Shadowing The Third Man - BBC Arena Documentary

Documentary recalling the turbulent history of the making of the 1949 classic British film The Third Man, with Orson Welles.
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The Third Man is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed and starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, and Trevor Howard. Many critics rank it as a masterpiece, particularly remembered for its atmospheric cinematography, performances, and unique musical score.

The screenplay was written by novelist Graham Greene, who subsequently published the novella of the same name (which he had originally written as a preparation for the screenplay). Anton Karas wrote and performed the score, which used only the zither; its title cut topped the international music charts in 1950.

Plot:

American pulp Western writer Holly Martins arrives in Post-World War II Vienna seeking his childhood friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job.

Martins discovers that Lime was killed by a car while crossing the street; at Lime's funeral, Martins meets two British Army Police: Sergeant Paine, a fan of Martins's books, and his superior, Major Calloway.

Afterwards Martins is asked to give a lecture to a book club a few days later. He then meets a friend of Lime's, Baron Kurtz, who tells Martins that he and another friend Popescu, carried Lime to the side of the street after the accident, and before he died Lime asked them to take care of Martins, and of Lime's actress girlfriend, Anna.

Martins goes to see Anna, and becomes suspicious that Lime's death was not an accident. The porter at Lime's apartment building says Lime was killed immediately and that three men carried the body, not two.

Style:

The atmospheric use of black-and-white expressionist cinematography by Robert Krasker, with harsh lighting and distorted camera angles, is a key feature of The Third Man.

Combined with the unique theme music, seedy locations, and acclaimed performances from the cast, the style evokes the atmosphere of an exhausted, cynical post-war Vienna at the start of the Cold War.

Principal photography:

Six weeks of principal photography was shot on location in Vienna, ending on 11 December 1948. Production then moved to the Worton Hall Studios in Isleworth and Shepperton studios near London, and was completed in March 1949.

The scenes of Harry Lime in the sewer were shot on location or on sets built at Shepperton, with most of the location shots using doubles for Welles. Reed, however, claimed that despite initial reluctance, Welles quickly became enthusiastic, and stayed in Vienna to finish the film. Water was sprayed on the cobbled streets to make them reflect the light at night.

Score:

The musical score was composed by Anton Karas and played by him on the zither. Before the production came to Vienna, Karas was an unknown wine bar performer.

Reed later brought Karas to London, where the musician spent six weeks working with Reed on the score. Decades later, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Has there ever been a film where the music more perfectly suited the action than in Carol Reed's The Third Man?"
~ Wiki

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Shadowing
• The
• Third
• Man
• BBC
• Arena
• Television
• TV
• Documentary
• 2004
• Classic
• Film
• Noir
• 1949
• Movie
• Carol
• Reed
• Orson
• Welles
• Joseph
• Cotton
• Alida
• Valli
• Trevor
• Howard
• Graham
• Greene
• Novel
• Novella
• Screenplay
• Anton
• Karas
• Zither
• Holly
• Martins
• Harry
• Lime
• Occupied
• Post-World
• War
• II
• Cold
• Black
• Market
• Penicillin
• Vienna
• Austria
• Robert
• Krasker
• Shepperton
• Studios

[jrcadet4]

Great stuff, in the best traditions of BBC documentary filmmaking. And a respectable job of detective work as well.

[lehnrik]

Great upload!

[misscarolinec]

Thank you :)

[V2EditingSolutions]

Fantastic. Thank you for the upload.

[kurisensei]

Great, thanks for the upload!