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307 comments in total

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150 out of 177 people found the following comment useful :-
A movie ahead of its time, 26 June 1999

Author: Michael Torrice (mmt02@mit.edu) from Boston

The Third Man is a movie that looks and feels not like a movie of the 40s, but like a neo-noir of the late 60s/early 70s. This wonderful example of classic noir is one of the all time greatest films. It combines amazing visuals, sounds, dialogue, and acting to tell a thrilling story and comment about the atmosphere after WWII.

Of all the movies durring the studio era (pre-1960ish), there are three movies with cinematography that always stick out in my mind: Gregg Toland's work in Citizen Kane, Russel Mety's work in Touch of Evil, and Robert Krasker's work in The Third Man (all starring Orson Welles funny enough). I just recently saw a restored 35mm version of The Third Man. The crisp black and white visuals of a bombed out Vienna are so breath-taking. Shadows are everywhere. The unique way Krasker tilts the camera in some shots adding to the disorientation of the plot. And who can forget the first close-up of Welles with the light from an apartment room above splashing onto his face; one of the great entrances in movie history (Lime gives his old friend a smile that only Welles could give).

The cinematography is backed by strong performances by Welles, Cotten, and italian actress Vali. The writing of Greene is wonderful; you can see the plot twisting around Cotten tightly. But what makes The Third Man so great is its historical commentary (well not really historical since it was commenting on its own time, but to us it is historical). On one level The Third Man is a story of betrayal and corruption in a post-war, occupied Vienna. On the other hand, its giving the audience a glimpse of the mood of Europe after the great war. The uncertainty that the Cold War was bringing is evident through out the film; Cotten is constantly trying to figure out who to trust. Vienna is on the frontier of the new communist bloc (we even see the communists infiltrating Vienna trying to bring Vali back to her native Czechoslavakia). The zither music score combined with the stark images of bombed out Vienna are reminiscent of the frontier towns of American Westerns. So The Third Man is not only a wonderful film noir, but a unique look at the brief time between WWII and the height of the Cold War.

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90 out of 119 people found the following comment useful :-
The real mccoy when you want to talk serious screen legends!, 29 March 2002
Author: Noel Bailey (uds3@hotmail.com) from Longmont: Colorado US

What IS it makes THE THIRD MAN the classic most everyone agrees it is? (And lets face it, voted no 35 in the top all-time films gives it MORE than just some passing credibility!) Is it Orson Welles' menace? The whiff of corruption in occupied post-war Vienna? the cuckoo-clock speech atop the big wheel? even Anton Karras' zither? Perhaps ALL these things? If however, you had to nominate just a single influence within the whole production that elevates it to greatness I suggest that would be Robert Krasker's cinematography.

The finished product innovatively, was years ahead of its birthright. Time and time again the viewer is bailed up by stunning camera angles and back-lighting. The eerie shadows around the deserted streets and of course the unforgettable first glimpse of Harry Lime (Welles) himself as he skulks like the rat he is, in the corner of the building, lit in close-up suddenly from the light in an adjacent apartment. Offhand I cannot think of a character's more dramatic entrance to a film.

Welles in fact has minimal screen time, though his dark presence and influence infiltrate proceedings like an insidious disease. Yet somehow his ultimate demise in the sewers brings into play an incredible sadness and compassion that has absolutely no right being there. It remains for me one of my top five film favorites. I have always given it a "10" personally but hey, to be voted an "8.6" universally is a pretty fair vindication of my words here.

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77 out of 97 people found the following comment useful :-
Joseph Cotten is Excellent in Revolutionary Film Noir, 21 May 2002

Author: peanutthegreat from New York

"I never knew the Old Vienna, before the war, with its Strauss Music," opens Carol Reed's The Third Man, and we catch a glimpse of the New Vienna, with its Black Market and its Shady Deals. Joseph Cotten plays cheap novelette author Holly Martins, just arrived in Vienna to meet with long-time friend Harry Lime, who offered him a job. He instead meets with the mysterious facts surrounding the death of Lime, learned bit-by-bit from Lime's friends, a woman named Anna Schmidt, who has problems of her own (played excellently by Valli), and two British officers, Calloway and Paine. Learning, that there is more to death of Lime than there seems to be, Martins begins his investigation for the truth. This film was shot with some of the greatest, most ahead-of-its-time cinematography ever, and it creates mystery and deceit. It is complimented by the excellent use of shadows. The soundtrack is essentially one long song, which plays throughout the film, changing and stopping as the emotion calls for. It is a zither composition by Anton Karas made for the film. This is all topped off by an engrossing storyline, and a great performance by Joseph Cotten, as the ordinary man mixed up in this web of mystery.

