Third Man

UPC: 012236110477

Studio: Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:null

Summary: In this Cold War spy classic, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), a third-rate American pulp novelist, arrives in postwar Vienna, where he has been promised a job by his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Upon his arrival, Martins discovers that Lime has been killed in a traffic accident, and that his funeral is taking place immediately. At the graveside, Martins meets outwardly affable Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) and actress Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli), who is weeping copiously. When Calloway tells Martins that the late Harry Lime was a thief and murderer, the loyal Martins is at first outraged. Gradually, he discovers not only that Calloway was right but also that the man lying in the coffin in the film's early scenes was not Harry Lime at all--and that Lime is still very much alive (he was the mysterious "third man" at the scene of the fatal accident). Thus the stage is set for the movie's famous climactic confrontation in the sewers of Vienna--and the even more famous final shot, in which Martins pays emotionally for doing "the right thing." Written by Graham Greene, The Third Man is an essential classic, made even more so by the insistent zither music of Anton Karas. The film is currently available in both an American and British release version; the American print, with an introduction by Joseph Cotten, is slightly shorter than the British version, which is narrated by director Carol Reed. Nominated for several Academy Awards, The Third Man won Best Cinematography for Robert Krasker. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Mystery

Awards: Best Film - Any Source – British Academy of Film and Television Arts 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Black and White Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Grand Prix – Cannes Film Festival Best Foreign Film – National Board of Review

Features: Audio Commentary with Assistant Director Guy Hamilton, Simon Callow, and 2nd Unit Script Supervisor Angela Allen

The Third Man Interactive Vienna Tour
The Third Man on the Radio
Guardian National Film Theatre
Audio Interviews with Joseph Cotten and Graham Greene
Joseph Cotten's Alternate Opening Voiceover Narration

Interview and Zither Performance by Cornelia Mayer
Stills Gallery
Original Trailers

Third Man

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 09/14/2010

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DHMA null

Runtime: 105 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French,Spanish

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Bruce Eder

Carol Reed's The Third Man is one of the odder successes among international films of the late 1940s: at a time when movies were supposedly getting dulled-down, in keeping with audience sensibilities, here was a quirky movie from England, with Hitchcock-like touches and an odd sense of humor, that manages to be grim, topical, and wryly witty, while retaining, even augmenting, a good bit of author Graham Greene's sensibility. For all the film's virtues, its making was a tale of compromises turned into inspiration. Producer Alexander Korda wanted No?l Coward to play the mysterious Harry Lime, but, once Orson Welles was cast in the part, the movie became a testament to his presence and impact; he's only on screen for about a quarter of the movie, but he's the actor that everyone remembers. In fact, Welles was off shooting another movie, reporting to The Third Man only late in the shooting, and he was doubled for many scenes: that was Carol Reed's assistant, future Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton, in the black trench coat running down Vienna's darkened streets, and those were director Reed's fingers reaching through the sewer grating at the chase's end. Recasting Joseph Cotten's Holly Martins as an American in turn allowed Greene to bring to the screen for the first time his antipathy toward Americans and their bright-eyed, bushy-tailed innocence in approaching the world's problems, a theme that would manifest itself even more directly in relation to Vietnam in The Quiet American. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Jenny Werner  Actor 
Annie Rosar  Actor 
Nelly Arno  Actor 
Herbeil Halbik  Actor 
Eric Pohlmann  Actor 
Martin Boddey  Actor 
Alexis Chesnakov  Actor 
Geoffrey Keen  Actor 
Paul L. Smith  Actor 
Leo Bieber  Actor 
Paul Hardtmuth  Actor 
Martin Miller  Actor 
Thomas Gallagher  Actor 
Graham Greene  Screenwriter 
Anton Karas  Composer (Music Score) 
Alexander Korda  Producer 
Carol Reed  Director 
Carol Reed  Producer 
David O. Selznick  Producer 
Joseph Cotten  Actor 
Alida Valli  Actor 
Orson Welles  Actor 
Trevor Howard  Actor 
Paul Hoerbiger  Actor 
Bernard Lee  Actor 
Wilfrid Hyde-White  Actor 
Ernst Deutsch  Actor 
Siegfried Breuer  Actor 
Erich Ponto  Actor 
Hedwig Bleibtreu  Actor 

Country: UK