New TOUCH OF EVIL DVD set?

[Roger Ryan]

Mr. Schmidlin, was it Mr. Murch's idea to distort "Tana's Theme" and crossfade it into the main theme for the end credit sequence on the "restored" version?

I really love the effect! It perfectly compliments the idea of a past idyll being taken over by a corrupt modern age; a theme much-beloved by Welles.

[Rick Schmidlin]

[quote="Roger Ryan"]Mr. Schmidlin, was it Mr. Murch's idea to distort "Tana's Theme" and crossfade it into the main theme for the end credit sequence on the "restored" version?

Yes,

Best,

Rick

[Kane76]

(Rick) clued us in to the results of several projects he was speculating upon at the time: A GREED-like restoration of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, conversations with Warner Brothers, and a projected search in the film jungles of Rio for the lost . . . AMBERSONS.

Yes, please. I'd love to hear all about these projects. Rick does terrific work.

[Glenn Anders]

Dear kane76: My apologies that the promised Schmidlin/French interview transcript has not yet appeared. Toddy Baesen evidently pawned his Gutenberg #1440 computer, but Mr. French assures me that within the timeframe of Halloween, when Baesen has had his fill of Gimlets and/or Blood and Sands, the job will get done.

Some of Rick's answers to the questions specified may disappoint you, but his presentation will make up for it.

Well worth waiting for!

Glenn

[Skylark]

A nice analysis of the celebrated opening sequence -

http://sevencamels.blogspot.com/2008/11 ... -shot.html

[ZenKaneCity]

Hello,

I've been looking for a run-down of exactly which shots were included in the Theatrical version, but not the Preview. I know of the part where Heston returns after chasing the guy who threw acid at him, but what else was there?

Thanks much -

[ToddBaesen]

There is a detailed examination of the differences between the shots from the three versions of TOUCH OF EVIL right here on Wellesnet. If anyone at Universal had any smarts, they would have provided a link on the DVD, but as Welles found out, the people at Universal are not the best and the brightest. Apparently, that hasn't changed in the last 50 years!

http://www.wellesnet.com/touch_memo2.htm

[Roger Ryan]

The quick answer to your inquiry, "ZenKaneCity", is that the shot of Vargas talking with Menzies after the attempted acid attack is, indeed, the only footage included in the THEATRICAL cut that was not found in the PREVIEW version.

[ZenKaneCity]

The quick answer to your inquiry, "ZenKaneCity", is that the shot of Vargas talking with Menzies after the attempted acid attack is, indeed, the only footage included in the THEATRICAL cut that was not found in the PREVIEW version.

Yes, thanks, I guess the blurbs I've seen around citing the "extra footage" on the Theatrical version were a trifle exaggerated. It's funny, in that particular case, the extra footage does tie up a loose end in the narrative. But the Preview version, that lingers on the shot of Menzies in front of the poster until he starts offscreen, and then cuts to the strip club, is a really beautiful transition, WHOEVER did it...Pick your poison, I guess...

[Tony]

Some interesting screen comparisons here, and lots of opinions on the new TOE box set. The comparison is between the original release version taped off an Italian TV station in the 70s, and the original release version as it is presented in the new box set. It's all about screen ratios, borders, etc:

http://www.davekehr.com/?p=127

[ZenKaneCity]

I was all set to be a curmudgeon and hate the widescreen version, but after a few viewings, I find myself appreciating some aspects of the visual compositions I never noticed before.

Has any tech-savvy type tried doing a mock-up of what some of these disputed screen shots would look like in 1.66? Just curious...

[Alan Brody]

I've recently finished reading Remembering Orson Welles by Peter Tonguette, an overpriced but entertaining book containing interviews with people who worked with Welles in various capacities. In the interview with Gary Graver, he makes the interesting claim that Welles liked both 1.66 and 1.85. It was 2.35 that he thought was good only for "parades and snakes". I still prefer the full-frame Touch of Evil, but I have to admit that Graver's claim, if true, would give more weight to the arguement of the widescreen TOE advocates. Maybe I'll have to give the new DVD set a look.

BTW, thanks for that Dave Kehr blog. That's an excellent discussion.

[ToddBaesen]

The Berkeley Daily Planet has a nice piece that sums up Welles three versions of TOUCH OF EVIL and also goes into the lamentable release of DON QUIXOTE on DVD.

http://tiny.cc/TNzno

[NoFake]

Thanks for the link, Todd! Good article. The only major goof I see is where he writes:

To finally be able to see all three side by side, to compare the repercussions of every edit and adjustment, is a gift for Welles fans. Hopefully similar releases will follow, with multiple versions of his landmark works: Hamlet and Othello, both before and after their soundtracks were altered;

To be or not to be... Hamlet? Methinks not.

[Terry]

Finally got around to picking up the new set. Very very impressive. The old Reconstructing Evil documentary is there, renamed and broken into two parts (haven't checked if anything was added or deleted,) and the four commentaries and reproduction of Welles' memo are a great treat. As with Criterion's Arkadin before it, this should be the standard for releasing Welles films (and God knows there are enough alternate cuts of some of them.)

I was greatly thankful for the upgrade in video and audio quality over the 2000 DVD release. The 2008 audio has a little less hiss, not a big change there but appreciable to an audiophile whose headphones have become part of his skull, and the big and welcome difference is in the video quality:

2000 DVD



2008 DVD



I too have grown to like the widescreen version, and the fullframe does have an awful lot of space (and booms) above people's heads at times. Here's that shot in fullscreen:



Remember the days of shouting "focus!" up at the projection booth?

Here's hoping the Greed DVD is as nicely done and includes that great old documentary with Stroheim's son saying the reconstruction looked just like his father would have done originally.


Terry