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:
[youtube]F_SQyCJega8[/youtube]
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.
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
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.