Added: 4 years ago
From: balletamie
Views: 592,533
Sort by time | Sort by thread (beta)

Link to this comment:

Share to:
see all

All Comments (385)

Sign In or Sign Up now to post a comment!
  • Today i wake up with this incredible soundtrack in my ears...listen to it

  • Perfectly captured, no... set the feel of the film.

    Oh and what a film! Truly one of the greatest ever made.

  • 16 people can't stay on course like a professional

  • Oh, much faster than what in my memory! ...though I haven't heard original performance by Anton Karas for almost ten years or more.... I wish I could play the tune with my ichigo-ichie (Japanese domestic 4 single-coursed string instrument like guitar or lute, mandolin...mandola).

  • One of my all time favorite movies. I love the introduction and theme music.

  • awesome music in this great movie.

  • @yolo22 it ruined the movie for me. sounds like a teenager learning to play for the first time. wow, was it annoying.

  • this sounds a tab bit like the theme to Curb Your Enthusiasm

  • this sounds a tab bit like the theme to Curb Your Enthusiasm

  • I Like this song it keeps relaxed.

  • I was born in Austria in 46 among the intrigue and the scattering of nationalities brought by circumstance to this wonderful country, occupied by many nations and each pulling in its own direction, my Russian mother and others helped Wagner (the composer's) cousin escape from the retribution any German officer was to face in this turmoil, another German officer carried the remains, bones of his wife & children in his pocket after the Dresden bombings, intrigue indeed.

  • timeless this track love it

  • typing error, should be discovery

  • Carol Reed discovered Anton Karas playing the zither in a Vienna wine garden. How fantastic that discovert turned out to be.

  • This is the greatest movie ever made. I first saw it when I was about 9, I am now 69, I have copies in video and DVD and I continue to watch it whenever i can.

  • @Nojnotpu - The greatest movie ever made? That's a pretty big claim there fella.

  • DON'T walk under that ladder...

  • @tonygumbrell22 - I always walk under ladders. It's good luck like smashing mirrors and number 13.

  • one of the greatest movies ever made. had to watch it a few times to really appreciate it. so much atmosphere and definitely ahead of its time. feels more like a 60s movie than a 40s movie. :)

  • ebisu beer song! anyone?

  • Naudo on Guitar plays this one......

  • One of my favourite movies. One of the greatest.

  • @ArronTattersall Of course we've heard of Vienna. That's where they make Vienna sausages? Think we're stupid or something....

  • Love this film so much... 

  • The Residents brought me here from their cover version, "You Yesyesyesyes". I then left back to the Residents' version.

  • thanks for uploading

    regards from Israel :)

  • Great movie and wonderful music!!

  • Great song, a great movie. One of the best English movies.

  • Comment removed

  • I never really knew the internet before Youtube, with it's meme culture, all access porn, and it's disconnected charm. I really got to know it when I heard The Third Man theme and happily saw 530k views of this wonderful and timeless tune...

  • Don't walk under that ladder Holly!

  • Kako ovaj film kida, nije moguce!!!!!

  • "Goodfellas on the whole did their best you know...."

  • all is wicked kool here,,!!!

  • This was one of 58 films syndicated in 1957 by NTA (National Telefilm Associates) under the "Champagne" package, along with such pictures as "The Bells of St. Mary's," "Spellbound," "Rebecca," "High Noon," "Cyrano de Bergerac," and "The Men"; these now-classics were first aired on TV in the New York metro market on WRCA-TV (Channel 4, now WNBC) for several years starting in 1957-58.

  • @wmbrown6 interesting, thanks for sharing. TTM, Spellbound, Rebecca and HN are some of my favorites.

  • Anyone thinks this sounds similar to Spongebob? Like sometimes when they are introducing the episode title, it sounds similar to the theme.

  • @TheTinaMarble HahahaAHA I think that every time I watch this movie!

  • Holy shit ! I lived in Tokyo and at the Ebisu JR (Metro) Station, this is the sound they use when the doors close ! What a coincidence :D Now I know where it comes from !

  • taco

  • Criterion is an awesome label. Viva movie restauration!

  • Hm, now I'd like to watch that film again.

  • ughh...am i the only one who HATED the use of this song in EVERY scene? they didnt change the tone or anything, its the same song for every scene no matter what emotion: angry, sad, suspense, action...they played this at the funeral LOL! idk, i just found it really annoying and it made MANY serious moments laughable, which was a shame because its a rlly good movie.

  • @idkwhat2puthere You probably are. But then, I'm Austrian and probably biased.

  • @idkwhat2puthere  I LOVE THAT MUSIC

  • Yes!!!

