"The Third Man" is widely considered as the best British film ever (e.g. British Film Institute 1999 poll, Sight & Sound polls). It is a landmark in worldwide cinema notably for its unique mix of genres: historical, thriller, tragedy, comedy. And it is a brilliant reflection about ethics.
The movie is not adapted from a pre-existing book: when Graham Greene was tasked to write the screenplay, he wrote a novel to have a fully consistent plot that he immediately adapted for the screen. As Greene modestly admitted in the foreword he wrote afterwards: "The film, in fact, is better than the story because it is in this case the finished state of the story." The book and the movie plots are similar, although there are a few significant variances: for instance, the novel is narrated by Calloway and ends differently (on the latter, see below).
HISTORY & TRAGEDY
The movie starts as a historical account of post-war Vienna: the opening speech portrays chaos in Europe; we see footage of the destroyed city, divided into four zones. The plot revolves around black market, some relatively harmless (clothes, watches, cigarettes, etc.), some deadly like penicillin, which is historically accurate. Depiction is first realistic; we are lost like Holly is: many dialogues are in German without subtitles. Some scenes are tragic, notably the one in the children's hospital. Also, Anna's grief about Harry's death is touching.
THRILLER & COMEDY
Rapidly, the movie evolves into a thriller with most ingredients of Noir genre: murders (the porter, Harbin), chases (Holly and Anna, Holly, Harry), numerous night scenes, plot twists, mysteries. Was Harry victim of an accident or a murder? Who was the third man? (This mystery remains unsolved, although it probably was Harry himself.) Where is Harry now?
Nonetheless, comical elements are continuously present, except at the end. Holly is a small-time writer of cheap novellas, getting drunk, attracting trouble and failing with women. Many dialogues are funny. Some figures are farcical: Kurtz, customers at the club, Anna's landlady, the balloon-seller, etc. The excellent score adds a sarcastic tone to the whole story (although it is sometimes too present, which partly spoils scenes that would have been better off silent and conversely reduces the impact of music when appropriate).
The combination of these styles is easy but efficient. A few examples:
ETHICS
Above all these elements, the motif of good versus evil is dominant. We see a shattered world that has lost its moral compass: material distress breeds ethical crisis. References are blurred.
In this chaotic environment, some cynically take advantage, some stick to their values: Harry and Holly, once friends, are antagonists. But is it so simple? Characters are ambiguous.
Visually, the historical and moral instability is expressed by frequent darkness, disproportionate shadows and tilted shots, where we constantly feel buildings and characters are going to fall (these shots being too recurrent, by the way). Side note: for night scenes, the cobblestone streets were systematically watered to enhance contrasts.
DAZZLING DOUBLE ENDING
Eventually, the movie rightfully ends in the sewer. Aesthetically stunning, this sequence is metaphorical in different ways:
This famous climatic sequence is followed by one of the greatest closing shots in cinema history: after the funeral, Holly waits for Anna. The image is deep, in the axis of the road; music plays softly; leaves are falling; Anna is a small figure that progressively grows bigger. Slowly, she just walks past Holly without looking at him and moves out of the frame. He is left alone. (It constitutes an important difference with the novel, which ends happily: Holly and Anna eventually walk together arm in arm. But Carol Reed thankfully imposed his ending. Greene ultimately admitted it was better.)
It is a dazzling shot, sharply contrasting with the previous sequence: bright, slow, silent, empty, melancholic, whilst the sewer sequence was dark, hectic, noisy, suffocating, cruel. It perfectly crowns this masterpiece: Anna despises Holly for his law-abiding betrayal. That's one of the banes of life: we sometimes prefer charismatic devils to honest fools, and love is blind.
The movie is not adapted from a pre-existing book: when Graham Greene was tasked to write the screenplay, he wrote a novel to have a fully consistent plot that he immediately adapted for the screen. As Greene modestly admitted in the foreword he wrote afterwards: "The film, in fact, is better than the story because it is in this case the finished state of the story." The book and the movie plots are similar, although there are a few significant variances: for instance, the novel is narrated by Calloway and ends differently (on the latter, see below).
HISTORY & TRAGEDY
The movie starts as a historical account of post-war Vienna: the opening speech portrays chaos in Europe; we see footage of the destroyed city, divided into four zones. The plot revolves around black market, some relatively harmless (clothes, watches, cigarettes, etc.), some deadly like penicillin, which is historically accurate. Depiction is first realistic; we are lost like Holly is: many dialogues are in German without subtitles. Some scenes are tragic, notably the one in the children's hospital. Also, Anna's grief about Harry's death is touching.
THRILLER & COMEDY
Rapidly, the movie evolves into a thriller with most ingredients of Noir genre: murders (the porter, Harbin), chases (Holly and Anna, Holly, Harry), numerous night scenes, plot twists, mysteries. Was Harry victim of an accident or a murder? Who was the third man? (This mystery remains unsolved, although it probably was Harry himself.) Where is Harry now?
