So a re-watch, and i was very interested in seeing this one again, because this is considered to be a masterpiece, and i actually found it overrated the first time i saw it, but i remember being very tired and not in a good mood when i first saw this, so that probably affected the way i saw the movie, and that was why i felt like i needed to re-watch this, after i had long seen this movie.
The Third Man is directed by Carol Reed and it stars Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Bernard Lee and Trevor Howard. And i got to say that unsurprisingly my opinion has changed, the thing is that it changed much more than i though it would, because this is quite something.
An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident.
From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime. The Third Man is almost a perfect Noir, although not the column one, a man trying to find the truth, he sees himself dealing with criminals, he sees himself in love, he is completely confused and Joseph Cotten shows that perfectly on screen. And its funny to think that this 64 year old movie, actually had me in the edge of my seat, not knowing what was going to happen, quite a few times.
The movie's power is enlarged by some AMAZING cinematography, The Third Man, might have the best cinematography i have seen from a movie that was made in the first half of the century. Most of the movie is shot in some peculiar angles, the shadows are amazingly beautiful, the cinematography adds A LOT to the movie, we feel this gloomy feeling on the air, it truly captures the devastated Europe after WW2. Quite weird to see that Robert Krasker only got this Academy Award win and nomination, because he shows here some very impressive work. Another two great technical things that the movies has, is its score by Anton Karas and its editing by Oswald Hafenrichter, both very impressive worthy of AT least a nomination.
Then we get to the performances, and Joseph Cotten is the star of the movie, to say that Orson Wells is the star, would be very unfair to Cotten who does here some of the best work of his career, quite sad to see that such a good and charming actor never got any recognition. Alida Valli, is probably more known for some foreign language movies, but this one is by far the best English movie she did, she great in the movie, she does not play the usual girl that was in almost every movie made at this time. She proves that in the end of the movie, and what an ending. Orson Wells is undeniably great, as the charming manipulative villain, but the thing is that, i felt like he was not enough on the movie, i mean the plot is about this character, but just has 15 minutes of screen time, but he is great in every single minute.
Carol Reed does here some fantastic job, he truly made a masterpiece here, an almost flawless movie that manages to survive time, a great story, with a big moral issue ( should you support your friends even when they are doing bad things, or should you try to stop him no matter what consequences) does rat on your friend make you a bad person, we know what Anna Schmidt thinks.
The Third Man also has some great charming performances, good writing, amazing cinematography,score, editing and direction, it is one of the best movies of the 40's, and i would not raise an eyebrow if someone told me that this was some of the best work he had ever seen. Rating:A
The Third Man is directed by Carol Reed and it stars Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Bernard Lee and Trevor Howard. And i got to say that unsurprisingly my opinion has changed, the thing is that it changed much more than i though it would, because this is quite something.
An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident.
From talking to Lime's friends and associates Martins soon notices that some of the stories are inconsistent, and determines to discover what really happened to Harry Lime. The Third Man is almost a perfect Noir, although not the column one, a man trying to find the truth, he sees himself dealing with criminals, he sees himself in love, he is completely confused and Joseph Cotten shows that perfectly on screen. And its funny to think that this 64 year old movie, actually had me in the edge of my seat, not knowing what was going to happen, quite a few times.
The movie's power is enlarged by some AMAZING cinematography, The Third Man, might have the best cinematography i have seen from a movie that was made in the first half of the century. Most of the movie is shot in some peculiar angles, the shadows are amazingly beautiful, the cinematography adds A LOT to the movie, we feel this gloomy feeling on the air, it truly captures the devastated Europe after WW2. Quite weird to see that Robert Krasker only got this Academy Award win and nomination, because he shows here some very impressive work. Another two great technical things that the movies has, is its score by Anton Karas and its editing by Oswald Hafenrichter, both very impressive worthy of AT least a nomination.
Then we get to the performances, and Joseph Cotten is the star of the movie, to say that Orson Wells is the star, would be very unfair to Cotten who does here some of the best work of his career, quite sad to see that such a good and charming actor never got any recognition. Alida Valli, is probably more known for some foreign language movies, but this one is by far the best English movie she did, she great in the movie, she does not play the usual girl that was in almost every movie made at this time. She proves that in the end of the movie, and what an ending. Orson Wells is undeniably great, as the charming manipulative villain, but the thing is that, i felt like he was not enough on the movie, i mean the plot is about this character, but just has 15 minutes of screen time, but he is great in every single minute.
Carol Reed does here some fantastic job, he truly made a masterpiece here, an almost flawless movie that manages to survive time, a great story, with a big moral issue ( should you support your friends even when they are doing bad things, or should you try to stop him no matter what consequences) does rat on your friend make you a bad person, we know what Anna Schmidt thinks.
The Third Man also has some great charming performances, good writing, amazing cinematography,score, editing and direction, it is one of the best movies of the 40's, and i would not raise an eyebrow if someone told me that this was some of the best work he had ever seen. Rating:A