  • @idkwhat2puthere But that's exactly the point of this movie and the song. You're meant to take a step back and realize just how ridiculous and hopeless the entire situation, and especially the main character's naive conviction that he can solve it and come out a hero, is. This song perfectly embodies the thread of ironic cynicism running through the film, which is why it is played against significant plot points that in any other movie would be taken for granted by the audience.

  • @zhanus Well said.

  • @zhanus Excellent assesment

  • @zhanus ahem Excellent assessment 

  • I personally prefer The Third Man (1949) to Citizen Kane (1941), Both of them are excellent but I find that The Third Man (1949) seems to have held up better over time. It focuses on more characters with more dimension and the camera angles seem to be as innovative back then as they are now. The Ending Shot is possibly the greatest I have seen.

  • the music sounds like it's from spongebob

  • Just heard a variation of it as the intro of "Ebert Presents: At The Movies"

  • @NY4Life Did you see the closing title, an animated figure of Ebert appears as Harry Lime.

  • @AlexDeLargeisHere Yes, Yes I did!

  • ANTON KARAS....GENIUS.....REED JUST HAPPENT TO FIND HIM IN A RETAURAUNT..

  • "Happy as a lark and without a cent.."...haunting, contradictory and perfect!

  • So far, of all renditions I`ve heard of "Third Man Theme" my choice is Johnny Jake`s. Check it out and see what I mean. His other recent videos of"Blue Moon Of Kentucky", "Empty House ", etc , I`m sure you`ll enjoy!

  • I still can't help but laugh every time when he says "Of course a situation like that does tempt amateurs, but ... well y'know they can't stay the course like a professional." as a dead body is shown floating in the river. One of the best laughs of the movie and only a few seconds in ;p

  • @jagovRUS Nice! I laugh at that part, too. How about when he says "Wonderful! What a hope they had! All strangers to the place and none of them could speak the same language..." ?

  • Just read below wombat central here

  • The Boss needed fruits to marinade, and well the Rest is cuckoo clocks in theWind.

  • "Good fellows on the whole - did their best you know..."

  • "Vienna doesn't really look any worse than a lot of other European cities... bombed about, a bit..."

    Brilliant. I LOVE this movie!

  • i never knew Vienna before the war either.... probably because i was born in 1992 but im sure Constantinople would have fit me also

  • Comment removed

  • "Who would remember the movie except for the theme song??"

    I hope that was a joke. In case it was not, I have two words for you:

    ORSON WELLES.

  • @Ulysses61 Apologies for any misunderstanding my comment caused .. lol, it was meant as nothing more than a bit of sarcasm ;) More than happy to see the passion of so many for this topic. I love the music and the movie as much as anyone here! :)

  • einer der besten nachkriegs filme die es gibt

  • Perfect combination of movie and music .Reminds me of those morbid and sometimes bloody funny ballads they used to play in old times ((Moritaten)

  • Comment removed

  • Comment removed

  • Movie and Music, one of the best ever.

  • Memories of falling asleep to this in English are coming back (;

  • @tubsandtiles3 How dare you...

  • A'right, that's it. This won't do. Putting this in the VCR, stat.

  • one of the best ever.....and will remain

  • Thank you for your message. Where would I obtain that film of Wells? Just hearing that music makes me think of the first time I heard it. I must have been all of five years old and it has never left. I actually took a savings bond for $50 I got when i was baptized, cashed it and bought a piano when I was 15 so I could learn to play it. True story.

  • 0:52

  • I love the sounding of the Big Ben Tower in the beginning.

    I was there last year and the Big Beg still sounds the same...

  • I love how he walks under the ladder right before going into the apt house... such a GREAT movie.

  • One of the best films to come out of the 40s!! Saw it in revival a long time ago!

  • Great. Music to commit suicide to . . .

  • @greenrate no that would be fiona apple

  • Haunting; it's always been like the movie: haunting, troublesome, obsessive.

  • @brickbradford I don't know if I'd use haunting as a description for this melody.

  • Graham Green was a great writer, Carol Reed a great director, Anton Karas a great musician - and so with the greatest anglo-saxon and german actors of their time they made one of the greatest movies ever!

  • lol, now honestly ... who would remember that movie if it weren't for its theme song? ;)

  • @heerofthedog The theme song is fabulous (as is the story of how it actually ended up being used for the film), but the film is unforgettable on its own, too!

  • @julianreischl Apologies for any misunderstanding .. my comment was only meant as a bit of sarcasm ;) Believe me when I tell you that the movie and its theme song are very very dear to me! Übrigens, Frohe Ostern!

  • @heerofthedog No problem, I just didn't get the sarcasm... There are enough people out there who'd think like that for real, I fear...

  • @heerofthedog I can only assume that you've never seen the film or read the book... or have the slightest grasp of post-war European history... in which case, might I recommend you go out and get yourself an education... not that nu-Labour box-ticking apology of an education, but a proper education where books are involved.

