The Third Man

While part of the Everyman Critics is broadening each others movie viewing there are some movies that i watch that may not be suitable for everyone's viewing. Rather than subject everyone to some of my more provocative movie viewing habits i will post reviews in the blog of some movies that won't be discussed with everyone else. This does not mean though that i won't push the boundaries every so often and make my fellow Everyman Critics watch movies they really don't want to watch. :)

-dan

THE THIRD MAN (1949)
TIME: 104 minutes
GENRE: Suspense
MPAA RATING: NR
LANGUAGE: English
DIRECTOR: Carol Reed
STARRING:
Joseph Cotton, Alida Valli, Orson Welles

RATING: 9/10

OVERVIEW:
Holly Martins arrives in Vienna at the request of a lifelong friend, Harry Lime, only to find that Lime had been killed in a car accident. Everyone Holly comes in contact with tries to get him to leave Vienna and return home. Once Holly discovers that there may have been a third man involved in tending to Harry after he was hit by the car he decides to stick around and discover what really happened.

REVIEW:
Roger Ebert once said that The Third Man is one of the 10 greatest films of all time. I would concur with this statement if it weren’t for the musical score featured so prominently throughout the film. Joseph Cotton gives a tour de force performance as Martins. It is amazing the depth of character he provides in what could have easily been flat if put in someone’s hands. Orson Welles also is great in the little bit of the film that he is featured in as well. After seeing Citizen Kane, I wasn’t too sure I wanted to see this film, but after watching it I’m glad that I have seen it. Perhaps it is because Carol Reed’s direction is so great and merely features Welles, whereas Citizen Kane was directed and starred Welles. I will have to check out Touch of Evil to see if I can really enjoy an Orson Welles directed film. The Third Man is definitely a must see for fans of film noir.

p.s. On a side note after watching The Third Man i re-watched a Pinky and the Brain episode titled The Third Mouse. While i found it amusing the first time around, after watching The Third Man the episode opened up much more to me.