Review: The Third Man DVD

Page Three - A Review of The Third Man Criterion Collection DVD

Some images and scenes often flash through my mind whenever I think about this film. Images such as the huge Ferris wheel in the nearly deserted Prater amusement park, Anna walking slowly past Martins as if he were invisible, and fingers laced in animalistic desperation through the grate of a sewer. Perhaps best of all is the extended chase sequence through the sewers of Vienna. Even with all the digital wizardry available to filmmakers today, nothing can match this chase's sheer drama and thrills.

I also always invariably think of Orson Welles' performance as Harry Lime. One of the most startling things in The Third Man is that Lime -- one of the most memorable villains in all of film history -- doesn't make his appearance on screen until halfway through the film. However, because Lime is the object of constant discussion and speculation, his presence can be felt throughout, and when he finally does appear, it feels like you already know him. When he's finally on camera, he’s silkily monstrous, suave, and charismatic. Lime casually wears his icy cynicism on his sleeve. Although the film was scripted by Graham Greene, Welles himself wrote and delivers the most famous lines in the movie: "In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed -- but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

The version of the film on the Criterion Collection DVD is the one shown theatrically in the United Kingdom that has the introductory voice-over narration by director Carol Reed, and this version runs eleven minutes longer than the original United States theatrical release. The DVD also permits you to see the beginning of the original U.S. theatrical version of the film, where voice-over narration by Joseph Cotten replaces that of Reed. Other DVD features include a short, but informative, introduction by Peter Bogdanovich; an abridged version of Graham Greene's novella-length treatment for The Third Man read by actor Richard Clarke; and archival footage. Also on the DVD are two radio broadcasts: Joseph Cotten starring in the Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of "The Third Man" and Orson Welles starring as a cleaned-up Harry Lime in "A Ticket to Tangiers."

Selected Special Features on the Criterion Collection DVD:

Formats Available: The above information refers to the DVD; this film is also available on VHS.