
	Empty

Login \ Create an Account

On this Page

Reviews & Articles

The Third Man

Our DVD Price: £15.99

RRP: ~~£17.99~~ Save £2.00 (11%)

Availability

This product should be despatched within 4 days. This product will be dispatched from Guernsey. Delivery times

Earn 75 Bonus Points when you buy this product. More info

Film Description

"I never knew the old Vienna before the war...", so begins the narration to one of the most justly famed British films of all time, set in post war Vienna. Writer Holly Martins is in town to visit his friend Harry Lime. But Lime is dead...or is he? Excellent performances from Howard, Cotten, Welles et al complement the expressionist look of the film, there are some of THE classic scenes in cinema (Welles's speech about the cuckoo clock on the big wheel, the closing shot of Alida Valli walking towards the camera), and of course, there's the theme tune, played by Anton Karas on the zither.

Film Information

Director	Carol Reed
Starring	Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Joseph Cotten, Wilfrid Hyde White
Genre	Classic Film
Country	UK	Language	ENGLISH	Year	1949

DVD Extras

2 discs. 90-minute Documentary - "Shadowing The Third Man"; The Third Man ï¿½ original radio broadcasts; Featurette on composer Anton Karas; Original Trailers; Photo galleries & filmographies.

Technical Details

Certificate	PG	Length	109 mins	Label	OPTIM
Cat No	OPTD0585	Format	DVD	Black & White
Region	2

Reviews & Articles

Share your thoughts and opinions - write a review

Review by carol on 20th October 2001

A film ahead of its time, this must be one of the greatest British films ever produced. An archetypal noir thriller set in post-war Vienna, the city is caught as it was then in all its bomb-damaged, baroque splendour. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), an out-of-work writer, is in town to visit his old school friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles) who has offered him a job. On arrival, Holly discovers Lime killed in a mysterious traffic accident. Directed by Sir Carol Reed from the screenplay by Graham Green, the film is accompanied by the haunting Harry Lime theme.

View more reviews by carol

Review by Chris Asiama on 11th October 2005

Orson Welles is barely on screen for five-minutes in this film noir masterpiece but he delivers a powerhouse performance as the amoral grifter known as Harry Lime.

This film is probably one of the best known and certainly one of the most stylish noirs ever comitted to celluloid. The director Carol Reed was a fine pioneer of some truly intriguing and ground-breaking movies including Odd Man Out starring James Mason and The Man Between.

The supporting cast in this classic also deliver some excellent performances and truly enhance the films atmosphere and the trademark Expressionistic light-and-shadow is used to the full not to mention some rather experimental camera shots.

I was also taken in by the rather unusual score which is a tune that I will keep on humming for the next week or so.

The Third Man oozes class on every level and reminds me of some of the early Fritz Lang classics like M with Peter Lorre and Whlie The City Sleeps.

As a fan of the film noir I was thoroughly impressed with this effort and will be honoured to have this film as part of my permanent collection.

View more reviews by Chris Asiama

Review by Alex Davidson on 11th May 2004

Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), an American pulp fiction writer, travels to meet up with his old friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). However, when he arrives he learns that Lime has been killed in a suspicious accident. He become involved in a complex mystery with Lime’s ex-girlfriend (Alida Valli), and soon it becomes apparent that Lime may not be dead after all.

The Third Man is often regarded as the best British film ever made (it topped a poll conducted by the BFI). It is certainly an enormously impressive work, and is notable in particular for its daring innovations; unusually, the film featured a truly evil villain (many movie antagonists are violent and sadistic, but few profit from the sufferings of children), and by making this vile criminal far more charismatic and entertaining than the would-be hero, Reed was subverting the conventions of the genre (the film was made in the days when heroes got all the good dialogue). The use of Anton Karas’ zither music was also a bold decision – this was, after all, a film noir, and the bouncy score could easily have ruined the atmosphere.

Reed’s boldness pays off, however, and Welles’ performance, which ultimately amounts to a cameo, is one of his best. He is sinister enough to be genuinely menacing (such as the famous scene on the big wheel) and charming enough for the audience to appreciate why he and Martins used to be good friends. Valli is also impressive in a complex role; at first she appears to inhabit a femme fatale role, yet gradually it become clear that she has passionate feelings towards Lime, and that she ranks as another one of his victims (Lime’s complete disinterest in her plight is still shocking).

The Third Man has dated extremely well, with smart dialogue and superb, Oscar-winning cinematography (the chase through the Viennese sewers is particularly striking, with its vivid use of shadows). People may bemoan the state of the British film industry, and often they have a point, but once the British could compete with the best of Hollywood and The Third Man serves as a sharp reminder of the cinematic talent that Britain used to support.

View more reviews by Alex Davidson

Browse all Film Reviews

Collections & Lists

This film is part of the following Film Collections

Best of British

Including: A Fish Called Wanda, A Matter of Life and Death , A Room With A View, Blow-up, Brazil, Brief Encounter (1945), Brighton Rock, Caravaggio, Dont Look Now, Get Carter.

