The Third Man [Blu-ray]

As is typical of the company's releases, Criterion's version of The Third Man is definitive. It's a beautiful restoration of both image and sound, supplemented by a wealth of interesting material about the making of the film. (Just hearing the original film treatment read by a fine actor, for example, makes you realize again what a great storyteller Graham Greene was in prose, quite apart from the masterpiece of a script he crafted for this film.) And what a film it is! It's perfectly paced by director Carol Reed, memorably acted by Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard and many others (with wonderful layers of tension, humor and romance), and stunningly photographed -- mostly at night -- by cinematographer Robert Krasker (for which he won a richly-deserved Oscar). Even the theme music, composed and performed on the zither by Anton Karas, was a huge hit in both the UK and the US. Surely one of the great film noirs of all time, The Third Man was also voted the best British film of the 20th Century by the British Film Institute. If you love movies, you'll love this film. Criterion brought out their version in Blu-ray in 2008. This version is now legendary.The original film was shot by three crews working simultaneously, with two handling the night exteriors and interior sets while another shot the few daytime exteriors. Reed apparently didn't supervise the daytime unit as closely as the others, and, with one or two notable exceptions (the famous ending, for example), those sequences aren't as memorable as the night exteriors and the interior sets. Thus, they don't seem to be especially improved by either Criterion's restoration or the Blu-ray technology. But the night and interior shots! Wow! Everyone who knows the movie talks about the "wet streets" where much of the action takes place. In the Criterion Blu-ray version, we see these streets in a wholly new way. They have a beautiful sparkle and luminosity that shades into the deep nighttime blackness of the buildings and the atmosphere. Surely this is what Reed and Krasner actually saw and wanted us to see. Close-ups of the actors reveal subtle changes in the eyes and in facial expressions that are much more veiled in the DVD (not to mention VHS) formats. The range of grays -- between the film's deep, unlit blacks and it spotlit whites, is far richer and more nuanced in this version. The set designs are more detailed to the eye; the actors' wardrobes easier to study. So this is not only a very fun version for fans of the film. It's also by far the best version for people who enjoy the building blocks of movies -- the cinematography, the lighting, the art direction. Those are big advantages, in my opinion. Now for the bad news. The Blu-ray edition went out of print not long after it was released. Due to some apparently undisclosed issues over the future rights to the film, it looks unlikely to ever be released again. (Now and then I've contacted Criterion about it, but they're not saying much.) Therefore this edition has become breathtakingly expensive in the aftermarket. I looked at it a year ago and it was selling for $100. This year it seems to be up to $200. I considered myself lucky to get a new, unopened one for $150. I don't regret it for a moment, but then again, I've loved this movie for years and I had a pretty good idea what a step up the Criterion Blu-ray would be. It's totally met my expectations. Then again, I can't imagine another movie I'd spend $150 on. The rival Studio-Canal Blu-ray version of the film is pretty good, and may well be fine for all but zealots like me. The regular Criterion DVD version of the film, though also out of print, is much less expensive in the aftermarket, and it includes the extras, which are terrific. So if you've "gotta, gotta" have the undisputed best version of The Third Man, in all likelihood this is it. But it's going to cost you. If, on the other hand, just enjoying this great movie is reward enough, consider some of the other versions on the market.

Well,Criterion has another release triumph here with "The Third Man".Criterion is well known for its' quality and an eclectic array of films already released in its' catalogues with many more on the way.Most are unavailable anywhere with Criterion consistently setting the release standards for DVDs,and this film is no exception. "The Third Man" is a film originally released in /49 in Britain to great acclaim(this is the film we see),then released a year later in the U.S.The latter market had about 11 minutes cut out of it and the opening narrative changed from director Carol Reed's voice to star Joseph Cottons'. This two disc collection includes everything you ever wanted to know about this film,and so much more.Included is a nine minute vignette with a self explanatory title "Insiders' Info" ,the US Trailer,the UK Press Book,another small vignette translating the foreign language sequences into English with sub-titles(five min.),a /51 radio show starring Orson Welles as "Harry Lime" in "Ticket to Tangiers",a Lux Radio Theatre show from /51 of "The Third Man",an award winning documentary from 2000 called"Who was the Third Man?"(30 min),a /68 profile of Graham Greene from the BBC show "Omnibus",a three min./54 newsreel of zither player Anton Karas at London's Empress Club,another three min.Pathe newsreel of the policing of the Vienna sewers called "The Underground of Vienna",and "The Third Man's Vienna",a background vignette on the real post war Vienna that Greene brings to life in the film.To top this all off is a 26 page booklet with several articles about the making and producing of the film which are quite intriguing,along with production credits,transfer specs,cast credits and much more. I won't go into the plot as it is very well known by most by now.I must say that I have never seen the film looking as good as it does in this release.They made a great transfer using a high grain positive master and took out thousands of extant marks,dirt,etc, to bring the B&W print gloriously back to life.It's not perfect but it is light years beyond anything I've ever seen before.I've always said that a great print can only add to ones enjoyment of a film and the proof is abundantly clear in this "pudding". The film comes from the "Janus" collection which,as I noted in my review of Criterions'glorious release of "Pandora's Box",has been known to me as a firm that has released only countless cut and butchered films over the years.However,as I have nothing to compare films with(as I did with Pandora)I can only say that nothing appears to be amiss here so I will leave it at that. In conclusion this is a film which belongs in every serious film collectors collection.A classic of its' genre,"The Third Man" is without doubt a very important film.Its' cast is rock solid,the script and on film atmosphere that is created through its' brilliant use of lighting and cinematography,serves to enhance the films' quality and stature. With all the extras included,and this being a Criterion product which is ALWAYS a superior product,it is a must have DVD set.

