TURN-ONS AND TURN-OFFS IN CURRENT HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASES : ExcellentGoodFairPoor : VIDEOCASSETTES

“Touch of Evil.” MCA. $29.95. Shot largely at night in Venice, Calif., this 1958 Orson Welles film’s crazy events revolve around an investigation of a car-bombing in a U.S.-Mexico border town. While drawing a dark portrait of corruption, Welles also treats each remarkably staged scene as a playground for his unique humor. Though noted for its seaminess, “Touch of Evil” is as much a comedy as a tragedy, albeit a peculiar and increasingly black one. This is the 108-minute version (15 minutes longer than one sometimes seen on TV) and among its pleasures are superb cinematography (Russell Metty), entrancing mood, odd cameos and intense performances from Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Akim Tamiroff and Joseph Calleia--and wait’ll you see Dennis Weaver as a “Psycho”-foreshadowing motel manager. Information: (818) 777-4315.