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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE THIRD MAN
The Third Man

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The Third Man (1949)

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93%
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Reviews Counted: 50 Fresh: 50  Rotten:0 Average Rating: 9/10
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Synopsis:
Carol Reed reached the peak of his form with this classic noir, an elegy for American innocence and European elegance. Joseph Cotten, in fine form, stars as unemployed pulp-novelist Holly Martins. When he arrives in post-WWII Vienna on the promise of a job from his old friend Harry Lime (Orson... [More]
Carol Reed reached the peak of his form with this classic noir, an elegy for American innocence and European elegance. Joseph Cotten, in fine form, stars as unemployed pulp-novelist Holly Martins. When he arrives in post-WWII Vienna on the promise of a job from his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), he finds that Lime has recently died in a dubious car accident. Against the advice of British sector authority Major Calloway (Trevor Howard), who accuses Lime of criminal behavior, the indignant Martins decides to stay to investigate his friend's death. He searches this city of rubble-strewn streets and bombed-out buildings, earnestly questioning Lime's associates, a cynical, war-weary collection of black-market hustlers. At length, he realizes that the stories he's hearing are so full of contradiction, he's getting nowhere. Yet, he's entranced by Lime's beautiful girlfriend, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), who, unlike the others, seems to have loved Harry. Calloway finally provides evidence of Harry's treachery, and Martins, despondent, is about to return home when everything changes in a shadowed moment. THE THIRD MAN is a masterpiece of melancholia featuring extraordinary writing, acting, and directing, as well as a classic zither score by Anton Karas. Welles is memorable as the seductive villain, but the true star may be the camera work of Robert Krasker, which transforms Vienna into a coruscating, expressionist nightmare. [Less]

Genre: Action/Adventure

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Wilfrid Hyde-White

Director: Carol Reed
Producer: Carol Reed, Alexander Korda, David O. Selznick
Screenwriter: Graham Greene
Composer: Anton Karas

DVD Info

Release:

May 15, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • 2-Disc Set
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • (unspecified) - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Dana Polan
  • Featurettes - 1. "Shadowing THE THIRD MAN" (2005)
  • 2. "Abridged Recording of Graham Greene's Treatment"
  • Introductions - 1. Peter Bogdonovich
  • 2. Joseph Cotten

Text/Photo Galleries:

  • Essays - 1. Luc Sante
  • 2. Charles Drazin
  • 3. Philip Kerr

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 03:15 AM
David Ansen
Newsweek
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As you watch the film, you feel as though the screen is tilted higher, glowering over you as you wince in its devastating presence, which is probably how Martins felt scurrying through the Vienna darkness.

Full Review | Comment
07/01/07 10:18 AM
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
05/31/07 03:15 AM
J.B. Mitchell
Orlando Weekly
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It's a suspense-thriller-romance steeped in Hollywood's best influences and 'gimmicks,' yet it's crafted with enough looming European 'art-house' style to topple Fritz Lang into an existential funk.

Full Review | Comment
05/29/07 06:59 PM
Mark Bourne
DVDJournal.com
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
01/27/07 05:38 AM
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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08/19/06 04:29 AM
Philip French
Observer [UK]
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08/15/06 03:16 AM
BBC
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An undisputed masterpiece, this movie captures the mood of Vienna in post-WWII like no other, and is also a testimony to film as a collaborative art, benefiting from Greene's writing, Reed's direction, and stellar cast with Orson Welles at his scariest

Full Review | Comment
07/28/06 04:13 PM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 04:23 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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Welles gives Harry a mask of irony that turns all moral judgment back on itself. He turns a mass murderer into a wry rogue, and makes his villainy all the more horrifying because we rather like him.

Full Review | Comment
07/21/05 04:13 AM
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
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Do herói fragilizado e patético ao fascinante vilão, passando pela fotografia inesquecível, a trilha surpreendente e uma Viena inigualável, o filme é simplesmente perfeito.

| Comment
10/02/04 01:32 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
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The Third Man isn't an eager crowd-pleaser, but it's great. The film is distinctly British, with a wonderfully bizarre zither score by Anton Karas.

Full Review | Comment
08/04/04 07:56 AM
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
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Is it perfect? Maybe the answer has more to do with semantics than film craft; it's at least indistinguishable from flawlessness.

| Comment
06/08/04 09:19 PM
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)
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Seen today, The Third Man ... can be appreciated as a prophetic statement on the eventual moral bankruptcy of the one-world euphoria that clouded men's minds immediately after the second 'war to end all wars.'

Full Review | Comment
04/22/04 04:45 PM
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
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A monumental arty thriller of British noir.

Full Review | Comment
02/04/04 08:21 AM
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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This handsomely shot black-and-white thriller hasn't aged one bit. Terrific writing, direction and acting never go out of style.

| Comment
12/29/03 05:44 PM
Dan Lybarger
Nitrate Online
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Yeah, it's arty, but brilliantly, entertainingly so.

| Comment
12/04/03 08:33 AM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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No review available.

| Comment
11/04/03 05:02 AM
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire
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Everything you ever wanted to know about the dark side of human nature can be found in Orson Welles' smirking face

Full Review | Comment
09/11/03 05:14 PM
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com
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No review available.

| Comment
08/22/03 01:58 PM
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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