The_Film_That_Changed_My_Life

266 Frank Oz
How would you describe Touch of Evil to someone who has never
seen it?
Oz: It’s about the dissolution of a decent man, Quinlan (played by Orson
Welles), who was not a bad cop, not a bad guy when he was young. It stars
Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich, Dennis Weaver . . .
Essentially it’s about two detectives, one American, which is Welles,
and one Mexican, which is Heston. They’re warring over a case in
which Quinlan frames a young kid. And Janet Leigh has bad luck in yet
another hotel room. [laughs]
Oz: Exactly. It’s amazing seeing that thing; it looks so much like the Bates
Motel. That’s striking to me.
So tell me about the first time you saw the film.
Oz: I don’t remember the first time I saw it. All I remember is every time I
look at it I am never ever bored with this thing. I always find new things that
Welles did. I don’t remember the first time that I saw it. Isn’t that funny?
You must have seen the original cut.
Oz: Yes, I did.
Tell me your initial reaction to it. Tell me about why it stayed with you
so long.
Oz: Well, I think it stayed with me so long because of the wonderful emotional
history between Marlene Dietrich, who plays a madam, and Quinlan.
I think that’s very strong and what could’ve been between the two of them.
I think that emotional core is very strong to me. It’s not about Janet Leigh
and Charlton Heston. It really is about when they were younger. Also, of
course, just what he’s done. From the blocking to the lighting, to the depths,
creating your own close-ups, going off with these long scenes, the overlapping
dialogue, the dark and light values, all the upshots, rarely at an eye-line.
Every time I look at it, everything is just amazing to me.
Let’s back up and I’ll just start it off here: Charlton Heston as a Mexican.
[laughs]