However, one aspect of the film that I did not enjoy was the continuous interruption and drowning of other characters voices and lines.  There were scenes that seemed to be so jumbled with lines and sounds that it was hard to follow.  Overall, as Professor Hammond said, after 17 years away from Hollywood, Welles still had the touch for the art of movie making.