Favorite Film #33, 1958: Touch of Evil. Directed by Orson Welles

Orson Welles shot the film noir genre in the back, and left it for dead in a diseased, grimy alley. Touch of Evil is a work of magic, because I still have no idea how Welles and cinematographer Russell Metty were able to shoot this film. It doesn’t seem possible! This is the greatest cinematography in film history! Every up and coming cinematographer needs to worship at Russell Metty’s feet! He shoots black and white like an experimental technicolor film, with transitions so smooth they actually morph and transform! I didn’t even know that was possible! It’s like someone made an entire hand-drawn animation that looked CGI.

And the editing is absolutely relentless, yet completely effortless! Which combined with the experimental transitions, creates a feeling of incredible violence that’s far more unpleasant than if you actually saw anything. Especially one murder scene, which is one of the most disturbing moments in film history. It’s hard to believe this came out of the 1950’s. For once the Hays Code’s stupidly arbitrary rules made the imagery more upsetting! And I just love how deliciously nasty and cynical Touch of Evil is. It’s a movie where almost everyone thinks they’re the main character, but none of them are. With possibly the greatest performance in Orson Welles entire career, even compared to The Third Man. There’s a damn good reason every filmmaker worth their salt screams Touch of Evil’s name to anyone within earshot. Because it really is one of those one in a million masterpieces, that’s so revolutionary it’s completely impossible to replicate. The world is a better place to have people like Orson Welles.