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90 out of 125 people found the following comment useful :-
Atmospheric British thriller, 18 January 2002
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

American author Holly Martins arrives in Vienna to meet old friend Harry Lime. On arrival he finds Harry was just killed in an accident and attends his funeral. The police are happy that his death was an accident and are also closing crimes by attributing them to him. Martins begins to investigate the accident and finds out things that lead him to a shocking discovery that will eventually challenge his values and friendship.

This is a classic bit of British cinema that owes a lot to the source material (Graham Green) and the slanted, moody cinematography throughout. The story is quite straight forward and can be perceived more complicated than it is. The best bits of the story come early, with Martins investigating the accident against a backdrop of secrecy and cover-ups, and later when he confronts Lime briefly on a Ferris wheel. The story is mainly a story of friendship and morals packed into a mystery setting. The final shot of the film is really good and gives a realistic (if not happy) end to the story.

Joseph Cotton was always good around this period and seemed to be on a roll when he teamed up with Wells. Here he is good as Martin, even if his character is not as interesting as Harry Lime is. Orson Wells is excellent, casting a huge shadow (literally!) over the film despite having a very short time onscreen compare to Cotton. The director and the writer fought the producer to cast Wells in order to make the film more sellable to the American audience (the producer wanted Noël Coward) and the film is much better for their choice. His character hugely lacks morals and, despite being a small hustler, is almost a demonic figure - most notably in his speech on the Ferris wheel where he defends his actions to Martin.

The film is given a great mood of shadows throughout. The city itself is shown as both beautiful and in ruins and is constantly slanted and shadowy. The final confrontation in the sewers of Vienna is excellent. The score is also good - at first it doesn't seem to fit, as it seems out of step with the mood, but it does work well with the culture that exists in the city at the time - I can't really explain it better than that but it does work.

Overall this is a classic. The story may not be enough to support repeat viewings but the moody, the cinematography and a towering performance by Wells all make this essentially viewing for film fans.

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66 out of 82 people found the following comment useful :-
A Flawless Classic, 23 July 2001
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This is a rare film that is flawless in every respect. It combines great acting and memorable characters with a fascinating story, taking place in an interesting setting and adding a creative musical score. "The Third Man" is remembered for many things - for Orson Welles' wonderful performance in his appearances as Harry Lime, for its wonderfully appropriate musical score, and for its nicely conceived plot surprises. Adding to these is Joseph Cotten's fine portrayal of Holly Martins, which holds the rest of it together - it is his character who initiates most of the action, and also through whom we view everything and everyone else.

The story starts, after a nicely done prologue, with Martins arriving in Vienna, and finding out that his friend Harry is not only dead but is accused of running a particularly destructive black market racket. Martins sets out at once to prove his friend's innocence, getting into an immediate scuffle with the police, and it seems at first to set up a conventional plot about clearing the name of a friend - but the actual story that follows is much deeper and much better. It is just right that Martins is an innocent who writes cheap novels for a living, and he gets a pretty memorable lesson in fiction vs. reality. There are some great scenes (the Ferris-wheel confrontation being as good a scene as there is in classic cinema) leading up to a memorable climactic sequence, and a good supporting cast, with Alida Valli as Anna being very good in complementing Lime and Martins. The setting in crumbling post-war Vienna and the distinctive zither score go very nicely with the story.

This is a fine, flawless classic, and while obviously belonging to an earlier era, it deserves a look from anyone who appreciates good movies.

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52 out of 66 people found the following comment useful :-
Murder, Mystery & Harry Lime, 25 January 2000

Author: Ron Oliver (revilorest@juno.com) from Forest Ranch, CA

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Post-war Vienna. A dangerous city, full of intrigue, crime & sudden death. Notorious American racketeer Harry Lime starts to cross a street. There is an accident and he is killed instantly. Or is he? His body is carried to the sidewalk by two friends. Or does another man assist them? If so, who is THE THIRD MAN and what does he know about Lime's suspicious death?

Such is the puzzle at the beginning of what many consider to be the greatest film ever made. Its glories are so obvious that it is almost futile to pick out any for observation: the marvelous sewer chase, the balloon man, the little boy with the ball, the giant wheel, the cuckoo clock speech & the long closing walk across the cemetery. All of these linger in the mind, becoming permanent residents of our cinematic subconscious.

The entire cast is excellent: Joseph Cotton as Lime's American friend trying to piece together what has happened; Trevor Howard as the stalwart British Major of Police; gorgeous Valli as Harry's faithful lover; Bernard Lee as the tragic Police Sergeant; Wilfrid Hyde-White as a dithering English cultural attaché. And then there's Orson Welles...

