Film Noir

[callmemadam]

Yesterday evening I watched one of the greatest films ever made: Carol Reed’s The Third Man. This was broadcast on television as part of the ‘Orson Welles Christmas Season’ but I don’t see why Welles should get all the credit. Let’s hear it for the director, the cameraman, the actors Joseph Cotten and Trevor Howard; everyone who had a part in making it.

I was trying to imagine the film in colour and it absolutely wouldn’t work. It’s full of unforgettable images: the bombed city, the long road, the Prater, the cat, the sewers; the extraordinary menace of the laughing child, like some demonic infant Peter Lorre. The film recreates marvellously the feeling of a divided post-war city with a floating population of displaced persons. I think this is helped by having so much of the dialogue in untranslated German. It’s about love, loss, betrayal, disillusionment; every shot of the empty streets, the bare trees, the wonderful overcoats and hats they wore in those days, shrieks ‘cold’. Bleak? You bet, yet I could watch it over and over again.

It wouldn’t be the same without the music, the famous zither theme played by Anton Karas.

Watch on YouTube

When I was a child we had the sheet music arranged for the piano, exactly like this



I used to strum the tune, although of course I’d never seen the film. I think I'll have to buy a copy.

Comments

[ramblingfancy.livejournal.com]

I watched this recently after the trip to Vienna and also thought what an amazing film it is. Now you've mentioned the music of course, I can't get it out of my head! I think we had 45s when I was a child of this and the theme from Zorba the Greek! I played both of them alot - like you never having seen the films.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I felt in awe, watching. Can't get the music out of my head, either!

[ramblingfancy.livejournal.com]

Wasn't Greene involved with the screenplay as well? It does feel very true to the book.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Yes, he wrote the screenplay and it shows.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

oh, do!

[gghost.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love this film! I think that the stunning black and white photography is essential in establishing the mood and tone of the story. And now I have zither music running through my head, probably for the rest of the evening!

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Yes, film noir definitely has a double meaning here! Sorry about the music :-)

[mimmimmim.livejournal.com]

One of my favourite films ever, that one - it's amazing seen on the big screen. We've got a few of the 'The Lives of Harry Lime' radio programmes on cassette somewhere.

(Did you know there's talk of a remake with diCaprio in the Harry Lime role. I kid you not. Why remake a *great* film?! Why not do a better version of an average one?)

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

Why indeed! How can you improve on perfection? And it won't work in colour.

[susievereker.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

You highlight such interesting things, CMM, which otherwise would have passed me by. Shall find it on Iplayer.

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

As it was on over Christmas, it may no longer be there (I recorded it) but it's bound to be on again.