Critic Reviews
99
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
positive
23(96%)
mixed
1(4%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 24 Critic Reviews
100
The film has always been a favorite of those who enjoy visual and dramatic flamboyance.
100
Brilliant.
100
A masterclass in tension, visual panache and B-movie excess.
100
Astonishing cinematography and brilliantly played, this certainly one of the most influential crime movies in history.
100
Touch of Evil proceeds with one of the most celebrated long-takes in screen history. The sequence is a marvel of technical virtuosity and staged action. From the very start, Orson Welles’s grubby and sweaty noir classic has us in its grip with a gloriously devised piece of showmanship emblematic of the director’s audaciously talented spirit.
100
Eternal damnation to the wretch at Universal who printed the opening titles over the most brilliant establishing shot in film history—a shot that establishes not only place and main characters in its continuous movement over several city blocks, but also the film's theme (crossing boundaries), spatial metaphors, and peculiar bolero rhythm.
100
Welles manages to wring engaging performances out of all of his actors, but what's most impressive about the film is the way in which the director makes use of every corner of the screen with deliberate precision.
100
This nightmarish descent into dark entertainment has so much weirdness going on it's amazing.
100
No amount of repeated viewings can dull the edge of its sinister ambience or soften the visual excitement Welles brought to this quintessentially cinematic film. [Director's Cut]
100
A film noir great... Just to see and hear the extraordinary 3 minute and 20 second opening sequence — a fluid tour de force tracking shot — without impediment of opening credits and street-sound-masking movie score is accomplishment enough.
