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| "A person doesn't change just because you find out more." |
But I still hadn't actually sat down and watched the whole thing, from start to finish.
When carousing for something to watch, and upon hearing that I hadn't seen The Third Man, my wife immediately made an executive decision. We would be watching The Third Man.
Summary:
Vienna, after World War II, is an occupied place. Amidst its rubble and finery there is a thriving black market. Enter Holly Martins, American novelist, to visit his old friend, Harry. The thing is, Harry died. But no one seems to be able to get the story straight. So Martins, in a fit of amateur sleuthing, decided to find out what happened to his friend. He has no idea how far down the rabbit hole this will go.Pros:
The Music: The film opens, and is saturated throughout, with Anton Karas' playful zither. It is immediately iconic. It also captures the spirit of the film. The movie toes the line between thriller and comedy, and is aided in that endeavor by Karas' airy zither. Karas sets a running motif, and allows it to stretch and slow as the action of the film demands. It takes a romantic bend; it slows into a sadder feel; it lends a manic feel to the chase scenes. I loved the music of this movie, and it fits like a glove.Beautifully Shot: Director Carol Reed and cinematographer Robert Krasker know how to put an image together. Krasker's use of foreground, middle ground, background allow the images to feel alive and have a sense of depth. The characters eyes and mouths almost always line up with some kind of leading line in the scenery: most commonly with window panes and molding. Krasker also playfully frames his subjects in doors, and arches, and windows. I especially appreciated the use of the Dutch Angle. A Dutch Angle is where a director will tilt the camera just off center to make the audience feel a sense of unease. The Dutch Angles in The Third Man are subtle, but there. Krasker uses the Dutch Angle any time Martins is speaking to someone he can't trust: the imperious Major Calloway, the seedy Baron Kurtz, and the curious Popescu. The camera angle lets us know that something isn't right. And, as Martins begins to trust certain characters, the camera levels back out: it's angled for his first encounter with Anna, but straightens as his relationship with her grows. By the film's end, Calloway's Dutch Angle disappears, too. It is a clever use of visual rhetoric to help tell the story. And don't even get me started on the use of light and shadow: especially those towering shadows thrown on Viennese walls to heighten suspense. In true noir fashion, the characters of this movie flit in and out of the shadows, lending the chase sequences some real sense of urgency and thrill. I also really liked the final sequence of Anna walking down the street, flanked by trees, towards Martins, roguishly leaning on a carriage. He's waiting for her. She breezes right past him after an agonizing amount of time. It's wonderful.
Orson Welles is a Fucking Genius: Welles doesn't have much screen time (I won't say why: spoilers), but he makes every second count. His use of facial expressions is masterful: a sly grin, an intense stare, and arched brow. He gets one meaty scene, and it's a whopper. He discusses the true nature of the world, and why he does what he does. And by the end of it, he almost had me convinced. Welles is a font of charisma in this movie, and steals the show with only minutes on screen. Welles proves the adage: there are no small roles, only small actors. Welles was a giant.
Veddy Veddy Brtish: This movie is hilarious. From Major Calloway's virtuoso-level sass, to the frightening chase scene involving Martins fleeing from an Austrian child (an example of a running gag of identity and confusion), the movie mines an otherwise dramatic situation for some pretty hilarious absurdity. I wasn't sure, right away, whether I should be laughing. Wasn't this a noir, I thought. But the comedy eases you in, and sort of discombobulates you. The movie doesn't lack for drama and real thrills, but it keeps the viewer on their toes by marinading itself in dry British humor. Just like Martins, we, the audience, aren't sure exactly what is happening at any given moment, and that is masterful filmmaking.
Vienna As a Character: The city is as much a character in this film as any of the actors. Martins gets to wander around the lovely part of Vienna for the first portion of the film. But then we get to see the war-torn rubble, and the canals in the film's best chase scenes. Anna's house is a formerly lovely manor, now fallen to ruin. There are giant blank spots on the walls where missing portraits once hung. The halls are cavernous and dark. She lives in a ghost of former decadence. This is something of a running theme, too. Vienna is a place of both beauty and ugliness, and underneath the city dark currents bubble and flow. It is a nifty visual metaphor.
