12/24/10 - The Third Man

The Third Man (1949, 104 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041959/

This movie is a rewatch of a movie I have already written about. The previous post is here:
06/01/09 - The Third Man

I posted a bit earlier that The Third Man was the best movie I had seen from the second batch of 100 movies watched. Way back in June was when this first watch was and yet it maintained the title for over six months. This is pretty impressive.

Anyway, everything I praised The Third Man for that first time around rings true here as well. This time I was treated to the Criterion Blu-ray which was simply gorgeous. Even an old 1949 movie in black and white can be made significantly better with a Criterion treatment. Everything was just crisper and overall looked nicer. Having already perfect imagery of Alida Valli be even better was just an added bonus.

Really, my love of The Third Man boils down to three things: the plot, the cinematography, and the ending. First, the plot twists and turns like any mystery from this time period but it's still so involving. Via the other two things, it twists and turns better than any other movie I've ever seen. Even on a second viewing where I remembered most everything, I was on the edge of my seat as I was watching Martins chase down Lime's "killers." Next, the cinematography is still the best I've ever seen. The sewer scenes are when The Third Man is at its best but really it's solid for the whole 104 minutes. All the basic stuff is done right and though sometimes these things go unnoticed, when they're done as expertly as they are in The Third Man even simple things are caught. Everything from shadows and light to the use of tilted shots all work great here. Finally, the ending remains one of the best I've ever seen. "Sad" endings are typically better in my opinion especially when they work out the way that is the most realistic. That's what happens here. There's no reason that Anna should want to hang out with Martins after he ends up being Lime's killer and so this harsh denial is so appropriate.

One thing I never commented on last time is the score. The haunting zither makes its presence known from the opening and never lets up. It's a constant source of sound for all the scenes and though it's really atypical compared to I think any other movie I've seen, it still ends up working. It doesn't really add tension or relief to any scene but it does add this touch of weirdness and uneasiness mixed with a bit of humor that all comes together well. I wouldn't say this score is on par with something like Almost Famous or even Suspiria but it still works surprisingly well given it's simplicity.

Overall, I gave this film a 10/10 again. Was there ever really a question? The Third Man was actually the best movie I'd seen this year and it remains in that spot with this viewing. It's a classic that really every single person needs to see. The mystery here is not even remotely dated and there's really no excuse that someone can give that can warrant not watching this film.