AFI Movies: #57 The Third Man
My head still hurts trying to understand how this movie is American, but at least it was good.
If you missed my first post where I explain what this is and how I’m scoring things, here you go.
The more time I spend thinking about and writing about movies, the more I appreciate just how much goes into making a movie, and how many people have to do their jobs just right for a movie to achieve its desired outcomes. Obviously, the people that get most of the credit are the director, for leading the people around them, and the actors, for being who we see on screen. I’m sure at some point in the last few years you have decided that it was important to sit through the credits of a movie in order to see some extra scene that you’ve been told is important, and I’m sure at some point during those credits you’ve thought, “wow, a lot of people worked on this.” The best movies are a result of a director, producers, and screenwriters having a shared vision, and working with everyone else to make sure that what the audience sees and hears fits into that vision in the most effective way possible. These creators have to make hundreds of decisions, and often take big risks to create a certain mood or atmosphere that is essential to the film reaching its full potential. Some of those decisions become iconic moments or elements that are remembered by anyone who sees the movie.
This last week, as I was watching The Third Man and preparing to write about it, I was spending some time with my extended family. My grandma asked me which movie I was writing about next, and when I told her I was watching The Third Man, she had only one thing to say.
“All I remember about that one is the music.”
While other films on this list have more memorable scores, or soundtracks filled with iconic songs, it’s pretty easy to say that The Third Man’s soundtrack is the most unique of any of the films I’ve seen for this project so far. Probably even for any movie I’ve ever seen. The only music in the entire movie is from a zither, performed by a man named Anton Karas. Now, I haven’t heard much talk about famous zither musician Anton Karas, but he apparently became a huge deal after this movie was released. Just look at this from the Wikipedia entry on Zithers:
In the 1950s, interest in zithers resurfaced due in great measure to the success of the 1949 British film noir The Third Man. The soundtrack music for the film, which featured only a concert zither (no other instruments) – was performed by the Viennese musician Anton Karas. His "The Third Man Theme" was released as a single in 1949–50 and became a best-seller in the UK. Following its release in the U.S. in 1950, it spent eleven weeks at number one on Billboard's U.S. Best Sellers in Stores Chart from 29 April to 8 July. The exposure made Karas an international star. A Time magazine film preview stated that "the famous musical score by Anton Karas" would have the audience "in a dither with his zither"
I’ll get more into the music as I go through the categories:
Entertainment Value- 2/2
I admittedly had a hard time getting into this one, but I think it had more to do with things that weren’t the movie than anything. Once I was in the right conditions and free of distractions, I got sucked in. This one checks a lot of boxes for me. It takes place during a time of history that is very interesting to me (Vienna, shortly after the end of WW2), is fast-paced, has an interesting setup, a solid twist, and a truly despicable villain. I would recommend this to anyone.
Correctness- 1/2
Just another case of lack of diversity. It’s a movie about Austria right after the end of the second World War, so it’s kind of expected.
Influence- 2/2
I’m giving this film two points here, simply for the fact that The Third Man is widely considered one of the greatest British films ever made. In fact, the British Film Institute put it number one on their list that was released in 1999.
This isn’t the first time while watching through this list of the top American films ever made where I have questioned why the movie is considered American, but this might be the most egregious so far.
“Rewatchability”- 1.5/2
There will probably be a day in the future where I see this on the shelf and go, “yeah, that’s a solid choice” and pop it in to watch.
Technical Score- 2/2
The cinematography in this film is just outstanding. There’s something about how they could use lighting and shadows in black and white movies that doesn’t stand out as much in color. They also shot this using a lot of Dutch angles, which really do something to add to the mood of the whole film.
The one thing I’ll add about the music is there was one point where I was trying to figure out what it reminded me of, and it was this.
Overall- 8.5/10
I intentionally was very minimal in how much I talked about the actual plot of The Third Man, and that is because I really do recommend you check it out, and I didn’t want to give anything away.
You can stream The Third Man on tubi
Hasta luego,
Josh
Up Next: #56 M*A*S*H (available to rent)