To become the best, we have to learn from the best.
The Third Man is easily one of my top 3 favourite film noir's. It is beautifully shot and the story is fantastic and original. A man on a path to solve the mystery of his friends murder in an unfamiliar and uncooperative town.
I'm surprised that Carol Reed wasn't a bigger director because she pulled off a masterpiece!
Let's begin breaking down my favourite frames from the film that encapsulate what I think are some of the pivotal points of importance in the story.
Let's get started!
This is when the hero meets the policeman who seems to be his closest thing to a friend he has in this strange and almost hostile city. They are presented in this dominant framing which switches depending on who's talking. They are on equal terms and a friend to one another.
The woman we've just recently been introduced to is framed in this archway in the room which is like a bubble enclosing her in a tiny space. A frame within a frame and a scenery cage it shows us she has something to hide and perhaps run from.
The hero is more and more isolated from the area around him and indeed the truth of the story. He is shown walking here in this super high extremely long shot to show how tiny he feels and how alone he is. This shot says it all without having seen the scene.
The building behind him is gigantic in the frame and the huge and wide staircase make for a shot very devoid of comfort. He is still alone in the strange and hostile place. The world is closing in on him and he has no choice but to keep pushing towards the truth.
There are feet in the doorway but it is pitch black. Who is in there? The angle is very slanted, making the shot disorientating. A deep sense of foreboding runs through you as you await the reveal of this ominous dark archway revealing it's secrets. This marks a vital point in the story and is presented wonderfully.
I love this shot so much as it is about the time when the hero has mustered all of his inner strength and is about to confront his friend who is supposed to be dead. This giant wheel is like him stepping into a higher state of consciousness. Stepping up to play with the big boys. Confronting his demons.
As the antagonist in this story is on his last legs after running from the police and being shot, he meets a drain, his last chance of escape. The attempt is futile and the light bathing him is like his only hope being out of reach. The final moment of desperation by a man facing death.
The final shot in the film is that of the woman walking off into the distance on this long and endless road. This represents her new journey and adventure to a new life. She has died as a person at the death of Harry and is reborn into a new person, facing unknown experiences and dangers.
This is such a fantastic film and I strongly urge you to watch under pain of death! A masterpiece in it's own right and a marvel at the brilliance of film noir and cinema in general. The power to move an audience, pose questions and to tell the story of the human condition as truthfully as it can.
No comments:
Post a Comment