Region 1 - NTSC

Universal Studios (US)

Region 1 - NTSC

Masters of Cinema - Spine #  25

Region 'B' -  Blu-ray

1958 theatrical version 1:35:22.633 and Preview version: 1:48:59.783

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 7.35 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 4.71 mb/s
NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s

1.85:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 8.68 mb/s
PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s

Disc Size: 49,807,775,303 bytes

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Universal Studios (50th Anniverssary)

Universal Studios (US)

Universal Studios (UK)

English, DUBS: French, German, Italian, Spanish (Dolby Digital Mono 2.0)

58-page memo from Welles to the Studio

DVD Release Date: October 7th, 2008
Keep Case

Chapters 18

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterboxed - 1.85:1

Edition Details:
• Welles' Memo
• Theatrical Trailer
• Production Notes
• Cast and Filmmakers

DVD Release Date: October 31st, 2000
Keep Case

Chapters 19

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen letterboxed - 1.85:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical Trailer
 

Chapters 21

Disc Size: 49,807,775,303 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Edition Details:
• New high-definition masters of five variants of the film: the 1958 Theatrical Version in both 1.37:1 and 1.85:1, the 1958 Preview Version in 1.85:1, and the 1998 Reconstructed Version in 1.37:1 and 1.85:1

• 4 x audio commentaries, featuring: restoration producer Rick Schmidlin; actors Charlton Heston & Janet Leigh, with Schmidlin; critic F. X. Feeney; and Welles scholars James Naremore & Jonathan Rosenbaum

• The original theatrical trailer, which includes alternate footage

• Bringing Evil to Life + Evil Lost and Found – two video pieces [21:00 + 17:06]

• A 56-page booklet featuring essays by Orson Welles, François Truffaut, André Bazin, and Terry Comito; interview excerpts with Welles; a timeline of the film’s history; and extensive notes on the film’s versions and ratios

58-page memo from Welles to the Studio

Blu-ray Release Date: November 14th, 2011

Chapters 1998 Recon - 22 / 1958 - 21

ADDITION: Masters of Cinema - Region 'B' - Blu-ray - (October 2011) - Quite a phenomenal package from The Masters of Cinema. This is 2 dual-layered Blu-ray discs - the first has the 1 hour 51-minute long 1998 Reconstructions of Touch of Evil offered in both 1.85:1 and 1:37 aspect ratios. The widescreen version has a 2008 recorded optional commentary by the restoration producer, Rick Schmidlin. The "full-frame" version has the 1999 recorded optional commentary with Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh and Mr. Schmidlin. Sharing that disc are the two video extras; Bringing Evil to Life [21:00] and Evil Lost and Found [17:06] as well as a theatrical trailer (which includes alternate footage) - all three video extras in 480i.

Okay - disc 2 has the 1 hour-35-minute 1959 Theatrical version of Touch of Evil offered in both 1.85:1 and 1:37:1 aspect ratios.  There is also the 'Preview Version' in widescreen. The Theatrical Versions offer an optional, duplicated, commentary by critic F. X. Feeney (2008) and the 1 hour-48-minute 1.85:1 'Preview Version' has a commentary by Welles scholars James Naremore & Jonathan Rosenbaum (rated the BEST commentary of the Year HERE).

All commentaries and digital extras are found on the 2008 50th Anniversary DVD from Universal. So we get the theatrical in the optional 1.37:1 and the image and audio in HD and a magnificent 56-page booklet featuring essays by Orson Welles, François Truffaut, André Bazin, and Terry Comito; interview excerpts with Welles; a timeline of the film’s history; and extensive notes on the film’s versions and ratios.

The image is a darn-sight better than the SD versions - in just about every visual category. There is more detail visible as contrast, a function of sharpness, is crisper (far less muddy). The widescreen the 'scope' factor is far more defined and it's a pleasure to see the 1080P has infused some depth into the presentation. The static captures probably aren't doing the transfer justice as in-motion it is impressive. Touch of Evil has a lot of darkness and the HD handles it more adroitly with less noise and no undue digital artefacts. Black levels were strong on the 50th Anniversary DVD - but even here I can see a smidgeon of superiority via the Blu-ray rendering. We are talking over 3X the bitrate of the Anniversary SD edition(s) but, honestly, it seems like more. The 1:37 hi-def reconstruction may be even more detailed than the widescreen - we see this phenomenon frequently and I can't really tell if it is just an illusion. The Theatrical and Preview versions may be a small notch below the reconstructions in image quality but I wouldn't say it's significant enough to make issue. Overall we give an enthusiastic thumbs up for the new format editions and can't see any form of digital manipulation - we presume that any weakness would exist on the source. These transfers are clean and fans should be immensely pleased with the more film-like appearance.      

Audio pushes through via a DTS-HD Master stereo 2.0 channel at 727 kbps and although not thunderously deep - it does support the film with the flaw-free lossless transfer, that we believe, is the most accurate version of the sound of the film for a home theater viewing. Masters of Cinema have graciously added optional English subtitles to all 5 HD presentations.

Well, this is it the complete package for the Touch of Evil - a digital Omnibus of appreciation. I really enjoyed revisiting the commentaries (especially Rosenbaum/Naremore) as they only help bolster my understanding of the complete story of the film's production. The included book by MoC is at their usual impressive high standard. This has taken the already-essential and complete DVD sets and improved it - making it one of the more important Blu-rays of the entire year. Very strongly recommended!    

***

ADDITION: 50th Anniversary - October 8th: This new release contains the 1 hour 51 minute (Restored Version) on Disc 1 an both the 1 hour 36 minute (Theatrical Version), and the 1 hour 49 minute (Preview Version) on Disc 2.

This transfer is modestly improved over the previous SD-DVDs - with noticeably more detail and the contrast is improved with much superior black levels. Even the 2 other editions, shared on the second dual-layered disc, seem to have excelled transfers as compared to the older editions (see comparison captures below of Marlene Dietrich).

I, personally, didn't notice an improvement with the audio (which was reasonably fine) and English, Spanish or French subtitles are still offered.

The huge additions include the 4 commentaries and the complete 'Theatrical' and 'Preview' versions of the film. It is great to hear the plethora of Welles info and the history of the film which extends to a bizarre and miraculous microcosm of the Hollywood system and the perseverance of artistic freedom. It's great to hear Jonathan Rosenbaum whom I could listen to all day. These commentarists have given much of their lives to knowledge of Orson Welles and obviously respect for his achievements. Truly one could drown in these discussions that, essentially, garner vast appreciation for the creation of the film. The first disc also has two relevant featurettes that total about 40 minutes. The original memo from Welles to the studio is included in the package. great reading!

We most whole-heartedly recommend - especially to students of film and Orson Welles. This remains an important, dark entry in cinema history.

Gary Tooze

***

ON THE ORIGINAL SD-DVDS: I think the image quality of these two releases is quite similar. The region 2/4/5 DVD has audio language options and offers subtitles in multiple languages, which could be useful for many people. The Region 1 DVD has more extras, but all of them are text-based.

 - Pavel Borodin