MovieChat Forums > Touch of Evil (1958) Discussion > The amount of research needed before wat...

The amount of research needed before watching old films is exhausting

posted 10 years ago by the_departed94
10 replies | jump to latest

I recently bought Touch of Evil on bluray and it comes with 2 discs, 3 different versions of the film and 2 different aspect ratios for each version. You have to read a booklet for half an hour to make sure you're watching the film the way it was originally intended, but then you find out the film is basically unfinished and there is no "definitive" version.

*Catches breath*

Why can't I stick a movie in and watch it? instead of doing homework and stuff first.

[–] wrlord2001 10 years ago

You don't have to do anything at all. What you get out of a film like this is directly proportional to what you put into it. If it's a chore, don't bother. Stick to the Fast and the Furious. No homework required.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Exactly.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hockeyhrs 9 years ago

All that "work" you put into reading the history of ToE has an upside: it gave you an appreciation of how hard it is to make a movie, and retain creative control of it in the face of venal, avaricious peckerwoods who run movie studios.

[–] Crystal (534) 6 years ago

Hmmm...three different versions. :)

[–] FilmBuff (7435) 6 years ago

I wonder which I saw? I guess the one that they show in theaters. Anyone know the difference between the three?

[–] Crystal (534) 6 years ago

I didn't even know there was three. Perhaps something online says?

[–] Crystal (534) 6 years ago

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052311/alternateversions

[–] FilmBuff (7435) 6 years ago

Thank you for that. I'm going to have to dig up the old theater calendar and see if I can figure out which version I saw. I think it was before 1998, so I probably haven't seen the Telluride cut.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8857) 6 years ago

Some more info on the film's background and the different versions, if you're interested:

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/12687%7C0/Touch-of-Evil.html