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The Third Man Criterion Collection

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I'm fairly certain that the reviewer who gave this older edition one star has not actually seen it. If he had he'd know that the picture and sound are just fine, and from what I can tell about 60% of the features on the two disc edition are on this one too. You'll have to decide for yourself if the bells and whistles are worth the extra money, but if you want to save yourself a few bucks then you're not missing too much with the older version.
Honestly, Criterion would have done us all more of a service if they'd finally gotten "Our Man in Havana" out on DVD instead of putting out a deluxe edition of "The Third Man." But I do have to give them a lot of credit for releasing "The Fallen Idol" on DVD.

Carol Reed's 1949 film-noir "The Third Man" is Reed's greatest work, and probably Orson Welle's second greatest acting role of his career! This is not an idle boast considering this movie is considered the greatest British made film of all time by the British Film institute, (#57 on AFI's top 100). By the way, Welle's has the unique distinction of also acting in the #1 movie on the American Film Institute list, "Citizen Kane"!!!

"The Third Man" is certainly on my all time fave top ten list for several reasons. The story was superbly written as a novella by Graham Greene who also wrote the screenplay for the film. The cinematography is absolutely stunning!!! It is considered to have two of the greatest cinematic shots in film. One is when Orson Welles character is first seen on film, which interestingly does not happen until half way through the film. The second is the ending scene. In addition the movie was actually shot in war torn Vienna soon after the war which gives this movie a very "edgy" look. Another interesting fact is that when Reed was scouting for interesting locations in Vienna to shoot scenes he did it at night so there was not so much traffic on the streets to obstruct his view. He noticed that trucks would periodically drive over the roads and hose them down to clean them of debris. He loved how the night light reflected off the wet sheen of the asphalt roads, a look that he duplicated in the masterful black and white film to great effect!!! It won the Oscar Award for cinematography.

Another great "back story" to this film is how Reed settled on the film score for the movie. It has one of the most unusual, enticing and whimsical sound scores of any movie. Originally Reed was going to use a typical symphonic sound score. However, while on location, Reed went to a Viennese wine bar to relax and heard the lyrical zither sounds of Anton Karas who was a mere entertainer in the bar. Reed was captivated by the sound and selected Karas as the musical director of the movie. He was invited to London and lived with Reed. Reed treated him very well, but Karas was in a slump - then suddenly Reed rushed into Karas' room, and lay at full length on the floor. "Now I'm dead! Only your zither can bring me back to life! Karas, play such a song as to raise me from the dead." Instantly Karas realized his intention, and tried to play a song that would satisfy him. But Reed wasn't easily satisfied, Karas exerted himself for hours - the moment he almost gave it up, he played that familiar melody. The success of "The Third Man" changed Karas' life totally. He played all over the world, and won applause from the British Royal family and the Pope. He earned a lot of money from this soundtrack since its title cut topped the international music charts in 1950.

Plot Summary:

An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, (Joseph Cotton a life long friend of Orson's from his Mercury theatre days, "Citizen Kane", and "The Magnificent Ambersons"), 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, (Orson Welles) 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 ensuing mystery entangles him in his friend's involvement in the black market, with the multinational police, and with his Czech girlfriend.
Soon after he is introduced in the movie with one of the all time greatest cinematic scenes cleverly using a "chiaroscuro" effect reminiscent of Caravaggio's Renaissance era paintings, Wells delivers one of his greatest film soliloquies that he wrote for his character to deliver in the film. Looking down on the people below from his vantage point of being on a Ferris wheel, Harry Lime (Welles) compares them to dots. Back on the ground, he notes:

"You know what the fellow said - in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace - and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

As I mentioned earlier in this review Welles doesn't even appear until half way through the movie; however, his screen presence is captivating, he steals the show!!!

This is one of those films that everyone thought he/she saw. This is of course because of all the popular actors and directors. Of those viewers that have seen this film they will never forget.

The default version is the U.K. version. However, you can see the different versions compared on the DVD extras. Speaking about extras, one of the best extra is that of the abbreviated play being read voice-over the film. I defiantly ordered the book.

This film is presented in black and white. You can see how tight the presentation is without a wasted word or glance. The Music is also one of the main characters of the film. I only remember the Blu-ray version so I cannot tell the quality of the other versions.

Even though the book looks from the view of Major Calloway (Trevor Howard in the film) and the film from the view of Holly Martins, it is the character of Sergeant Paine (Bernard Lee) that we find endearing.

Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) an out of work novelist (Westerns) is offered a job in post war Vienna by his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). When Holly arrives he finds he is late for Harry's funeral. The authorities are besmirching Harry's memory. Harry's girl (Alida Valli) after hearing of a mysterious third man at Harry's car accident suggested that Harry's death may not have been an accident.

Now it is up to Holly to clear Harry's name. We may be in for a few surprises.

The Fallen Idol - Criterion Collection

Viewing "The Third Man" again brings back pleasant memories not only because it is a masterful movie, but because it helps to relive my personal experience in the Austrian capital. In 1954 I was stationed in Vienna with the U.S. military police company that included the International Patrol featured in the movie. Seeing the streets I knew so well was a treat. I saw the movie in 1949 and like many others was captivated by the Anton Karas's zither title theme and music from the movie.
What makes this a classic motion picture?--the superb acting (particularly Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, and Alida Valli), the flashes of humor (witness the Wilfred Hyde-White scenes), the gripping black and white photography, the suspense, the chase sequences (especially the one with the little boy chasing and accusing the couple through the dark streets), the use of ominous shadows, the build-up of the mystery of the third person at the death scene, the use of Vienna as a major player, and the innovative zither sound track.
Also: the great direction by Carol Reed surpassing Hitchcock's similar work, the love interest, the enormity of Harry Lime's crime in human terms, the little insights into characters (Baron Kurtz and Dr. Winkel were probably lovers), the police procedural component (the British military police), and Graham Greene's great script based upon his novel. Like other golden movies, it is able to draw you into its being so you get completely enveloped in it like a Venus fly trap. Great movies transport you into their world.
Some footnotes: The movie has some eccentric characters as side effects. Reed focuses on little details that catch the viewer's attention like Lime's cat. The sleazy Casanova Club is part of the Viennese backdrop. Lime is a boy who "never grew up." Popescu says, "Everybody ought to be careful in a city like this." Lime hides in the shadows, and Cotton is unaware of it as he says, "Come out, come out, whoever you are." The giant ferris wheel in the Prader was a sight I had to see and ride for myself after having seen it in the movie. The chase in the sewers stays with you long after you have seen the movie.
It's a movie I never tire of.

THE THIRD MAN is a classic tale of suspense and betrayal with a terrific performance from Orson Welles and one of the most unusual film scores ever. However, I almost ordered this DVD by mistake not realizing that it is in fact the older version. Criterion is releasing a brand new version of this title in May which features better picture quality and an entire second DVD full of extra features that are not available on this version. That is definitely the version to get and I am really looking forward to it.