THE THIRD MAN RESTORATION AT FILM FORUM: Review by Polly Guerin

Orson Welles as Harry Lime

Nothing gives a mystery more credence than a black and white film and the restoration of Carol Reed's Film Noir masterpiece, THE THIRD MAN, at the Film Forum is a brilliant new 4K restoration and its first major restoration ever. The film is as relevant today as it was in 1949.  At the Film Forum from June 26-July 9.
   So why is The Third Man worth revisiting? As one reviewer said, "No matter how many times I saw it over the years its magic never faded, I keep discovering dark new delights," For instance, THE THIRD MAN remains the only movie on both the American Film Institute and British Film Institute top 100 lists of, respectively, the greatest American and British films of all times (the Brits named it their Number One), as well as being named the Greatest Foreign Film of all Time...by the Japanese.

The dark, murky sewers in post war Vienna

    It's a dark and murky mystery that draws the viewer into the intrigue in rubble-strewn postwar Vienna, where Holly Martins, an American writer of pulp fictions, portrayed by Joseph Cotten, arrives to meet up with his boyhood friend aptly named, Harry Lime, to join in a business venture with the sleek deceiver played by Orson Welles, only to find him dead---or is he? The film portrayal of Martins as a naive individual makes him the perfect foil to pursue the levels of deception and discover his friend's corruption.
  It's triumph of atmosphere---with its Vienna locations; its dark shadows and low murky streets and never before seen, dripping underground sewers overflowing with rivers of waste.. But the drama's most engaging feature is the iconoclastic music that pulls the mystery along with its unforgettable zither theme created by Anton Karas.
Scarred by war and haunted by black marketeers, Vienna is the ideal setting for the drama mystery. Adding to the story line the city is governed by the occupying forces of four different countries: Great Britain, the United States, Russia and France.
   Bereted Trevor Howard as Major Calloway, who contributes his most brilliant British military impersonation, is an engaging personality who is both a mean-spirited interrogator who morphs into the role of  compassionate benefactor.

Joseph Cotton as Holly Martins at  Riesenrad Ferris Wheel

  I would be remiss if I said more about the film...you really need to see this riveting portrayal by Orson Welles and the type cast characters who make THE THIRD MAN an all time classic. It's a rare collaboration of the legendary producers Alexander Korda and David O. Selznick and Carol Reed's second collaboration with the novelist/screenwriter Graham Greene. A Rialto Pictures Release.
At the FILM FORUM, 209 West Houston Street, New York. 10014. Box Office:212.727.8110. Or
www.filmforum.org.
Ta ta darlings!!! I still cannot get over those dripping sewer scenes in THE THIRD MAN. Fan mail welcome at pollytalknyc@gmail.com. Visit Polly's Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the Blog that resonates with your interest.