In our opinion this is the best movie ever made- a great screenplay by Graham Greene and amazing black and white photography. The setting is Vienna just after WWII, the city in ruins and in charge of occupation forces. Wonderful suspense and terrific acting. A must for all movie lovers!

Very good movie. Video quality is good audio is not. The audio is much clear streaming on prime than watching the Blu-ray and I’m using a Sonos Arc Ultra for audio.

映画やビデオは、大抵一度しか見ません。本当は、何度も見るべきですね。その度に、モヤモヤとしていたことや新しいことを発見します。

Un superbe noir et blanc et une histoire à suspens

100 % OK Goede verzending en besteld item beantwoorde volledig aan de beschrijving van de verkoper ( uiterst tevreden ) :-):-):-)

Il film più bello di sempre

The Third Man is an iconic classic of noir filmaking and also a fascinating study of a divided city in the post-WWII period. The two disc set includes the movie itself along with some minor features but also the documentary Shadowing The Third Man on the 2nd disc. This documentary is nearly as good as the film itself. Of particular note is the musical score which famously included a no 1 hit in the US billboard charts and is one of the great scores ever produced. I haven't been able to get the Harry Lime Theme played on the zither out of my head since. The Third Man is a character study of a film built on suspense and intrigue. Set in post-war Vienna, the lead character is an American trash novellist Holly Martins played by Joseph Cotton. He finds himself in an unfamiliar place and facing unexpected obstacles as he attempts to track down the truth of what happened to his friend Harry Lime. The backdrop of a devastated city, of the occupying forces (specifically UK and Russian), the multi-ethnic composition of the Viennese people all feature continuously without ever being the main focus of attention. The main focus is on the people - who should Holly Martins trust and who is on his side? Looking through the eyes of an audience 60 years later only adds to the intrigue. Orson Welles is cast to steal the show and he does have some magnificent lines including a brief monologue referring to Switzerland that is a stunner. His initial appearance, standing stock still in the Harry Lime Doorway is a piece of art as powerful as most portraits. Other than that though Welles over-acts in a way that the more dour and troubled characters played by Cotton, Alida Valli, and Trevor Howard do not. Perhaps this reflects the naivety of optimism in the crumbling former jewel of the mighty Habsburg empire. Valli in particular is excellent. Her role as the distraught Anna Schmidt carries both a sadness and a defiance that marks each of her apperances on screen with tremendous pathos right up to the very end. The political dynamics of the time play subtly into the drama with the tensions between the occupying allies all too clear as well as the impact of the occupation on the Viennese themselves. There is no sense of recrimination for the Austrian role in WWII and the locals are cast sympathetically. Paul Hörbiger as the janitor is unbelievable given the revelations about him in the Shadowing The Third Man documentary. Equally extras and bit part characters are for the main given an interesting part to fulfil even if only in passing. I did though find Ernst Deutsch's portrayal of Baron Kurtz to be a cartoonish presence and too closely associated in my own mind with the kind of characters found in the propoganda films in the decade previous to The Third Man. The true star of the film though is Vienna. Wien is a magnificent city (and I'm not just saying that because I type this review while sat in it) full of history. Harry Lime's apartment is located just opposite the imposing Habsburg complex and the clue to that location is the statue - it is of Holy Roman Emperor Karl Josef in Josefplatz. The streets and building structure around Vienna still look in many places as they did in The Third Man though what has changed is the resurrection from the ashes of the war. To look at the city then and now is to know what conditions existed at the time and rationing, black marketeering, and an uncertain future haunt every step of the film. Shadowing The Third Man on the 2nd disc is a must watch. It details the making of the film including the creative tensions between Hollywood producer Selznick and the British director Carol Reed. It shows the US marketing that would have inspired me never to watch the film had I based it on those adverts. Most of all though it tells a gripping story of the people and places involved in the making of the film. The Third Man is great, with the understanding provided by Shadowing the depths that were partially obscured are fully luminated and it is easy to appreciate this work as a masterpiece.