The Third Man (1949)

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The Third Man (1949)
Topic Started: Aug 13 2008, 07:55 PM (285 Views)
Laughing Gravy	Aug 13 2008, 07:55 PM Post #1
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	An alcoholic pulp-western writer (Joseph Cotten) has been invited to postwar Vienna by his old pal Harry Lime, only he gets there as they're puttin' Harry in the ground, courtesy of a losing encounter with a truck. Only the story doesn't set right with the writer, see, and he soon becomes smitten both with Harry's ex-mistress and the mystery of Harry's death: Harry's friends swear that two men carried him from the accident to the side of the street where he died, but an eyewitness is quite certain that there was an unknown third man present. And the cops are certain that Harry was up to no good. If you haven't seen it, get th' hell out of this website and go watch it. It's one of the greatest movies I've ever seen, moody and beautiful with an outrageously unforgettable zither score. Yes, I said zither, and I meant zither. The cast is excellent, wait'll you see Orson Welles' entrance, and Bernard "M" Lee is terrific as a soldier, as is Trevor Howard as his superior and... Well, sheesh. It's just a perfect movie, written by Graham Greene and directed by Carol Reed. Fe films are better.



Ignatz Ratzkywatzky	Aug 14 2008, 06:36 PM Post #2
Charter Member Posts: 748 Group: Members Member #28 Joined: September 5, 2005	THE THIRD MAN is one of the few films that gets better every time I see it. It would easily rank in my top ten, and it would rank higher for me than any of the films that Orson directed (and I love Orson's films).
	Read reviews, news, and features from the world of soused cinema at "Booze Movies: The 100 Proof Film Guide." http://boozemovies.com/


Black Tiger	Aug 14 2008, 06:58 PM Post #3
Charter Member Posts: 1,812 Group: Members Member #50 Joined: September 15, 2005	Have to agree with mostly everything said so far. A great movie. Welles at the peak of his powers as an actor.



Chandu	Aug 27 2008, 10:14 AM Post #4
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,240 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	TCM was cooperative enough to show this last Friday, so after all the accolades here, I recorded it and watched it last night. Being a newbie and not a dedicated movie fan of many years as are most of you, I was disappointed to discover I still had a long way to go to discern truly great films. I found it to be a good film, yes, by all means, but certaily not one of the best ever made IMO, even though Robert Osbourne echoed what's been said here. The zither score simply drove me up the wall and largely only served to irritate me and distract me from the movie itself. I guess there's no accountin' for tastes. :rolleyes:
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


riddlerider	Aug 27 2008, 12:01 PM Post #5
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 795 Group: Members Member #68 Joined: November 26, 2005	For what it's worth, Chandu, THIRD MAN grows on you. The first time I saw it I had the same reaction, but I enjoyed it a great deal more the second time. I felt the same way about TOUCH OF EVIL, which I initially pegged as a "B" movie shot with "A"-list stars and a wide-angle lens. I've since come to appreciate that one more as well.



Chandu	Aug 27 2008, 12:44 PM Post #6
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,240 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	Thanks for the encouragement, rr. Mebbe there's hope for me yet!
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


panzer the great & terrible	Oct 19 2008, 12:10 PM Post #7
Mouth Breather Posts: 10,297 Group: Members Member #13 Joined: September 3, 2005	I've always thought it was overrated too. Those tilted camera angles are so obvious -- they get on my nerves after a while. I do love the ferris wheel scene though. People have opined that Welles directed it, and I suspect he may have, because the camerawork is entirely different from the rest of the movie (no tilted camera, no meaningless cuts, no shadowy lighting -- just a single, sunny take). Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Nov 11 2009, 06:58 AM.
	We Wear Short Shorts Flying Purple People Eater


Frank Hale	Oct 19 2008, 12:59 PM Post #8
Balcony Gang, Foist Class Posts: 828 Group: Members Member #59 Joined: October 6, 2005	Not a film I care to revisit repeatedly, but one with a number of scenes that obviously work extremely well. Part of the problem is that the �hero�, the Joseph Cotton character, is basically a schlemiel. (Alida Valli is dynamite, as always.) Equally obviously, a lot of people think it�s first-rate, and Criterion is, I believe, putting it at the top of the list for Blu-Ray treatment. I've never thought of Orson as a good actor. Good director and fabulous film innovator, maybe, but as Harry Lime he, as usual, carves rich slices of ham. In this film and in that role, it just happens to work. (Same for the Harry Lime radio series.) From a film-making standpoint, I believe my favorite scene would be when Harry is first spotted in the alley doorway. Brilliantly anticipated and executed.



Greypilgrim	Oct 19 2008, 01:43 PM Post #9
"Zarkov to Flash Gordon....Come in Flash!" Posts: 8,932 Group: Members Member #171 Joined: February 4, 2007	I heard the zither music by Anton Karas years before I ever saw the movie only because when I was sent to my great-grandmother's for a day when I was about four or five, she had the 78 and played the shit out of it. She wasn't Austrian or of any European stock directly, it's just that she really got her britches in a bundle for Anton Karas. It came to where I was addicted to it myself and loved it. Much later I found a 45 of the recording, and I played the shit out of it!! For me the best part of the movie is the ferris wheel scene and Welles talks to Cotton about the "ants" down below. Pretty heady stuff, but the scene is beautifully shot. It took me some time to be able to grasp everything about the film and really understand what was happening, but after several viewings I got the drift. I think it surpasses Citizen Kane and that is one of my all-time favorite movies.



Laughing Gravy	Nov 3 2009, 03:56 PM Post #10
Revered in the UK Posts: 11,059 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: August 31, 2005	Just a head's up: Criterion has lost the rights to this film and it is now officially "Out of Print" on DVD and Blu-ray. You may want to snap up a copy now before the infamous "Amazon sellers" boost up the price.



Stony Brooke da Mesquiteer	Nov 10 2009, 07:16 AM Post #11
Balconeer Creeper Posts: 14,166 Group: Members Member #244 Joined: July 6, 2007	I picked up a new print from Amazon yesterday for about 25 bucks total. It's the 2-disc set.
	"She's got style, she's got grace She's got long, long legs, she's got... Savoir Faire"


Chandu	Nov 10 2009, 10:12 AM Post #12
Knowledge Seeker and rascal at large Posts: 10,240 Group: Members Member #297 Joined: October 19, 2007	I DVRd it off of TCM for free, but it's only the 1-disc set.
	Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog. It's just little ol' me...


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