I always feel a nervous excitement when watching a well-regarded film for the first time. Will it be as good as they say or will I be one of the few to not get it? Pleasingly, The Third Man is superb.
American writer Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in post-war Vienna to accept a job from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) only to find that Lime has died after being hit by a car. Martins begins to suspect that things don't add up and learns of an unidentified third man who moved the body so he starts to investigate.
Broadly this is a film noir but it defies many of the conventions of the genre and many of the conventions of contemporary cinema at large. Cinematographer Robert Krasker used techniques that are familiar now but were heavily criticized at the time, most notably the use of lots of Dutch angles. He also used harsh lighting and was influenced by German expressionism. This has the effect of adding a real dynamism to the film, especially in the final chase sequence, which was lacking in most 40s films and helped to evoke the post-war exhaustion the world at large was feeling.
There's a really unusual score to this film- it's entirely on the zither and composed by Anton Karas and was so good that it topped international music charts in 1950. It's really atmospheric and dark whilst also having a real energy about it, which fits the film perfectly.
Rather than being set in a US city, the film is set firmly in Vienna. This adds some really interesting elements- there are lots of bombed-out ruins and narrow alleyways which are perfect for this genre. The political nature of the city at the time works well too- the city was occupied by British and Russian forces, each with their own sections, making finding someone much more complex.
So much of the film is about the aftermath of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War. It depicts a world where firm friendships have been ripped apart by world events and betrayal is common, where people have become much more cynical and uncaring toward their fellow man. Graham Greene someone managed to take all this feeling and turn it into a superb screenplay.
Though Joseph Cotten's Holly Martins is the main character, the film revolves entirely around Orson Welles' Harry Lime. He only has one scene of dialogue, but what incredible dialogue he is given. Orson Welles does so much with a small role from the first moment Lime appears on screen with a wink and this charisma adds so much to a character who could have been a bit part but is really the starring role.
The Third Man is simply a true cinematic masterpiece.
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