Restored 'The Third Man' emerges again from the shadows

[Omaha Steve]

Last edited Sun May 17, 2015, 09:00 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: AP

CANNES, France (AP) — Break out your zithers: "The Third Man" is back.

Sixty-six years after Carol Reed's noir masterpiece first debuted, "The Third Man" premiered again at the Cannes Film Festival, this time in a freshly restored print as part of the Cannes Classics program. It was a kind of homecoming: "The Third Man" won the Palme d'Or at the third Cannes in 1949, back when Europe was still rebuilding from World War II. "Bombed about a bit" is how the opening narration of "The Third Man" describes its Vienna setting.

If Cannes is movie nirvana, a restored "Third Man" is something like seventh heaven. Ever since audiences first laid eyes on it, "The Third Man" has ranked as one of the most beloved films of all time, endlessly adored for its rich postwar atmosphere, its darkly sly humor and its deep, expressionist shadows. It contains one of the finest movie scores (Anton Karas' indelible zither), one of the truly great scenes (Orson Welles' "cuckoo clock&quot and almost certainly the most spectacular foot chase ever.

"The Third Man" somehow encapsulates so many of the medium's best qualities: wit and tragedy, lush imagery and charismatic stars, unforgettable lines and an evocative on-location setting. Roger Ebert said "The Third Man" ''completely embodies the romance of going to the movies." Welles said it was the only film of his he was always happy to watch.

FULL story at link.



FILE - In this Feb. 22, 1982 file photo, actor and film director Orson Welles poses for photographers during a press conference in France. At the 68th Cannes international film festival 'The Third Man' premiered again as part of the Cannes Classics program on May. 14. AP Photo/Jacques Langevin, File)

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7687a4d9e8ed4bf59336a32ad0d55b4c/restored-third-man-emerges-again-shadows

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A restored "Third Man" on Blu-ray has already been announced for Europe. It will be announced for the US soon.

Here is a review of the current best release that is out of print and hard to find: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Third-Man-Blu-ray/1195/#Review

And coming to US theaters: Carol Reed’s Restored ‘The Third Man’ Set for U.S. Release: http://variety.com/2015/film/news/orson-welles-restored-the-third-man-set-for-u-s-release-1201488365/

Dave McNary
Film Reporter
@Variety_DMcNary
New York-based distributor Rialto Pictures is releasing a 4K restoration of Carol Reed’s “The Third Man,” starring Orson Welles, in the U.S. this summer.

Rialto made the announcement on the eve of Welles’ 100th birthday. “The Third Man” restoration will premiere this month in the classics section of the Cannes Film Festival.

The U.S. opening has been set for New York’s Film Forum on June 26 for a two-week run, followed by the Nuart in Los Angeles on July 3. Engagements in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Seattle, Philadelphia and other major markets will follow.

“The Third Man,” produced by Alexander Korda and David O. Selznick, was Reed’s second teaming with novelist-screenwriter Graham Greene. The film, set in Allied-occupied Vienna, also starred Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli.

FULL story at link.

OS

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. I have never seen it.

Might be time to sit down and see what all the rep. is about.

[marble falls]

2. Its time. Its worth doing.

[Mira]

6. I'd say:

In Germany we have a saying "Es ist eine Bildungslücke" (a vacant space in your education)
The Third Man is therefore more than a must see

[Rod Beauvex]

28. Really.

Is there anything the Germans don't have a word for?

[Hoppy]

10. WARNING !!!

After you watch it, try to get that music out of your head.

[PoliticAverse]

15. Allow me to echo your warning! n/t

[sarge43]

17. Try to get some of the scenes out of your head

Especially the final one

[bvf]

21. Yes.

LOTS of great sequences, and the epilogue is a real gut-punch.

[dixiegrrrrl]

24. The music is in my head cause the song made the Billboard and was played a LOT back then.

When I was a wee kid, of course....

[sarge43]

26. One of the first LP my father bought

It played until it was almost grey.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. I can't embed this but at the link you can watch the trailer for the restored film....

http://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2015/may/06/the-third-man-orson-welles-carol-reed-trailer-video

[MosheFeingold]

18. I saw it in the theatre I'm so old

And remember it very well. Kind of surprised it's not on regular classic-movie rotation.

[bvf]

19. Turner Classic Movies airs it every now and then.

I never miss it. One of the best.

