Film lovers have been urged to turn their attention to a 1949 film noir that is constantly being called one of the greatest films of all time, with fans saying it still holds up today. The Third Man stars Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, Alida Valli as Anna Schmidt, Orson Welles as Harry Lime, and Trevor Howard as Major Calloway.
Set in post-Second World War, Allied-occupied Vienna, the film centres on American writer Holly Martins. He arrives in the city to accept a job with his friend Harry Lime, only to learn that he has died. Martins stays in Vienna to investigate Lime’s death, becoming infatuated with Lime’s girlfriend, Anna Schmidt. The black-and-white German expressionist-influenced cinematography, with its harsh lighting and Dutch angles, is a major feature of The Third Man. Combined with the use of ruined locations in Vienna, the style evokes exhaustion and cynicism at the start of the Cold War.
The Third Man is considered one of the greatest films of all time, celebrated for its acting, musical score, and atmospheric cinematography. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted it the greatest British film of all time.
In 2004, the magazine Total Film ranked it the fourth-greatest British film of all time. In 2005, viewers of the BBC’s Newsnight Review voted it their fourth favourite of all time, the only film in the top five made before 1970. In 2011, a poll for Time Out ranked it the second-best British film ever.
The film has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 9.3 out of 10 and the following consensus: “This atmospheric thriller is one of the undisputed masterpieces of cinema, and boasts iconic performances from Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles.”
A reviewer on IMDb called it a “flawless classic”, saying it is “a rare film that is flawless in every respect”, with “ great acting and memorable characters with a fascinating story”. They added: “While obviously belonging to an earlier era, it deserves a look from anyone who appreciates good movies.”
Roger Ebert wrote: “I remember the kitten in the doorway too. It was a rainy day in Paris in 1962, and I was visiting Europe for the first time. A little cinema on the Left Bank was showing The Third Man, and I went, into the humid cave of Gauloise smoke and perspiration, and saw the movie for the first time. When Welles made his entrance, I was lost to the movies.”
He added it to his canon of “Great Movies” and wrote: “Of all the movies that I have seen, this one most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies.” In a 1994 episode of Siskel & Ebert, Ebert named Lime as his favourite film villain.
Gene Siskel remarked that The Third Man was an “exemplary piece of moviemaking, highlighting the ruins of World War II and juxtaposing it with the characters’ own damaged histories”.