April 9, 2004
The Third Man at Film Forum
For the next week, Film Forum is showing a restored print of The Third Man, the great 1949 noir film based on the book by Graham Greene. This is one of Gothamist's favorite movies, not only because it's a wonderfully twisting story set in post WWII Vienna, but because of Joseph Cotten who plays the protagonist, a Westerns writer named Holly Martins. Cotten was friends with Orson Welles (who plays Harry Lime in The Third Man, above) and played Jedediah Leland in Citizen Kane and Eugene in The Magnificent Ambersons. He also played the deceptive Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt, where he made you understand why someone might marry a murderer.
The Times' Elvis Mitchell calls The Third Man, "quite simply, one of the finest movies ever made and Roger Ebert says it most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies with its existential loss and weariness knowingness. If you're in Vienna, you can go on a Third Man Walk. The Third Man was also the inspiration for a Pinky and the Brain episode, The Third Mouse.
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I couldn't agree more with Gothamist's opinion of the film. Absolutely wonderful. I love how Holly Martins calls the police officer Callahan and he corrects him by saying something to the effect of "My name is Calloway. I'm English, not Irish." The last shot is heart breaking. The music is great, as well.
Yeah that's an excellent film! A perennial favorite in my collection.
My father turned me on to this film. I absolutely love it as well. The zither music is fantasic, the post-war Vienna scenes are fantastic. One of the first films I bought on DVD (joining such classics as "Lucas" and "Last Starfighter). Another reason I wish I were still living in New York -- to see "The Third Man" on the big screen.
And the line about the Swiss? Perfect.
Except that the cuckoo clock is Bavarian, and not Swiss, and we all know the Germans aren't always a peace-loving people.
That aside, it's a brilliant film and beautifully photographed. The ruins of Vienna are so stark and yet the city still looks lovely.
Cotten and Welles have great chemistry together. It's all through their scenes in this film, but I think the best moment between them comes in Kane, right after Kane loses the race for governor. Leland gets drunk and asks Kane to send him to Chicago. His line is supposed to be "You said yourself you were looking for someone to do dramatic criticism," but Cotten flubs it: "dramatic crimatism." Welles starts to laugh, thinking the scene will be reshot, but their eyes meet and Cotten forges ahead. The scene is probably stronger with the mistake than it would have been otherwise, but it's only their mutual trust that saves it.
At any rate, any chance to see these two together on screen is worth taking, and Cotten plays Martins perfectly. Magnificent film.
**Spoilerish material in here, but you really should have seen this flick already**
Truly one of the greatest films. period. From the soundtrack to the cinematography to the acting to the script -- every piece is brilliant.
I love the subtle touches: how Holly never says "Callahan" correctly, the look Lime gives Martin when he's "discovered," the Prater ferris wheel scene -- with its simultaneous menace, whimsy and humanity -- I could go on and on.
I studied in Vienna back in 1991, and had never seen the film. I'd love to go back now and do that Third Man walk.
Thanks for the tip. I've been looking for this movie for a while.
This is a great movie, indeed. My wife and I were in Vienna in December and went to see it there in a theater where it runs every Friday(!)... Even more special to see it there. Just loved it... After that, we went for coffee and torte to the Hotel Sacher, which features in the movie. More interesting stuff, including info about a spinoff radio series - "The Lives of Harry Lime" - here: http://filmsite.org/thir.html
Arguably, "The Third Man" has the best film ending ever.
i'm currently doing a project on this movie and i was wondering if any of you would be interested in discussing this film with me.