The Third Man
The Third Man is, without question, one of the greatest films ever made. Carol Reed's masterpiece depicts a pulp novelist, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), who travels to post-war Vienna and ends up investigating the death of an old friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Aesthetically, the film's influence is clear; The Third Man is a sumptuously directed film noir, with its immaculate chiaroscuro making the gutters of Vienna come to vibrant, pulpy life amid Robert Krasker's evocative cinematography. Adding to the strong sense of atmosphere is Anton Karas' breezy score, and the iconic performances, specifically from Welles as the slippery Lime, who is not at all who he appears to be. On one level, it is a thoroughly romantic film noir, a love letter to going to the cinema, and a tale about friendship, while on another, the film serves a pressing historical function, to depict the desolation of the end of World War II. What the film does is parallel the remnants of the war with the fractured psyches of the main characters, and as such, the film holds a very special place in the heart of many Viennese people, as well as general lovers of noir.