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This is some seriously astounding cinematography. It’s an average story with an immersive, inky, post-war atmosphere. No deep motifs or themes here. I learned that the main actress was considered the most beautiful woman in the world by Mussolini which is… something I know now.

Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton are splendid in their roles but I was extremely pleased to see Wilfrid Hyde-White. I last saw him in an episode of Columbo (he’s been in two of them) and it’s just a delight to see him be at least 400% upper-class British 🇬🇧

The Fucking Zither #

The movie’s set in post-war Vienna. Its director, a guy called Carol Reed, didn’t want to do the ordinary thing of using “schmaltzy, heavily orchestrated waltzes”. So he goes to a party and, to our great misfortune, is gobsmacked by this musician playing a zither¹. He makes an immediate decision to employ this chap posthaste, paying no consideration to the at least ten other funky instruments and styles of music he could have explored in the very cultural city (maybe even that night!)

All this to say: that music is the most annoying fucking background score I’ve heard in a movie. And that’s saying a lot given my not-so-secret appetite for B-grade Indian cinema.

The American film critic Roger Ebert later asked: “Has there ever been a film where the music more perfectly suited the action than in Carol Reed’s The Third Man?”

Well Mister Ebert (RIP), there are several, and this movie shouldn’t even merit any consideration. The music is silly and comically at odds with the vibe of the story and visuals. Each

Each exasperation would remind me of those

Between my exasperations whenever I’d hear the bloody thing, I couldn’t help but think of ‘serious’ situations that feature a recorder. Like this:

Or this:

Here’s an entire playlist.

It’s still awesome #

The bonedrilly music aside, this is a solid movie and supremely easy to get lost in. Perfect to watch on a lazy and rainy Saturday night, right before bed.