The character of Harry Lime, alive or dead, on-screen or not, is one of cinema's most fascinating villains. Charming & deadly as any cobra, he attracts & repels at the same moment. It is interesting to note that BBC Radio resurrected the character for the series 'The Lives of Harry Lime' very shortly after the film's release. Harry was not allowed to stay in his grave for long...

Three more items of note: (1) The cinematography is first-rate, making Vienna by night look almost lunar. (2) Orson Welles' first appearance on screen is a real dandy. (3) Above & around & through everything is the famous zither music of Anton Karas, which becomes like a Greek Chorus, commenting on the action. Its complete silence during the sewer chase only underscores the starkness of the sequence.

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54 out of 73 people found the following comment useful :-
Four men on a bridge, 13 October 2004

Author: jotix100 from New York

A great deal has been said about "The Third Man" by contributors to this forum. Having seen the restored copy that was shown at the Film Forum, recently, I could not resist watching this masterpiece once more when it was shown by TCM, the other night.

This movie owes a debt of gratitude to Graham Greene, a writer who had the most developed sense of intrigue among his contemporaries and one of the best writers of the last century. It also helped that a great director, Carol Reed, brought it to the screen. Mr. Reed was a director who had an eye for detail, as he demonstrates here, as well as in the rest of the body of work he left for us to enjoy.

The screen play is faithful to the original novel. If to all of the other elements we add the fabulous cinematography of Robert Krasker, the result has to be the masterpiece we see today. Never before has a city taken center stage in the development of the story that is presented here. Mr. Krasker's wonderful night vision of this city enhances the story as we are taken along for a fantastic trip of the post war Vienna of 1949.

The casting of this film is amazing. Never had so many excellent actors been thrown together in a film, as it is the case as with this picture. Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Orson Welles, Bernard Lee, Ernst Deutsch, Paul Horbiger, Erich Ponto and Wilfred Hyde White are splendid in their roles. It is hard to imagine these characters played by other actors.

Orson Welles has perhaps the best part, even though his time before the camera is short. This must have been one of the best roles in which Welles appeared. Of course, there are so many others, but his Harry Lime is an original and could have fitted perfectly in one of his own films.

The music by Anton Karas is still haunting, with the exception of a few times at the beginning of a couple of scenes, when it startles the viewer and actually doesn't add anything to what we are about to see.

This film will live forever.

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42 out of 57 people found the following comment useful :-
"The Third Man" may be the greatest film made in Britain since World War II…, 20 May 2005

Author: ironside (robertfrangie@hotmail.com) from Mexico

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"The Third Man" is a flawless film of intrigue and suspense, a summit of perfection within the genre… It is one of the most literate thrillers ever made… It is superb1y acted by an ensemble working in an understated, effortless style… Its cinematography includes some of the best black-and-white work ever done… Its score of haunting zither music is still remembered, instantly familiar to anyone who ever saw the film, and now thorough1y identified with most people's impressions of Vienna… Finally, the direction by Carol Reed is exemplary… Rarely has a motion picture represented the collaboration of so many exceptional talents... "The Third Man" may be the greatest film made in Britain since World War II…

The night city terrain of "The Third Man" is unique: occupied postwar Vienna, baroque, bombed-out, decadent, patrolled by Jeeps containing representatives of the four occupying powers, an American, an Englishman, a Frenchman, and a Russian…

Corrupt, world-weary people hang about its fringes: the overly suave Rumanian, Popescu; the frayed violinist, Baron Kurtz; the atheistic collector of Catholic antiquities, Dr. Winkel; Crabbit, the tired head of the Anglo Cultural Center; and Anna Schmidt, the Czechoslovakian girl friend of Harry Lime, an obscure actress with forged papers…

Moving among them are three extraordinary principals, Holly Martins, a typical Greene creation; a hack American writer; a used- up second-rater; Colonel Calloway, a Scotland Yard type, chief of British Military Police; and Harry Lime (WeIles), the corrupt two-bit racketeer, a fully immoral, totally unreachable villain…

These characters wander through rain-slick night streets, in and out of shabby cafés, over the rubble of bombed-out buildings, even into a terrain vague dominated by a huge Ferris wheel…

The Vienna of "The Third Man" is a vast city that seems empty… Its streets are always damp, and water rushes through a system of sweet-smelling sewers underneath… It is a world of slinking cats and biting parrots, of people taking advantage of each other without pity…

"The Third Man" meets the test of complexity… The characters interact, their stories conflict: A man who is supposed to be dead turns up alive, there is a question of whether two men or a "third man" carried off Lime's "body," there are conspiracies, deceits, and double crosses…

Reed owes debts to Fritz Long for some of his ideas: the geometrical shots, the montage of evidence, Welles' whistling, etc., but Reed has his own original visual style, particularly his use of a slightly tilted camera to produce so-called "Chinese angles," employed to project danger, foreboding, a twisted universe… He is also capable of providing suspense in the tradition of Hitchcock…

