Since today is Orson Welles’s birthday, I wanted to share at least one scene that I love from his films.  The famous tracking shot from 1958’s Touch of Evil, which begins in America and ends in Mexico, truly shows Orson Welles at his visionary best.

It’s also Welles at his most clever.  Knowing that he wouldn’t be given control over the editing of the footage he shot, Welles included as many long shots as possible to make it more difficult for an editor to chop up or alter his vision.