"Criterion’s comprehensive edition of this long-undervalued film is a major DVD event, though it may not enlarge the film’s fan base. The problems, beyond a few incomprehensible plot points, include a dreadful lead performance by Nixon look-alike Robert Arden, who is surrounded by terrific actors in the margins (Akim Tamiroff, Michael Redgrave, Mischa Auer, Katina Paxinou), plus gorgeous Paola Mori; the result feels a bit like Hamlet without Hamlet. Then there is Welles’s wig and beard, evidently borrowed from a junior high school performance of Faust. Never mind: there are many, many unforgettable moments, and the plot is so good—detective as inadvertent Judas goat—that a fine, conventional film could still be made from the same material. Criterion includes the surprisingly good novel, which Welles variously took and denied credit for. In my hearing, he took credit."

"I found out about them from a friend in high school between my junior and senior year. He didn't know how to describe them except it sort of sounded like The Rolling Stones. I listened and I didn't hear that. It had that rootsiness to it maybe and that slight psychedelicness to it. I've listened to this album thousands of times but I don't have all of their records and I don't know what came before or after, but I do love this one. It's just a vibe the entire time. I remember being with that guy who told me about them on our way to high school one day. We were supposed to be at school at 8:30 in the morning and we met at 7:30 in the morning under some bridge to drink beer before we went to school. This is what we were listening to. I only did that once and it wasn't as fun as it sounded. But it was definitely a moment and it always stuck with me. It was a sunny day, cool out, probably a Thursday or Friday, long day of school ahead of us and we're kicking back drinking stolen beer in someone's car under bridge listing to The Perfect Prescription."