Wednesday, May 4, 2011 - No movies. Didn't watch a single thing.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
DAY 18, MOVIE 1:
The Third Man (1949), directed by Carol Reed. This is a movie that I watched for the third time today, and each time I watch it, it gets a little better. The Third Man is about a writer who travels to Vienna for a job offer given to him by a friend. When he discovers his friend has been killed in an accident, he starts asking around about the incident. When stories start to contradict, he begins to dig to the bottom of what actually happened. I wouldn’t place this at the top of my best suspense and noir lists, but it is a very good entry in the genre. But despite me liking this movie, I really don’t have much to say about it. I agree with everyone about the cinematography, it is beautiful. The use of shadow and the way some shots are slight tilted practically create the tone of the film. But as far as technical aspects go, it’s the music that has stayed with me; the use of the instrument, the zither, is something that you will never hear in any other movie before or since The Third Man. The score really stand out to you the first time you watch it, and will be stuck in your head for a while. The first half of the movie strikes me as basic, but interesting. It’s well made and acted, but nothing special. However, the last 40 minutes are fantastic. Once Orson Welles shows up, the story becomes something greater than the basics established in the first half. To me, Orson Welles’ mysterious performance as Harry Lime makes the movie. His screen time is only brief, but the scenes he is in are all great. His introduction on the dark streets of Vienna, his conversation with Joseph Cotton on the Ferris wheel, and my personal favorite: the sewer chase. All of these scenes are among the best of the 1940s decade.
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