MOVIE REVIEW: The Third Man (1949)

Recently there has been a new 4K restoration made for Carol Reed's classic film noir The Third Man, based on the screenplay by author Graham Greene (who subsequently published the work as a novella). The studio Rialto Pictures has released the film in a number of cities across the country for a limited engagement of this new restoration, and will continue to be shown until the end of the summer. I had never seen this film before, despite having heard so many great things about it over the years. I'm also a pretty big fan of Orson Welles, and he's the mysterious character on each poster (the one to the left of this paragraph being what's used for this recent re-release) so I decided to go check it out for myself. Luckily, as expected, I enjoyed it immensely and found the story to be engaging from the moment it began. Like any good film noir it combines a memorable score, morally ambiguous characters, and a very moody post-war Vienna as its backdrop for the story at the center.

The film revolves around the story of Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), an American pulp novelist who has come to post-war Vienna on the promise of a job offer from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Upon his arrival in the Austrian city, Holly goes to Harry's apartment in the downtown area and finds out that he had been hit by an automobile and died on the street. As Martins begins to suspect that something isn't quite right with this story, he begins to investigate his friend's death for himself with the help of Harry's girlfriend Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), who is a stage actress. Putting himself in the way of their inquiry is Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), who insists that Martins should leave the town, while Calloway discovers that Anna's passport is forged and plans to send her to the Soviet sector of the city. It isn't until a mysterious figure is seen one night standing in a doorway, covered in shadows, that Martins begins to find out more about his friend and what he was up to.

Watching this reminded me of the first time I saw Orson Welles' 1958 film noir Touch of Evil, where the visual style is so captivating to look at that you almost forget there is a plot. You're still able to get the basics of what's happening, but the style of the film threatens to overwhelm it, at least on a first viewing. Carol Reed makes great use of post-war Vienna, with the crumbling buildings and debris still scattered on the sidewalks. It all looks very reminiscent of films from the German Expressionist movement, particularly Fritz Lang's M from 1931. Many film noirs were inspired by that movement, but what gives this one its particular intrigue is that it is set in a foreign country rather than in an American city. Using a setting that was directly effected by the events in World War II gives the audience a greater sense of the national mood in Europe right after the war.

It also has great use of black and white cinematography. It comes as no surprise that Robert Krasker won the Oscar for his lensing here, and the 4K restoration makes his work look as good as new. The best films in the noir genre rely heavily on dark, shadowy images, often for the purpose of reflecting the characters' inner turmoil and moral uncertainty. So vivid is the imagery that you can practically feel the wet ground and see the details in the brick lining. There is also a number of distorted angle shots that give a heightened sense of paranoia, which lends the film a nightmarish quality in the scenes shot at nighttime. In fact, the depiction of Vienna here was so striking that it upset some Austrian critics when it was released, who felt that their city was unfairly portrayed as a dangerous place.

Although it's the cinematography that is arguably the star of The Third Man, the performances are top notch as well. Joseph Cotten carries the whole thing with his lead performance, and his character has a world-weariness to him that works well within the context of the story. His scenes with Trevor Howard are also among the film's highlights, at times bringing some light touches of humor amidst the grim setting. Alida Valli is also quite good as Harry Lime's girlfriend, creating a conflicted character who manages to elicit empathy amidst her dilemma. All of which comes down to Orson Welles, the man who is on just about every poster for the film despite only being in about three scenes total, most of which come in the last 30 minutes of the film's running time. Filmmaker and historian Peter Bogdanovich, a good friend of Orson Welles, said that the actor considered his role in The Third Man to be "the greatest star part ever written," which was another way of saying that his role was the one that every other character talks about and builds up over the course of the story. By doing this, the audience finally craves to see this character, and luckily Welles had all of the charisma that was needed to play Harry Lime and leave a lasting impression despite his limited screen time.

There is also a climactic chase sequence worth pointing out that is set in the sewers of Vienna. It involves Harry Lime as he attempts to flee Martins, Calloway and the rest of the authorities. He eventually realizes that he is surrounded at nearly every corner, resulting in his final meeting with Martins. By now this scene is very iconic and still holds up today as a thrilling and suspenseful climax. Even though the entire film manages to capture great imagery, it's this sequence that contains some of the most memorable and iconic images in movie history. Having this sequence take place in the sewers gives the scene a sense of claustrophobia and desperation that reflects Harry Lime's mental state as he's attempting to get away from the authorities, despite realizing the inevitability of his own outcome.

Along with its cinematography Oscar win, The Third Man was also nominated for Best Film Editing as well as Best Director for Carol Reed. It also won the Palme d'Or at the 1949 Cannes Film Festival, and took home the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. Today it is widely considered to be a classic, voted the greatest British film of all time by the BFI and the 5th greatest mystery film by the AFI. More than simply a terrific piece of entertainment, it's also a fascinating time capsule of a bygone era that has an evocative setting which gives an impression of European society right after World War II. There's no denying this is a classic and a must see for anyone interested in cinematic history, and the new 4K restoration provides the opportunity to see it the way it was meant to be.

Rating: 3.5/4