[bvf]

22. See it as soon as you can, by all means. n/t.

[Frank Cannon]

3. Go ahead and take my money.

One of the great, GREAT movies of all time. Pinky and the Brain were always making references to this film, and I always wondered what that was all about. Then I saw it and was blown away. It's truly one of those movies "you must see before you die".

[earthside]

8. It is.

And one of Welles greatest performances as an actor ... even though he doesn't have that much screen time.

And one of Joseph Cotton's best performances, too.

Once you've seen it, you'll want to watch it again, then again. I probably view this movie at least every couple of years. It has great acting, but it has a feel and aura about it; the black-and-white works perfectly to capture immediate post-war Vienna ... and the dutch angles are so artistically powerful.

I would absolutely buy a restored Blu-ray dvd of this movie.

[PSPS]

9. Cotten

[Rod Beauvex]

29. Seems appropriate.

Didn't Maurice LaMarche base his Brain voice off Welles' own?

[Frank Cannon]

31. Indeed

There were a lot of Welles references on that show.

[nuxvomica]

4. This is great news!

I can't wait to see the restored print. To me it is the closest any film ever got to feeling like a strange dream. And the political message is still fresh and relevant: destructive sociopathy in pursuit of profit. I imagine the Koch brothers cheering at Harry Lime's famous speech.

[asjr]

5. I remember seeing it and the music (The Third Man theme)

is unforgettable.

[nruthie]

7. One of the best films of all time!

And the musical score cannot be beat. I love it.

[Paladin]

11. Agreed. One of my very favorites.

Can't wait to see the new version.

[secondvariety]

13. Love the movie.

Not so much the score.

[Myrina]

37. When my daughter first watched it, she said it was the Sponge Bob music!

[myrna minx]

14. This is one of the best films you'll see.

The Ferris wheel soliloquy alone is worth the price of admission.

[pscot]

16. I love that movie

[davekriss]

20. This is my favorite film of all time

Beats out other favorites such as

Fellini's La Dolce Vita
resnais' Hiroshima Mon Amour
Godard's Breathless (this is my #2)
Kurosawa's Rashomon
Truffaut's 400 Blows
Mr Welles' The Lady from Shaghai
Fritz Lang's M

...stop me! I have a top 10 list with a hundred movies on it, I've never been able to trim it down to just 10!

[Myrina]

36. M is atop my list too!

Nearly 100 years old, still contemporary theme/meaning.

And Lorre was ... well, he was Lorre.

[murielm99]

23. This movie is always at the top of my list

of favorites. It is as though someone set out to make the perfect movie.

If you haven't seen it, please watch it --twice!

[longship]

25. Mein herr. Balloon?

Last edited Sun May 17, 2015, 09:20 PM - Edit history (2)

on edit: Corrected the dialog.

[longship]

27. That will be my entertainment tonight.

I have to watch this film at least a couple of times per year. I guess tonight is the night.

BTW, Bernard Lee plays Calloway's Sgt. Paine. James Bond fans would recognize him as "M" in the Sean Connery Bond films. (On the right in this pic.):


This is as good an excuse as any to view it.

[jamesatemple]

30. I was petrified as the giant ferris wheel carriage began to rise.

It seemed to take forever to reach the top and begin its descent. And when, at the top, Welles opened that carriage door, it nearly made my nine-year-old heart stop. And Anton Karas' score rose and fell with the scenes, quick and happy in some parts, and heart-breakingly slow and sweet at others. Pound for pound, the best movie I ever saw. I own a DVD of it; soon, I'll own a blu-ray copy!

[Retrograde]

33. I made a point of riding that Ferris wheel when I went to Vienna!

It really isn't sinister at all, really. Even though most of the other people in the car were speaking Russian (they were tourists, too, and saying things like "is that the Danube?&quot .

Great movie!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

32. I don't know why, but there are several older films that I'm willing to see repeatedly

and very few contemporary films.

[Recursion]

34. I got to see it while riding the actual Ferris wheel in Prater

They do that screening like twice a year (comes with dinner -- they change out the courses when you stop at the bottom). Too small of a screen, though, it being in a small Ferris wheel car.

(Side note: for years and years I thought it was a "ferrous" wheel because it was made of metal. Apparently not so. I mean, it is made of metal, but it's named after some guy named Ferris.)

[Myrina]

35. One of my all time FAVES.

Orson Welles Sigh. He sure was somethin' back in the day.

And I love the atmosphere of the film - despite it being the rubble of Vienna - and the glimpse at the real cost of black market 'war profiteering'.