Film Noir

Including: Body And Soul, Body Heat, Brick, Call Northside 777, Chinatown, Crossfire, Dead Reckoning, Detour (1945), Double Indemnity, Fallen Angel.

Palme D'Or Winners

Including: All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now Redux, Blow-up, Brief Encounter (1945), Dancer in The Dark, Elephant, Kagemusha, La Dolce Vita, Marty, MASH.

Sight and Sound Critics Choice 2002

Including: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Andrei Rublev, Au Hasard Balthazar, Bicycle Thieves, Breathless (Godard, 1959), Charlie Chaplin - City Lights, Fanny and Alexander, Fellinis 8 1/2, Intolerance, Ivan The Terrible (Parts 1 & 2).

View all collections

This film is part of the following Customer Film Lists

BFI Top 100 British Films by MovieMail

In 1999 the British Film Institute surveyed 1000 people involved in UK film and television to create the BFI Top 100 British films made in the 20th century. Here is the result - each film here stands up to repeat viewings, and shows the incredible contribution Britain has made to cinema.

Desert Island Disks by LK Baxendale

Discovery at Marigot Bay by Moviemail

For Discovery Comments.

Halliwell's Top 100 Movies by MovieMail

Leslie Halliwell was one of the most authoritative of film critics and a new edition of the film bible lists the Top 1000 movies of all time. Here we list the Top 100, all of which are undoubted classics that stand up to repeated viewings and which are testament to the brilliance that cinema can achieve.

MovieMail Top 100 Best-Sellers of All-Time by MovieMail

This is your list: the 100 films you've bought the most of in the 10 years of MovieMail's existence. There are some surprise entries and some glaring omissions – but it’s all true, and, frankly, you’ve got very good taste! It’s such a good list that we're going to make it a permanent fixture on our website and to celebrate the launch we’ve slashed many of the prices on these wonderful films. Enjoy!

Oscars Winners - Great films, up to 70% off by MovieMail

This year, MovieMail has decided to dispense with the standard list of award-winners, and lift the curtain on some of the lesser-known categories in which many rare and exciting films reside.
The following movies were singled out for important aspects of the film-making craft and, we think, are the titles which glister brightest in Uncle Oscar's auric eye.

Some Great Movies to see before you die! by Cliff Haylett

this was only going to be ten films but where to stop!

The Second Eleven (Ten) by John Kelly-Chandler

Why We Go To The Movies by Roger Paul

Movies can be great and movies can be awful, but even the worst can be lifted by inspirational moments. This list originates from great movies, but they all became classics due to their own unforgettable moments.

Create your own Film List!

Customers who bought this also bought...

Recommendations from fellow customers

by Jean Renoir

Breathless (Godard, 1959)

by Jean-Luc Godard

The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946)

by Howard Hawks

Other films by...

More films directed by Carol Reed

The Way Ahead

Odd Man Out

The Fallen Idol

A Kid For Two Farthings

Our Man In Havana

More films starring Trevor Howard

Brief Encounter (1945)

by David Lean

Von Ryans Express

by Mark Robson

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

by Lewis Milestone

Cockleshell Heroes

by Jose Ferrer

Aces High

by Jack Gold

More films starring Orson Welles

Moby Dick (1956)

by John Huston

Trents Last Case

by Herbert Wilcox

Confidential Report

by Orson Welles

The Lady From Shanghai

by Orson Welles

A Man For All Seasons

by Fred Zinnemann

More films starring Joseph Cotten

Shadow Of A Doubt

by Alfred Hitchcock

Duel In The Sun

by King Vidor

The Magnificent Ambersons

by Orson Welles

F For Fake

by Orson Welles

Tora! Tora! Tora!

by Richard Fleischer

More films starring Alida Valli

Senso

by Luchino Visconti

Les Bijoutiers Du Clair De Lune

by Roger Vadim

The Miracle Of The Bells

by Irving Pichel

Pier Paolo Pasolini (Vol 2)

by Pier Paolo Pasolini

Eyes Without a Face

by Georges Franju

More films starring Wilfrid Hyde White

My Fair Lady

by George Cukor

Elephant Boy

by Zoltan Korda / Robert Flaherty

The Cat And The Canary (1979)

by Radley Metzger

In Search Of The Castaways

by Robert Stevenson

Special Offers

More Great Offers

	Universal Modern Cinema Sale - from £5.99!
	The Hollywood Studio System in the 1930s
	Film Four New Releases - Superb DVDs just £6.99!
	A Winning Selection of Unforgettable Films!
	Massive Spring Sale - over 450 DVDs from £5.99!
	The Best in Eastern European Cinema - from £5.99!
	Sony Pictures - Classic and Modern British Films
	Around the World in 135 Films - from £5.99 each!