The Third Man [1949 film]

by Carol Reed (Director), Graham Greene (Screenwriter)

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Set in post-war Vienna, an American western-adventure writer searches for a friend who turns out to be the king-pin of the Austrian black market.

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9 reviews
An American in post-war Vienna tries to clear the name of his recently deceased friend.

An all-around damn good movie. Visually, it's as good as it gets.

It's my second time watching the movie, and I've had a complete reversal on my reaction to the music. It had seemed so completely wrong. It is wrong, for the first half of the movie - and by the time it starts to fit, I had already rejected it. But on the second viewing, the effect has changed so much it's like a different score. Watching that first half of the movie knowing that the title character is on his way - knowing the character and how Welles plays him - the score is absolutely perfect. It's hard to imagine the movie with a traditional mystery/crime score. It would still be a show more great movie that way, but... I don't know. Maybe Welles' performance wouldn't seem so great without that music to prepare you for him.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 3.8/4
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½
Film tourné après-guerre (en 1949) par Carol Reed,The Third Man est l'adaptation du roman de Graham Greene (lequel signe par ailleurs le scénario).
Un écrivain alcoolique (Joseph Cotten) débarque à Vienne pour y retrouver un ami qui lui a promis un travail. Mais il arrive le jour même où l'ami en question (interprété par Orson Wells) est enterré.
Les images filmées dans un beau noir et blanc, truffées d'ombres et baignées dans une lumière crépusculaire, sont superbes.
L'univers du film, mystérieux, ténébreux et fantomatique, est celui d'un monde post-Shoah et Hiroshima. Point de salut dans cet enfer terrestre dans lequel les morts et les vivants se confondent. Un cynisme froid a envahi le coeur des hommes. Comme en show more témoigne cette réplique dans la bouche d'Orson Welles :
"L'Italie des Borgia a connu 30 ans de guerre, de sang, mais en sont sortis Michel-Ange, Léonard de Vinci et la Renaissance. La Suisse a connu la fraternité et 500 ans de démocratie. Et ça a donné quoi ? Le coucou!".
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1946. In una Vienna devastata dalla guerra e suddivisa in quattro settori sotto l'occupazione alleata, lo scrittore americano Holly Martins va alla ricerca di Harry Lime, un amico misteriosamente scomparso e dato per morto. Martins però continua ostinatamente la sua ricerca del compagno scoprendo che in realtà Harry è ancora vivo, nonché artefice di un misterioso complotto. (fonte: retro confezione)
Der Schriftsteller Holly Martins trifft im Nachkriegs-Wien ein, um seinen alten Freund Harry Lime zu besuchen. Er kommt gerade noch rechtzeitig zu dessen Beerdigung. Bei seinen Nachforschungen, die ihn zur Schauspielerin Anna Schmidt führen, findet er heraus, dass Lime quicklebendig ist und seinen angeblichen Tod nur inszeniert hat, um ungestört seinen Schwarzmarktgeschäften nachgehen zu können. Carol Reeds Verfilmung des gleichnamigen Kriminalromans von Graham Greene wurde von den Mitgliedern des British Film Institute zum Besten Britischen Film des 20. Jahrhunderts gewählt. Er gewann einen Oscar, die Goldene Palme in Cannes und einen British Academy Award als Bester Film. Neben der spektakulären Kameraführung war es aber show more insbesondere die berühmte Zither-Musik von Anton Karas, die dazu beitrug, dass Der Dritte Mann zu einem Klassiker der Filmgeschichte wurde. Wir präsentieren das Meisterwerk mit neu restauriertem Bild.
Ein Film aus dem Jahr 1949. Eine Produktion von British Lion Film Corporation. - Deutsch Stereo DD, Englisch Stereo DD, Deutsch, Laufzeit: 104 Minuten, Bild: 1,33:1 (4:3 Vollbild), Region: PAL / 2, Bestellnr. 895008. - Großbritannien 1949
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In '99, the British Film Institute voted it the greatest British film of all time.
📽️ If you’re ever in Vienna, do not miss the Third Man tour with @ThirdManMuseum. It's a thrill to visit all the film’s iconic locations.
Mar 15, 2024 (Edited)Portuguese (Brazil)
La guerra è da poco finita e lo scrittore canadese Holly Martins si reca a Vienna per incontrare il vecchio amico Harry Lime. Qui viene a sapere che l'uomo è morto. Non fidandosi delle indagini ufficiali, l'uomo inizia le proprie ricerche. (fonte: Wikipedia)

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Author Information

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Director
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Screenwriter
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Born in 1904, Graham Greene was the son of a headmaster and the fourth of six children. Preferring to stay home and read rather than endure the teasing at school that was a by-product of his father's occupation, Greene attempted suicide several times and eventually dropped out of school at the age of 15. His parents sent him to an analyst in show more London who recommended he try writing as therapy. He completed his first novel by the time he graduated from college in 1925. Greene wrote both entertainments and serious novels. Catholicism was a recurring theme in his work, notable examples being The Power and the Glory (1940) and The End of the Affair (1951). Popular suspense novels include: The Heart of the Matter, Our Man in Havana and The Quiet American. Greene was also a world traveler and he used his experiences as the basis for many books. One popular example, Journey Without Maps (1936), was based on a trip through the jungles of Liberia. Greene also wrote and adapted screenplays, including that of the 1949 film, The Third Man, which starred Orson Welles. He died in Vevey, Switzerland in 1991. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Graham Greene has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.

All Editions

Hamilton, Guy (Assistant director)
Karas, Anton (Composer)
Korda, Alexander (Producer)
Krasker, Robert (Cinematographer)
Lee, Bernard (Actor)

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Yang, Lucien S. Y. (Cover designer)

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Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Third Man [1949 film]
Original title
The Third Man
Original publication date
1949-09-01 (Grand Gala World Premiere|Ritz Cinema|Hastings|England) (Grand Gala World Premiere | Ritz Cinema | Hastings | England); 1949
People/Characters
Harry Lime; Holly Martins
Important places
Vienna, Austria; Austria
Related movies
The Third Man (1949 | IMDb)
First words
"I never knew the old Vienna before the war with its Strauss music, its glamour and easy charm".
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"Haven't got a sensible name, Calloway".
Original language*
Englisch
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

DDC/MDS
791.43Arts & recreationRecreation, sports, and performing artsMovies, TV, VideoMotion pictures, radio, television, podcastingMotion pictures
LCC
PN1997Language and LiteratureLiterature (General)Literature (General)DramaMotion picturesPlays, scenarios, etc.

Statistics

Members
400
Popularity
77,710
Reviews
8
Rating
½ (4.35)
Languages
7 — English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Multiple languages, Spanish
ISBNs
18
UPCs
11
ASINs
45