  • @SassyJ64 Apologies for any misunderstanding my comment caused! It was meant as nothing more than a bit of sarcasm directed against exactly the kind of a lack of education you very rightfully perceived me as being guilty of. I am older than you think, and very much appreciate the passion with which you and others here commented! Rest assured that MY Austria's culture and music will forever be very dear to my heart! Frohe Ostern :)

  • @heerofthedog Sorry my response was a bit overly impassioned... but The Third Man represents to me the lost art of story-telling, something that modern movies appear to entirely lack. Graham Greene was one of the great writers whose work (in the hands of directors who had vision) translated so beautifully to the screen. The Third Man, Brighton Rock, Confidential Agent, Went The Day Well?... they might be in black and white but they stand head and shoulders above modern movies.

  • @hneustadt dont forget Orson Wells who gave a excellent performance

  • @hneustadt Don't forget the American actors!

  • I thought this then, I think this now. 'The Third Man' is the world's greatest film.

  • @dobrov1 Casablanca fans, including myself, would probably disagree. But it is a fantastic film, a lot better than the crap they churn out these days.

  • @MrLunitunz obviously one of the greatest, but Casablanca, WORLD'S greatest film? Not saying The Third Man is either - albeit a contender personally - it is a difficult distinction to make, one more or less of opinion. But I agree, both are the world's greatest compared to whatever Columbia has been spamming all over youtube recently.....Battle: LA, stop

  • @morgantown1 Both are classics, both had quite the international cast of characters, both had interesting and highly political plots, all it really comes down to is whether you like Humphrey Bogart or Orson Welles. While I like Orson Welles, Humphrey Bogart is the greatest actor of all time and my personal favourite in my favourite actor pantheon.

  • Awesome!

  • Schoen!

  • Welles, Cotten, The Kordas, Carol Reed and of course Karas, for this amazing theme. The Third Man is many times genius rolled into one splendid production. A classic.

  • I've got to get this movie on DVD! Classic film! 

  • One of the most sublime movies ever filmed on the reality of what love is all about. I still show it to my students. The music is a sacrament of beauty and longing never to be matched. It breaks my heart to this day. The last five minutes of the film are beyond words, and that delicate zyther and the falling leaves in the dusk still rip my heart open. The Third Man is without parallel. Thanks.

  • @0276boy I agree. It's hard to believe it fell from the AFI Best List. Of course when you look at that list, one wonders whether one belongs on another planet. You should see Vincent D' s little 30 minute movie about Orson Welles writing his famous lines. It would be a nice companion piece for your students.

  • @0276boy

    My teachers never showed us this.

    Good on you for trying to raise some intelect

  • Utter magic.....has been stuck in my head since I was four....

  • just love the opening speech.

  • I never knew that Vienna was split between the powers after WWII like Berlin.

  • @dahsuerk it was for 10 years. The Allies left Austria in 1955

  • Great tune. I was able to see a screening of this film at a cinema the other evening. Truly monumental.

  • Hard to get through that almost 50 seconds of intro!!!...hahahaha... but once we get there it's sure worth it. What a simple but deadly great theme!!

  • I still have this melody on 78 rpm record

  • I think I will have to get my speakers fixed!!

  • @alanheath sorry, I should have fast forwarded 45 seconds!

  • Actually. THE THIRD MAN from Anton Karas

  • What song is this during the credits?

  • @Fernancialplanner Its called "The Third Man Theme"

  • I'll be hearing this in my head all day at work. !!!! LOVE IT !!!

  • One of the best films I have ever seen! An incredible masterpiece!!!

  • love it ! xx

  • Guy Lombardo did a version of this song to.

  • Simply sublime theme from arguably the greatest film ever made.

  • @liverpooljim7 Have you seen a film called 'Night of the Demon' from 1957 with Niall McGuinness as occultist Julian Karswell and Dana Andrews as the investigative psychologist on his trail. It is a true classic. McGuinness is at his most charmingly evil, one of cinemas greatest villains.

  • do you notice -- he walks under the ladder.....and that is a sign of bad luck.....LOL

  • i like the song better in the megacrisp ashens review

  • A very good movie too.

  • I'd say that the background classic guitars heard (a cavaquinho as swell ?) are 'Los Indios Tabajaras' from Brazil, worldwide popular mainly in the 60's when recorded several top hits at NYC studios. Appreciate if anybody have further details of this record.

  • @buenosaires4u The film was made in 1949...

  • Comment removed

  • fake

  • I remember watching an episode of "Sesasme Street" which was "sponsored" by the letter Z, and one of the examples of spelling with that letter was "zither." The character introducing the instrument showed how it sounded by playing the first several notes of "The Third Man." How's that for the durability of a great melody?

  • Spongebob!

  • Thank you for sharing this wonderful video, Johanna. Your video is awesome balletame!

