Extra Credit: Touch of Evil

            I have say, the entire time watching Touch of Evil, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Orson Welles’s other film, Citizen Kane.  I could see this in the use of highly contrasting darks and lights within the shots as well as the complex scenes.  The scene that will always leave my jaw dropped in complete awe is the opening sequence.  It is truly fascinating to see how that entire 3 minute sequence was all done in one shot.  I also love the smoothness of the crane as it flawlessly follows the various actors down the streets, around corners, and over buildings.  I can only imagine how many times the actors had to rehearse and shoot that scene before getting everything completely correct.  This is especially interesting to think about since there were a whole slew of props that had to be used and choreographed as well, such as all of the cars and even the goats in the street.  I also want to point out that even though I love Charlton Heston as an actor, I could only laugh at how he failed (in my opinion at least) at pretending to be from Mexico.  He didn’t even speak with the slightest accent and his actual Spanish was horrendous!!  Overall, I highly enjoyed the film and I am truly thankful that I had the chance to watch another film directed by the genius we know today as Orson Welles.