Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play Orson Welles&s TOUCH OF EVIL is nothing short of a masterpiece Beginning with a three-minute-plus tracking crane shot the film explodes onto the screen literally the marvelously expressive opening shot ends with a car blowing up & that detonation sets into motion a classic noir tale of betrayal & murder In a complex exploration of character & morality Welles plays the racist Captain Hank Quinlan a grotesque troubled & powerful figure who runs his small US border town according to his own version of the law Quinlan&s brutishness & vulgarity contrast starkly with the idealism & playboy good looks of Charlton Heston as Mike Vargas a Mexican detective trying to put away the leader of a dangerous family of drug dealers the Grandis In the US with his new bride Susie (Janet Leigh) Vargas becomes consumed with exposing Quinlan & his highly questionable methods too busy to see that his own beautiful blonde bride is in serious danger from both Quinlan & the Grandis In 1998 Welles&s film was restored closer to its creator&s original vision & it is a joy to behold Every shot is impeccably crafted every word of dialogue concise & pointed The camerawork (by Russell Metty & John Russell) is stunning particularly in the opening scene & the long single take in which Vargas believes he has caught Quinlan planting evidence The supporting cast led by Marlene Dietrich Dennis Weaver Akim Tamiroff & Joseph Calleia gives exhilarating performances TOUCH OF EVIL Welles&s last studio film is a near-perfect examination of the dark underbelly of society & the tragic downfall of a once proud man