The Third Man (1949)
Carol Reed
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Plot Summary
In 1949, an American writer of westerns, Holly Martins, arrives in post-war Vienna to visit his old friend Harry Lime. On arrival, he learns that his friend has been killed in a street accident, and when he meets Calloway, chief of the British Military Police in Vienna, he is informed that Lime was in fact a black marketer wanted by the police. He decides to prove Harry's innocence, but is Harry really dead?
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Movie Reviews from Rotten Tomatoes
TOMATOMETER
100%- Reviews Counted: 59
- Fresh: 59
- Rotten: 0
- Average Rating: 9.1/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Top credit must go to Mr. Reed for molding all possible elements into a thriller of superconsequence.
Fresh: a full-blooded, absorbing story
Fresh: It seemed like the creation of a sensibility terribly old and wise, and most of all very European; it was the very essence of world-weary sophistication.
Fresh: However hoked-up and self-regarding, The Third Man ... remains an indelible experience.
Customer Reviews
More Orson Welles, please...
The Third Man is, simply, one of those classics which transcends the time in which it was filmed. It is as noir and suspenseful today as it was when released. The mood, the zither soundtrack, the surprising plot twist, and the sheer presence of Welles (and the great Jo Cotton) are irresistbly compelling. Please iTunes, make it your 2010 New Year's Resolution to offer the rest of Orson Welles' catalog through the store!
The next best thing to Citizen Kane
Well hopefully itunes you will get Citizen Kane on your store soon but this is a great addition it has a nice story and the ending has a great plot twist the movie is filled with suspense and you will be on the edge of your seat until the final moments now itunes there is one thing yo need to do to this movie there is a small editing goof i think in the first scene where it jumps mid word
So, this was a nice flick, I guess.
It's funny to me that it's got such rave reviews on RT and here on the iTunes reviews page. I really should have loved this movie: it's noir, it's black and white, it's a storyline full of twists and turns, the cinematography is gorgeous, the dialogue has some real zingers, Orson Welles' character is magical, and it deals with large moral questions, to boot. The problem was just this: I didn't love it, not at all. I barely liked it, in fact, and viewed it somewhat they same way I'd view a Picasso painting. Well gosh! Picasso was a master of his craft. This is a masterpiece of film. And yet it bored me to tears. Bummer...
On more than one occasion, I found myself getting antsy, constantly needing to rewind because my mind would wander, and I was utterly unimpressed with the "enormous twists" that everyone mentions towards films end. I've read a few reviews wherein people specifically mention the soundtrack as one of the best parts of the film. I for one felt that it detracted from the atmosphere; I never felt suspense, nor dread, nor excitement. I never wondered what would happen next, except maybe along the romance storyline. I've rated this film 4/5 because it's a beautiful movie, one that every film lover should watch. That being said, I honestly have to say it was one of the most disappointing films I've seen in a long while. This review seems kind of self-contradictory, doesn't it? I agree. Sheesh.
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![Graham Greene, The Third Man (Unabridged) [Unabridged Fiction]](http://a1.mzstatic.com/us/r1000/006/Music/5d/63/c2/mzi.wtpuqkkc.75x75-65.jpg)