What They Don't Show You: Reed wisely allows the audience to imagine a lot in this film. Through a montage, maybe thirty seconds long, Martins finds out about Harry's medicine racket, and we are left to really only understand the weight of it through Joseph Cotten's radically changed disposition. The script could have featured a lengthy scene of exposition, but we don't get that. We just get Martins' calm confidence before the montage, and a shaken, defeated Martins at its end. Calloway, to prove his point, then takes Martins to a hospital to show him what happened to sick children who took Harry's "medicine." We never actually see the children. The implication is that what Martins sees is horrifying. Not seeing those kids is a brutally effective technique: there is no make-up or visual effect that would show us something worse than we can imagine.
Tight Script: Graham Greene's script is a masterful little thriller. It wastes no time: it skates in at 93 minutes, and starts right out of the gate. Green's dialogue is snappy, clever, and fun. He knows when to let his characters pontificate, and when to let them linger in silence.
Cons:
This is a classic for a reason. It feels modern, both in aesthetic and spirit. It isn't wooden, or dated like so many of the films of its era. I got nothing.In Conclusion:
Noir doesn't always have to be oppressively dark. Sometimes it can be hilariously so. Carol Reed crafted a wonderful spin on the noir genre and delivered a classic of the cinematic medium. It accomplishes that rare feat: it gets to have its dark, noirish cake, and eat it, too, smirking and giggling at its own ridiculousness.Should You Watch It?
Absolutely: it is one of those rare movies that you've heard you must see that actually earns that distinction. It's on Netflix.Miscellany:
- Martin Scorsese loved this film so much that he wrote a term paper on it in film school. The paper got a B+ and the film was dismissed: "Forget it, it's just a thriller."
- Director Carol Reed had three film units to shoot this film, and insisted on directing each unit. He was working twenty hour days, and taking Dexedrine while filming. He was operating on as little as two hours of sleep every night.
- Anton Karas became a sensation after the release of this film. He opened a bar in Vienna, called "The Third Man," which he ran for the rest of his life.
- Carol Reed originally wanted James Stewart for Martins, but Cotten was under contract to David O. Selznick's company, and Selznick insisted on his casting.
- Reed used real Viennese citizens as extras. Most notably the balloon seller who won't leave the British soldiers alone during the sting.
- The original copyright holder failed to renew the rights, and the film fell into the public domain.
- As a joke, Reed received a spirit level from a friend after the film was released, due to his excessive use of Dutch Angles.
- This is one of Vince Gilligan's (of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame) favorite movies. He used Karas' theme in an episode of Better Call Saul.
- The Third Man regularly makes AFI's top 100 lists.
- Welles refused to film in the sewers. Production had to create elaborate sewer sets in England to accommodate him.
- Selznick was against the casting of Orson Welles as Harry, whom he deemed, "box office poison."
- Welles' total screen time is about five minutes.
- Director Carol Reed had three film units to shoot this film, and insisted on directing each unit. He was working twenty hour days, and taking Dexedrine while filming. He was operating on as little as two hours of sleep every night.
- Anton Karas became a sensation after the release of this film. He opened a bar in Vienna, called "The Third Man," which he ran for the rest of his life.
- Carol Reed originally wanted James Stewart for Martins, but Cotten was under contract to David O. Selznick's company, and Selznick insisted on his casting.
- Reed used real Viennese citizens as extras. Most notably the balloon seller who won't leave the British soldiers alone during the sting.
- The original copyright holder failed to renew the rights, and the film fell into the public domain.
- As a joke, Reed received a spirit level from a friend after the film was released, due to his excessive use of Dutch Angles.
- This is one of Vince Gilligan's (of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul fame) favorite movies. He used Karas' theme in an episode of Better Call Saul.
- The Third Man regularly makes AFI's top 100 lists.
- Welles refused to film in the sewers. Production had to create elaborate sewer sets in England to accommodate him.
- Selznick was against the casting of Orson Welles as Harry, whom he deemed, "box office poison."
- Welles' total screen time is about five minutes.
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