Review of The Third Man (1949) by Kim B — 17 Apr 2017
The atmosphere of The Third Man is superb. It captures that dark, noir feel and creates an ideal mood. I like a good murder mystery, and there was a number of interesting puzzles to solve as the movie progressed.
The cast is quite good, in particular I loved the scenes where Joseph Cotten interacted with Trevor Howard or Orson Welles. They had some intense sequences with more going on than what each character would come right out and say.
My biggest struggle with The Third Man was the fact that there was no mystery in it for me. I figured out what was going on very early, and I can't even explain why I was so convinced that I was correct, but turns out I was right all along.
This took away a lot of the intrigue, and there wasn't enough other stuff going on in the story that I could keep my interest level high. It's not a total failure of the film or the script, but part of my enjoyment in murder mysteries is the struggle to unravel the truth, and I didn't get that here.
It also felt like the stakes were low, and that sucked some of the tension out of the climax. Finally, it's worth a mention that this movie's score should probably go on an all-time worst list.
It is almost all composed of one tune played on a zither again and again to the point where I wanted to scream. It becomes downright oppressive to the point where I dread the next break in the action because I know that music is coming.
Aside from this frustration I'll admit The Third Man is well-made, and probably deserving of all the critical praise, but it was only OK for me.
This review of The Third Man (1949) was written by Kim B on 17 Apr 2017.
The Third Man has generally received very positive reviews.
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