Before I start, I just want to apologize to the 2 people who have read this blog, I have been really lazy about updating. That said, I have another movie review to post, for a more recent movie, sometime either tomorrow or later this week as well as another story idea, much less a continuation of what I already posted.
Also, before I start reviewing, I devised a different method to rate a film. I'll give a film a maximum of 7 stars out of 7. Seven is considered a mystical, almost perfect, number; so if I felt a film was truly great it would add up to this perfect number. The criterion for each star are acting/characters, plot/writing, mise-en-scene, cinematography/editing, music and sound, direction, and overall picture (How well all the separate components add up into one whole). That said, I'll now begin with the warning that there may be some spoilers but I will try to refrain from giving anything away:
The Third Man is a 1949 film noir directed by Carol Reed that takes place in post-war Vienna, Austria. Holly Martins (played by Joseph Cotton) is an American pulp Western author, who had traveled to Vienna to stay with an old childhood friend, Harry Lime, who had offered him a work opportunity. Lime is not waiting for him at the airport, and Martins has to travel to his friend's apartment. There he learns that Lime had died after being hit by a truck.
He goes to the funeral and, while noticed by those who end up being Harry's friends, is taken into town to have a drink by the British authorities, the city being divided between the four allied powers. He is told by Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) and Sergeant Paine, a real fan of Martin's books (Bernard Lee, who is most famous for playing M in the classic Bond movies), that Lime was a criminal who ran a black market racket in the city. Martins feels that this is a horrible lie and wants to learn what happened to clear his friend's name.
Later, Martins is contacted by one of the men at the funeral, Baron Kurtz (Ernest Deutsch) who explains that Harry was struck by a truck while walking with Kurtz and seeing another friend across the street and not looking where he was going. The two men carried Lime across the street and he gave his last wishes for Martins and his actress girlfriend Anna (Alida Valli). Harry's doctor later happened to walk onto the scene too, as explains Kurtz, and pronounced him dead. The story strikes Martins as being only partially truthful, and he sets out to talk to Anna and the porter of the building where Harry lived, who had originally informed him of the death and had admitted to seeing the outcome of the accident, though he only heard the accident taking place. The porter admits to Martins that he saw a third man carrying Harry from the street, and it is this third man Martins is sure knows the truth of things. If only Martins knew who this man was and how to find him.
I have mentioned most of the principal players in this movie, Cotton, an old friend of Welles who ended up starring with him in many of his movies, such as Citizen Kane and the Magnificent Ambersons, comes off well as an honorable and loyal friend that is a little over his head in the dark and seedy post-war Vienna. Alida Valli is great in her role. We don't quite know what information she has are who she is loyal to until the very end, and I know I felt pity for her for making the choice she did. And, while all the other roles were played excellently, Orson Welles takes the cake. He has what amounts to a cameo but appears in what are the most memorable scenes in the movie. From his introduction, to the ferris wheel, to his final scenes, he makes the most of the time he has. The Acting and characters are truly deserving of a full *.
Graham Greene wrote the screenplay as well as the novella on which it was adapted. The movie is extremely well written, with some memorable pieces of dialogue, though as the story goes much of Welles's was devised by the actor himself. The plot has a great twist, one which anyone that has not seen the movie before would not expect at all. With a great story and dialogue, the film gets another *.
The mise-en-scene (for those that don't know this is everything that appears on screen including special effects) is great on many levels. First, there is a lot of establishment that this is set in Europe and post-war, there are a lot of ruins still visible and some even playing a part in the story itself. The film also works well as a noir with a lot of extreme light and darkness (called chiaroscuro lighting) that really set the mood. Nothing looks out of place, and everything that appears helps establish the setting and move the plot along. Another *.
The cinematography of the film is interesting to watch. Reed's fantastic use of lighting and shadows works to great benefit with the way he shot the film. From the reveal of Orson Welles, to the sewer chases, to the Ferris wheel scene, the cinematography and editing work hand-in-hand to bring out the best in the film. A full *.
The musical score for The Third Man is fairly famous. Written by Anton Karas, the music is almost entirely performed with a zither, a stringed instrument that is found in Slovenia, Hungary, and Austria. The music helps establish the setting and is different enough to hold someones interest. And, though I myself was not too impressed with the zither, I felt it worked well for this film. *.
The direction of this film is wonderful. There is a great style to it, which leads some to question whether Welles had more of a hand in directing this movie than Reed did. But, Welles has admitted that this was Reed's film. Regardless, there is a lot of style to it. I especially love the use of lighting he used in the film. Though, I will save that example for the film overall. Still, the actors did well and clearly were given good direction by Reed. The various choices he made while making this film also gone together to give it a unique identity. *.
The one scene I think can encompass my love for this movie overall is the revealing of Orson Welles. He is standing in a doorway but only his feet are visible. Due to some racket outside, the people on the second floor turn on a light and open the window which, for only a moment, reveals Welles's face. Before Martins can even inquire what is going on Welles runs for it and Martins is stuck chasing a shadow through the cobbled streets of Vienna. Every part of this film comes together to create a truly great whole. This movie is fondly remembered by many, and for good reason. The overall film gets a full star, meaning that the film gets 7 out of 7, which it deserves.
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