"The Third Man" is unique in the genre for its realism… Despite the complexities of plot, the characters are understandable, dimensional, emotionally genuine—a tribute to the fine ensemble playing and special, low-keyed acting style that is the cinematic equivalent of Graham Greene's writing…

Carol Reed was knighted for his excellence as a British filmmaker, and for a body of work that is notable for its good taste… It is this taste, of course, that works so well in "The Third Man," but which has destroyed some of his other films, such as "Our Man in Havana," which require a certain amount of excess to make them work…

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36 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
Haunting and Poetic; A True Masterpiece..., 27 September 2003

Author: MovieAddict2009 from UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Carol Reed's "The Third Man" strikes all the right cords, establishing itself on so many different levels that it almost becomes untouchable. It has an underlying tone of darkness that not only thrills but chills. It grabs the viewer from the start and never lets go. It opens with Anton Karas' startling zither music and quickly propels the viewer into a world of evil and lies. The tale is familiar to any film lovers: A pulp Western writer named Holly Martin (Joseph Cotten) is invited to post-war Vienna by an old friend of his, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). The city has been divided into American, British, French and Russian zones. The city exists as a shattered remnant of the past - haunting and horrifying, dark and mysterious. Upon his arrival, Holly discovers to his horror that his old college pal is dead - hit by a car in the middle of a street. But for Holly, the circumstances don't add up - everyone involved in the accident was related in some way or another to Harry. So Holly searches for clues, much to the chagrin of the British officer Calloway (Trevor Howard), whose name is misused as Callohan by Holly many times throughout the film. ("It's 'Calloway,' Mr. Martin, I'm not Irish.") Holly Martin does begin to stumble upon some vital clues as to the real story behind Lime's death - and finds out more than he bargained for. Lime's old girlfriend is a stage actress. ("Always comedy.") She accompanies Holly throughout the film, and we expect an underlying romance to blossom, but yet in the end it does not - one of the many surprises of the film. I suppose it would be a sin for me to give away how Harry Lime reappears, or even give away the fact that he does, for that matter (though by now I am sure you realize Orson Welles is in this movie and therefore turns out to be alive). But for those who have seen the film, we all remember that terrific scene where the cat meows, and suddenly he appears, an evil smirk on his face like a child who has gotten away with the cookie from the jar. And then the ferris wheel scene, and the chase through the sewers that no doubt helped win the film an Oscar for cinematography. These are all some of the most memorable of film scenes. The director of "The Third Man," Carol Reed, stumbled upon the film's musician, Anton Karas, one night in a trashy bar in Vienna. It is no wonder that out of all his candidates he chose Karas - the film's tune is literally the most perfect example of matching harmony between a film and its music I have ever seen (although "JAWS" is up there with it). To go into the music is pointless - it must simply be heard in synchronism with the film for you to understand where I am coming from. When I think of film noir, "D.O.A." (1949) and "The Third Man" (1949) are the first two films that come to mind. Both accomplish what they set out to do, but "The Third Man" exceeds even farther than the former - it is haunting and almost poetically vibrant in the way it displays its story and the outcome of its characters. It is a film that will be around for years and years. "Citizen Kane" is often thought of as the greatest American motion picture of all time. But if I had to choose between the two, I would most likely choose "The Third Man." It's just my opinion, of course, and many may not agree, but as far as I see, "The Third Man" beats "Citizen Kane" - for me - on more levels than one. Welles' "Citizen Kane" (1941) was an artistic film that rarely used close-ups. It would almost stand back from the scenes and let the viewer focus on what he or she wanted to focus on. "The Third Man" has many close-ups. I do not take this as a director trying to give the audience what he wants them to see, but rather a director in touch with his feelings and ideas. Director Carol Reed knows just how to evoke characters' feelings from scenes and close-up shots. The camera tilts at awkward angles more often than not. The more and more paranoid and afraid our hero becomes the more and more intense the close-ups and angles. There is some haunting material in "The Third Man," some material the most novice of filmgoers might not expect. And the music and direction only makes it all the more terrifying and haunting. This is a film that you must witness to believe. 5/5.

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44 out of 69 people found the following comment useful :-
the best of all time, 27 October 1998
Author: matt hintze from california

Unrelenting fascination is what I have every time I watch this movie. It never seems old. It's in my mind, haunting me, with its unearthly music and its dark, oblique photography. And that great Orson Welles' speech, and also the best entrance in movie history to go along with the best exit in movie history. It couldn't be better. I can't even express how I feel in words. Watch it again and again, and you'll be dazed!

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