    Laurie:-)

  • Saw this film for the first time last night. The music grabs you right away, I was like, "This SOUNDS interesting." Welles could play menace about as well as anyone, with just a mere look in his eyes. The dialogue Welles improvises about Switzerland and the Borgia's, brilliant! (Even if it is not entirely true). The end scene is beautifully framed along that long path of trees, where Cotten gets the worst kind of kiss-off imaginable, he's ignored!

  • Saw this film for the first time last night. The music grabs you instantly, I was like "This SOUNDS interesting." And the cinematography and camera angles build on it as the film moves along. And to parrot the earlier comments, a great intro for Welles, who is rather coy at first, then later is downright menacing in the Ferris Wheel scene.

  • In my top ten best films - what fantastic music!!!

  • And, part of the character of Harry Lime was based on Graham Greene's old friend, Harold 'Kim' Philby, the British MI6 agent later unmasked as a Russian double agent.

    It was he that told Greene about the Viennese sewers, through which he'd helped socialists and communists escape after they'd been defeated by Government Fascist troops in the Austrian Civil War in 1934.

    Greene was also an MI6 agent and Philby was his supervisor.

  • The original British version had Carol Reed as the narrator, but David O. Selznick insisted on this being replaced for American showings by a shorter narration by Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, whereas the narrator in the novella is indeed Major Calloway.

    Confusing eh !!

  • @boggym1999 Interesting points. Meanwhile, although I had once downloaded the whole thing, now I can' find it on youtube. Any thoughts to solve this mystery?

  • Damn, That's the best .. Hail Film-Noir

  • Atmospheric, hauntingly brilliant film, based on the superb novel of the same name by Graham Greene.

    The ONLY thing better than the film, or the book for that matter, is the memorable music.

    Inspired...

  • My favorite film. The music never ceases to affect me.

  • What an awesome movie.  Story, actors, music - the whole enchilada.

  • This was a great film! Great music!

  • Here ya go, played by Anton Karras on Zither

  • I think of the narrator as perhaps Graham Green, the screen writer. It gets the story off to a quick start.

    The most amazing thing about The Third Man is the pacing. No ever film ever made has this kind of pacing. There is not a single second wasted, something that you cannot say for any other film.

    I regard this film as a director's film par excellence. That is what makes it so good. Carol Reed was the genius behind it all.

  • Not only was Graham Greene responsible for the screen play, but he was also

    the author of the novella, "The third man". In 1948 he was in post war Vienna, researching and writing the screenplay for the forthcoming film by Carol Reed.

    The novella was written by him while he was there, and the screenplay was

    based on this.

    There are some differences between the film and book, but these are in the

    main superficial. The film was released in 1949.

  • @blagger56 During World War Two he was an intelligence officer with British intelligence and worked in Liberia Africa, one of his bosses was infamous Kim Philby and because of his association with Greene he ended up being called the Third Man.

  • eneeeeeee buldum a.k :D

  • Best film ever.......best film score.

  • LOCOMOTIONNUMBER1 Ah! so I'm not the only one.

  • This is for people who have analysed this movie in depth. The introduction, the narrator, is this connected with Holly's book he talks about throughout this movie? The Narrator given his smug veiw and seem to understand the story before it plays out, and is talking as if he were a gunslinging westener which is theme developed throughout the movie that connects wit hHolly's book writting... just for the second opinion and for the sake of my essay what do you guys reckon? :D

  • @nitschke22 The narrator cannot be either Holly Martins or Harry Lime, since both men are referred to in the third person during the intro. The narrator calls out Holly Martins as an American which leads me to believe the narrator is not. The narrator also views Holly Martins as a rather poor naive fellow. The only character I can think of who would thus qualify as a narrator is Major Calloway.

  • I love this film, the music, the city, the actors, all!

  • Slovenian national instrument <3 Listen also to Cvetje v jeseni :)

  • Comment removed

  • Moin, Moin from Texas!

    If you like The Third Man, you might also like Brendan McNally's dark comic novel "Germania" (Simon & Schuster, 2009), about the Flying Magical Loerber Brothers, four somewhat magical, Jewish vaudeville entertainers and onetime child stars who were the toast of Berlin before WWII and who reunite during the surreal, three-week "Flensburg Reich" of Admiral Doenitz, Hitler's very unlucky successor.

  • there is a short representation of Hitler in this movie. ¡¡¡ FIND IT !!!

  • Amazing score!

  • the film is great and the music is the best of all....

  • Wonderfully evocative theme from a film that comes as near to being perfect as any.

  • I couldn't agree more. I still get chills when I hear that zither begin.

  • Childhood memories

  • hans zimmer - Sherlock Holmes

  • One of the all time great films

  • I never knew the old Vienna before the war, with its Strauss music, glamour and easy charm....Constantinopel suited me better lol