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195 of 218 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great surrealist drama of truth and loyalth, February 17, 2000
It was with great anticipation that I viewed The Third Man recently. I had last seen it nearly 25 years earlier. At the earlier viewing I was impressed with the atmospheric treatment of Vienna and the mystery surrounding Joseph Cotton's search for the truth about his friend Harry (Orson Wells). However, though I then thought of it as a very fine movie, I did not think it would rank in my top 20. Now I see what I missed as a younger person. I can also see why this film would rank as number one on a British list of greatest films of the 20th century. The film is a surreal examination of the tension between loyalty, love, and friendship on the one hand, and truth and justice on the other. The Viennese are suffused with the cynicism of a destroyed continent and damaged culture. The British know only about the truth and justice side of the equation. The American writer of simple westerns still is naïve enough to care about friendship and truth, and follows both wherever they lead. At the same time, Carol Reed scarcely shoots a scene in which there are right angles. Nearly everything is tilted. Close-ups of faces exaggerate their features. The black and white of the film emphasizes the shadowy nature of the story and its moral underpinnings. At first Holly Martins (Cotton) thinks he is helping his best friend, Harry Lime (Wells). At the same time he becomes Harry's rival for the woman, Anna. When Harry realizes that Holly has discovered his true evil scheme, Harry has a chance to murder Holly and make it look like an accident. What stops him? Friendship? And why does Harry accept Holly's invitation to meet? In the penultimate scene in the underground sewer tunnels, does Holly fire the final and fatal shot, or does Harry kill himself? This magnificently filmed and wonderfully acted masterpiece has remained in my mind for days after seeing it. If you are a lover of cinema and not merely of movies, please get this classic. It richly deserves its reputation. Highly recommended.
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51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have DVD for film noir fans!, July 28, 2000
I have always seen inferior prints of this film until I found this Criterion DVD and I must say, it was like watching a completely different film. The crisp b&w photography has been restored to the original pristine quality and one can easily see why this film took home the Oscar for best cinematography. The sound is also superb. The DVD is loaded with extra features such as the original opening monologue to the British release (voiced by director Carol Reed), a reading of the novel by author Graham Greene, archival footage of the sewer system "police" in Vienna (which plays a significant part in the film), and numerous stills with tantalizing behind the scenes information (like the fact that Orson Welles was so put off by working in the actual sewers that he refused to return and the crew had to build a sewer set at Shepperton Studios). There are many other extras as well, actually too many to remember. Bravo to Criterion for their amazing work on this classic film!
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As good as ever, December 2, 1999
This movie is a personal favorite, the DVD version is better than the Laser Disk, and some 22,000 'clean ups' were done on the source material. Quality is very good, Criterion have done an excellent job, there are also many extras, all of which are very interesting. For those of you who like a mystery, this is the tops. From the begining scenes you are engrossed in this dark story. The acting is simply superb, conveying this sense of foreboding. Camera work, again, superb. Joseph Cotton plays Holly Martins, an out of work western author, who arrives in Vienna to work for his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). But Lime is dead, under slightly strange conditions, conditions which get more confusing as the movie progresses. Martins follows the clues, not helped by Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), the Britsh Military Policeman for the British sector of Vienna. Martins struggles on, meets Harry Limes girl friend Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). After a time Martins begins to trust Major Calloway, and vice-versa, and so the story continues. You may even recognise Sergeant Paine (Bernard Lee) who was later to become 'M' in the James Bond movies. Throughout this movie the music is played by Anton Karas on the Zither. The music is hypnotic and forceful. Karas had a major hit with 'The Harry Lime' theme, and there is a clip of him playing it. This movie is great, everything went well, wonderfully directed, acted, photographed. If you haven't seen it please do.
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