Carol Reed’s The Third Man might just be as visually stimulating as classic films get. The 1949 film noir features great performances from Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli and the indestructible Orson Welles, it evokes an unprecedented atmosphere enhanced by supreme black-and-white cinematography by the wonderful Robert Krasker, displays eloquent ingenuity in Graham Greene’s screenplay and uses Anton Karas’ melancholy zither tunes that stir the soul and warm the heart. The story is set in the post-WW2 Vienna, and the locations are used to the fullest, becoming if not an additional, full-bodied character, then at least the perfectly staged arena for the macabre events to unfold. Carol Reed’s positioning and use of the cameras might have puzzled some, even annoyed others, but Reed’s decision to use distorted angles and tilted shots considerably empowered the audience’s perception of the decaying, chaotic, war-battered Europe of the period. It remains a mystery to what degree Welles influenced the making of this film, as The Third Man unmistakably evokes the images of Welles’ earlier works, such as Citizen Kane and The Lady from Shanghai. The movie lingers in the collective film community’s mind as one of the best examples of film noir, as well as an example of most innovative and original efforts ever recorded on the celluloid. And perfectly rightfully so. Harry Lime’s brilliant speech on the Swiss Cuckoo Clocks, the unforgettable sewer chase, the impeccable script probably only a writer of Greene’s caliber could deliver… More than 65 years since its release, The Third Man is still a marvel to see, experience and learn from.
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