Nonetheless, comical elements are continuously present, except at the end. Holly is a small-time writer of cheap novellas, getting drunk, attracting trouble and failing with women. Many dialogues are funny. Some figures are farcical: Kurtz, customers at the club, Anna's landlady, the balloon-seller, etc. The excellent score adds a sarcastic tone to the whole story (although it is sometimes too present, which partly spoils scenes that would have been better off silent and conversely reduces the impact of music when appropriate).
The combination of these styles is easy but efficient. A few examples:
- The police come twice to Anna's apartment for serious matters (search, arrest)... and each time they are lengthily slammed by the grumpy landlady.
- The annoying child pointlessly accuses Holly... which triggers a chase against Holly and Anna.
- Holly is brutally driven by a taxi to an unknown destination and thinks he will be killed. But he is actually dropped at a conference... that is a comical disaster. However two killers show up so he has to run... and gets bitten by a parrot!
- The police are waiting to arrest Harry. He seems to be coming around the corner... but it is a balloon-seller! The Sergeant has to buy a balloon to drive him away.
ETHICS
Above all these elements, the motif of good versus evil is dominant. We see a shattered world that has lost its moral compass: material distress breeds ethical crisis. References are blurred.
- The porter points up to designate hell and down for paradise.
- Anna tells the Major "You have everything upside down."
- She twice calls Holly "Harry".
- She symbolically casts dice in Harry's apartment: fate is random.
- A key scene occurs in the Ferris wheel where the world seems to turn around.
- The sewer with its foul smell ends up in the romantic blue Danube, as the Sergeant highlights.
In this chaotic environment, some cynically take advantage, some stick to their values: Harry and Holly, once friends, are antagonists. But is it so simple? Characters are ambiguous.
- Holly is on the good side, yet changes his mind three times about helping the police (no/yes/no/yes). And because of his blunders the porter and the Sergeant get killed.
- The Major who enforces the law blackmails Anna: information or deportation by the Soviets.
- Anna who is decent loves the criminal Harry regardless. She even says: "He is still a part of me." She wears his pyjamas. This double-sidedness is shown by the fact she is an actress playing a different person on stage, with a blonde wig.
- The main villain is seducing. He first is mysterious: he briefly appears after 1h05 and disappears. He fully shows 10 minutes later and turns out to be extremely intelligent. His speech in the wheel is at the same time ignominious and rhetorically impressive. It is not easy to answer the question: why do we stay virtuous? Revealingly, the "honest" Holly remains silent at that moment. Orson Welles' performance is so outstanding that we think he appears on screen for longer than an actual cumulated five minutes. On top of being a great director, he was a great actor.
Visually, the historical and moral instability is expressed by frequent darkness, disproportionate shadows and tilted shots, where we constantly feel buildings and characters are going to fall (these shots being too recurrent, by the way). Side note: for night scenes, the cobblestone streets were systematically watered to enhance contrasts.
DAZZLING DOUBLE ENDING
Eventually, the movie rightfully ends in the sewer. Aesthetically stunning, this sequence is metaphorical in different ways:
- The underground is where criminals escape the law by crossing borders: it represents the vile underlying part of this confused society. Evil is not East or West; it is not related to countries; it is everywhere. When everybody but Anna goes down there, they want to extirpate evil from its roots.
- Harry in black and policemen in white sometimes are only a few meters away, illustrating the above-mentioned ambiguity about good and evil.
- When Harry is looking for a way out, voices emerge from dark tunnels that look like funerary steles: it is as if he guiltily heard the people he murdered talking to him.
- The sewer feels anthropomorphic: complex, dark, liquid, with different levels and small tubes. Hence figuratively characters dive inside their subconscious to be confronted to their evil part: Holly faces his alter ego Harry for the last time. Their gazes are similarly intense. Harry nods to Holly, a sign of agreement. In the final image, Holly's silhouette in the tunnel resembles Harry's previously.
This famous climatic sequence is followed by one of the greatest closing shots in cinema history: after the funeral, Holly waits for Anna. The image is deep, in the axis of the road; music plays softly; leaves are falling; Anna is a small figure that progressively grows bigger. Slowly, she just walks past Holly without looking at him and moves out of the frame. He is left alone. (It constitutes an important difference with the novel, which ends happily: Holly and Anna eventually walk together arm in arm. But Carol Reed thankfully imposed his ending. Greene ultimately admitted it was better.)
It is a dazzling shot, sharply contrasting with the previous sequence: bright, slow, silent, empty, melancholic, whilst the sewer sequence was dark, hectic, noisy, suffocating, cruel. It perfectly crowns this masterpiece: Anna despises Holly for his law-abiding betrayal. That's one of the banes of life: we sometimes prefer charismatic devils to honest fools, and love is blind.