The Third Man
March 1st, 2007
Hadn’t seen this “greatest of foreign noirs” (Bogdanovich) in a good long while, and so I expected the angles and the shadows, Orson and the cuckoo clocks, the Prater and the sewers, the exquisite Graham Greene plotting and cutting repartee, but I had forgotten just how masterfully it all fits together. The German-language bit players are all fantastic, especially Paul Hörbiger and Hedwig Bleibtreu. The last shot got me good, and I have a new favorite line, too: “I had no idea there were snake charmers in South Texas!” Makes The Good German look especially pointless in retrospect. Muckworld trivia: I used to work for a Hispaniola Honorary Consul.
The Third Man. Carol Reed, 1949. *****
- More Graham Greene
- The Third Man on Criterion DVD
- If you haven’t seen the movie, this clip will spoil it. If you have, it’s going to make you want to see it again:
March 1st, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Dear God I love this movie —
On a tangent –
Toward the end of their fabulous career, The Band put out an album of esoteric covers called Moondog Matinee. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was to get out of a contract, as it sounds kinda rushed and only recently was released on DVD. Anyway, on this strange album you can find a very goofy version of the theme from Third Man.
You can hear it here.
March 1st, 2007 at 9:53 pm
wow, I could research these things before I say them.
Moondog Matinee came out mid-career — past the glory years, sure, but before Northern Lights Southern Cross, which I consider a masterpiece. Anyway, one day if you catch me tipsy & sentimental I’ll tell you my Rick Danko story. . .just get your hankie out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moondog_Matinee
March 2nd, 2007 at 1:41 am
Thanks for that. Not really any goofier than the original, but wearier, without the same phony Danube cheer. It’s totally incongruous in the movie, anyway. Somebody ought to try setting a little montage to this version and see what happens.
I feel like I’ve heard the Rick Danko story but couldn’t say for sure.