The Third Man

The Third Man has the significant disadvantage in the form of the reputation it already has. It means that the viewer approaches this with the expectation of “that best movie in British cinema history". But despite all the unarguable qualities of this picture, that isn’t what the viewer gets. You can clearly recognize Grahame Greene’s mark on this movie. Some of the best dialogs ever and a perfectly set up story with the traditional “Greenesque" disturbing second half. Too bad about the unnecessarily dragged out final chase scene. To begin with, the zither music may not seem completely appropriate for the genre, but in the end the music seems to be one of the movies biggest pluses. Immediately after the atmosphere of post-war Vienna, the skewed camera and actors. All of them, no exceptions. And then several renowned shots and one absolutely perfect scene on the Ferris wheel which I simply had to play back to myself again immediately after the movie ended. The Third Man is an excellent political thriller. I wouldn’t say it is the best of all, but it would certainly at least get into the semi-finals in any competition for first place. (24/02/2008)

Distribution in the Czech Republic has declared that according to British fans, it is the best film of all time. It was certainly an exceptional film for its time, but spreading the above statement among consumers of today's commercial hits would likely result in a few chuckles, because time in the film industry runs fast, and nearly 60 years is simply noticeable. At the end of the 1940s, the revolutionary use of exteriors and the grim ruins of bombed Vienna give this thriller almost the dimension of a war documentary. Excellent work by Welles, the camera and lighting deserve mention, as well as several excellent scenes, such as the wild chase across the city, which surprisingly ends at a literary lecture. On the other hand, there is uneven pacing and tedious scenes (especially the final quarter hour in the sewer system). Overall impression 80%. (06/05/2007)

This is a colossal mystery. Unless I have watched a completely different film, I can't explain why The Third Man's rating far exceeds its actual objective qualities. The story makes no sense and dully maintains the tension by listening over and over again to dialogues about one "mysterious" event. Perhaps, it was successful in its time thanks to the participation of Orson Welles, who plays a truly "mysterious" character, and also for being shot on location in a crumbling Vienna, whose narrow streets were perfect for a story full of mysteries. Today, however, the film would have a hard time fitting in, regardless of the fact that noir is sort of past its prime. I give three stars solely for the last fifteen minutes, and also out of admiration for the director, who managed to work quite skilfully with the predictable mysteries for almost 70 minutes. But this is a movie with too many mysteries for my taste. :-) 60% (22/07/2014)

Great film noir, for many people a movie that defines this genre. Orson Welles in his classic role, when he appears only for a few minutes, but completely changes the understanding of the whole plot and previous events. Great twists and absolutely unexpected music. This is something that must bring joy to film lovers. However, I can't help but feel that something is missing in order for the film to create a truly perfect impression of uniqueness. As if it were not perfectly consistent. (20/10/2013)