#31 We just watched this on Netflix streaming:The Third Man

The Film: The Third Man

Regarded as a masterpiece, The Third Man is, indeed, very good. My biggest beef is totally unrelated to the movie. Well, not really, even if I was alive when it opened I would have known what was going to happen. Orson Welles was a fucking legend by the time the movie was released and there his name is in the opening credits.

I wonder who he is going to be? I already knew about his famous entrance. I’ve read about it a billion times before. When I was sixteen I found a film theory book in my grandmother’s house and read the section about canted angles. What’s a canted angle? Look it up.

The movie involves a pulp writer, Martins, who goes to Vienna to get a job with his friend Harry. Martins shows up just to find that Harry died and and he begins to investigate the mystery behind his death.

Sound like a cheesy pulp story? Well, it kind of is a B movie driven to the heights of an A movie. This is done with a great cast, amazing visuals, and great post-war perspective. Think Indiana Jones, Alien, or every Hitchcock movie ever made.

Why to watch it: It is required viewing for film lovers.

I’m not making this statement. I don’t care what you watch. But, if you really want to learn about movies, this would be a pretty good start.

The revealing scene involving Welles really was as good as everyone said it was going to be. Welles was just so…Welles. Cheeky and dramatic. I knew I was seeing something special during his speech on the ferris wheel and the speech is apparently famous. I rewound it a couple of times to listen to it. Welles’ delivery is perfect.

Pay attention to this: Okay, I’ll  write it again. Pay attention to the cinematography.

I don’t think many other movies can claim that when you google a film term it is universally cited as the movie to study in regards to that term.

German Expressionism was a wonderful little period where images were distorted, lines were elongated, colors often were stark black and white nightmares. If you’ve ever seen a Tim Burton film, you’ll know where he got his influences.

Moreover, The Third Man exists in this nightmarish universe. Now, the music has been celebrated for its narrative qualities. As in, it suggests something bright and cheery, however, has moments where darker elements can be interpreted. I’m not sure this analysis is dead on, but I’m sure a lot of people smarter than me have made these claims. I think a much darker soundtrack would have been better, but that is just my opinion.

In terms of pulp, Germanesque-style, crime films. I still think M is the masterpiece everyone should look to as a great movie. The Third Man movie has its delights though. Many of them are in the few moments Welles is on screen and the entire visual look of the movie, which is uncanny.

Netflix’s print isn’t great. I would love to see the prints when they were first released. A big problem with appreciating old movies is they look like shit now. The great critics and intellectuals have the keys to beautiful prints at film festivals and were even alive when many of these films were still in circulation theatrically. Remember, Even Griffith’s movies looked crystal clear at some point. What a shame film suffers so much from disintegration. The movement away from film is necessary, if only because of this point.

-Collin.