Der dritte Mann

Holly Martins has just arrived in Vienna, but he's found himself with a small dilemma, his mate Harry has just died, with a car he did collide, although the circumstance is causing him some bother. As he peels back several lids of several cans, it transpires Harry was a wanted man, had his fingers in some pies, to do with medical supplies, the authorities were not his biggest fan.

Dark and deceptive goings on, above and below the streets of Vienna post WWII, with some outstanding and perpetually incredible performances against a background of shadows, shifting perspectives and immoral behaviour.

No need to recap the oft-repeated plot. So why bother commenting after 500+ reviews. I guess it's because I'm a movie lover and want to enter my little note of appreciation. What sticks in my mind from the movie's first release are the visuals. They're among the most memorable if not the most memorable in film annals. In sum, they're a nightmare world of emptiness-the streets, the walkways, the dead hulking edifices. It's a communal world emptied of community, leaving only ruins and shells. The metaphor for a post-war Europe is unmistakable, while only the morally destitute like Harry Lime have thrived. I can't imagine that filming in color was actually entertained (IMDB). Had that happened, the film would have passed into semi-obscurity unlike its now celebrated status. Note too, that no one ends up happy, in contrast to narrative norms of the day. I think what brought many folks to showings at the time was the unfamiliar zither music. As I recall, a commercial cut was heard regularly on the radio. Still, I expect a lot of folks left the theater put-off by the bleakly unhappy world they had just seen. Anyway, the movie remains a brilliant slice of cinematic imagination and should not be missed.

A real classic, beautifully presented. Cinematography, music, story and cast were all pretty much perfect.

In the story our protagonist (Joseph Cotten), a writer, travels to Vienna a city still recovering from the effects of the war, now divided into separate zones.

Our protagonist has come to attend the funeral of his charismatic friend, who was seemingly killed in an accident. However something doesn't seem right and foul play it soon suspected. An alluring young woman is introduced (Alida Valli) who herself has secrets she wishes to keep. A web of lies and corruption begin to unravel and our hero must make a choice about how loyal he can remain to his old friend.

In a bombed-out Vienna just after WWII, novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives from America to renew a friendship with his childhood buddy, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Much to the dismay of Holly, a freak auto accident has recently killed his friend, according to those who knew Harry.

But in searching for details of Lime's death, Holly gets contradictory stories that don't add up. One of the persons who knew Lime is an attractive woman named Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli) whose continued presence in the story invites suspicion. The film's plot has Holly searching for the truth about his friend, while trying to stave off a city detective, Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) who tries to persuade Holly to leave Vienna.

The film's story is okay. But what makes "The Third Man" really interesting is the B&W cinematography, by Robert Krasker. Unlike most films, camera movement here is restricted, so as to draw attention to each frame's geometry. Typically in this film, a frame is tilted at an angle so that both vertical and horizontal points of reference are off-kilter. Frame images thus become a series of diagonal straight lines and curves. Further, very high-contrast lighting, especially in outdoor scenes at night, creates a bizarre, almost nightmarish look and feel, and are suggestive of German Expressionism.

All of which results in a visual disorientation for viewers that parallels Holly's disorientation both in the streets of Vienna and in his understanding of the circumstances surrounding Lime's absence. In most outdoor scenes there's a conspicuous lack of crowds, a lack of hubbub one would expect in a bustling city. Instead, only a few secondary characters appear in night scenes. This sparseness in characters on the streets conveys the impression that hidden eyes are watching Holly, ready to pounce at any moment from out of dark shadows.

"Everybody ought to (be) careful in a city like this", says one character to Holly, as an implied threat. Soon, a man who wants to give Holly some valuable information is murdered.

The script's dialogue is quite impressive, with some interesting lines and points of view. Some of the dialogue is in German, which enhances authenticity.

The film's acting and editing are very, very good. Adding a slightly romantic, and at times melancholy, tone to this dark film is the music of the "zither", an instrument similar to a guitar, but sounding quite different.

My one complaint about this film is that it's hard to keep tabs on some of the background characters. Trying to connect names with faces can be difficult, resulting in some confusion.

"The Third Man" tells an interestingly bleak story, set in a bleak, desolate urban environment, rendered truly mesmerizing by the creatively surreal B&W cinematography.

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.