8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend Harry Lime.
Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Paul HörbigerFilm-Noir | 100% |
Psychological thriller | 82% |
Mystery | 42% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: LPCM Mono
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
One of the greatest film-noir movies ever made, Carol Reed's "The Third Man" (1949) follows the deeds of an American writer who arrives in post-war Vienna looking for his friend. Beautifully-lensed and filled with suspense, the picture offers a disturbing portrait of a world ruled by injustice, rotten political ideologies, and nihilism. Courtesy of Criterion. Region-A "locked".
Drunk in Vienna
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carol Reed's The Third Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.
I could not wait to get my hands on this disc. I was excited to see Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express in 1080p but, for a number of reasons, I was waiting to see how Criterion will treat their B&W films. Suffice to say, I have some terrific news that will surely warm plenty of hearts.
First of all, the big news is that The Third Man is not picture-boxed. Those of you who have followed Criterion's output on DVD closely know that there have been a number of issues related to their window-boxing practice, which have left perfectionists hoping for more. Put all those hopes aside now -- your wish has been granted. Indeed, The Third Man arrives in a handsome 1080p transfer lacking the tiny little lines seen on the DVD release. As a result, not only does this transfer look mighty impressive on a large HDTV set but, blown through a digital projector, it convincingly overshadows the image quality the DVD set boasts. Here the blacks are rich and lush, the whites are sharp, and the color scheme significantly more nuanced than that seen on the DVD release. Furthermore, contrast is absolutely superb. The fine film grain is perfectly intact and I could not help but admire how impressive the picture quality is. Folks, this isn't the rant of a film snob who has been suddenly exposed to a marvelous discovery -- no, this is the evaluation of someone who has seen four different releases of The Third Man and each time he found that there was something of substantial importance missing.
Furthermore, those of you who own the old DVD release know that there were some scratches, dirt, and debris that were eliminated on the reissued disc. Last night, when I started watching the Blu-ray disc, the first thing that made an impression on me was the superb quality of the transfer. Yes, the DVD reissue of the The Third Man also had the scratches, dirt, and specks eliminated but when you look at the Blu-ray release, with the terrific black and white gradation I mentioned earlier, I am convinced you will see a completely different film. Finally, I also noticed that the Blu-ray transfer appears to have eliminated a substantial amount of the background flicker that is present on the DVD disc. To sum it all up, this is an outstanding release which has absolutely no flaws whatsoever. For the record, the packaging is exactly the same as the one Criterion used for Chungking Express. (Note: This is a Region-A encoded Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
On this Blu-ray disc you will find exactly what the majority of us were hoping to hear -- an uncompressed English mono track. I really do not have any critical thoughts pertaining to this audio track. The dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow, there aren't any inconsistencies that I could detect, and overall it really shows that serious restoration efforts have gone into securing a deserving audio presentation. Of course, I am certain, the big question many of you are pondering is this: Is there a difference between the lossy mono track from the DVD and the uncompressed mono track on the Blu-ray release? Yes, there is. I was listening very carefully last night and I can convincingly state that not only does the uncompressed mono track have better depth and clarity, but -- and I hope this makes sense to the audiophiles -- it is also a lot more stable. I would like to point you to a particular scene from The Third Man which I found to be quite revealing of the discrepancies between the two tracks. Listen to the dialog between the main protagonists right after they approach the home of the doorman who has been murdered. Pay attention to the lines they exchange, and listen to the cries of the kid with the ball. It is very clear, to me, that the uncompressed mono track has a far superior fluidity. Lastly, there are no pops, hiss, or cracks. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.
Before we get to the supplemental features, let's take a look at Criterion's booklet. In it, you will find an informative essay titled "The One and Only" by Luc Santie (the author teaches at Bard College and has writings include Low Life, The Factory of Facts, and Kill All Your Darlings). The actual essay focuses on the history of The Third Man as well as the effect it had on world cinema as a whole. There is also a short note about the transfer, in addition to production credits, acknowledgments, and special thanks.
On the actual Blu-ray disc there is an abundance of important extras. First, there is an introduction to the film by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich where he talks about the appeal of The Third Man, its charismatic beauty, and what makes it a film of tremendous importance (there are some very interesting comments about Orson Welles as well). Next, Criterion offer a story-form draft by Graham Greene which was initially intended for The Third Man. The piece is aligned with the actual film and narrated by the late Richard Clarke. There are also two audio commentaries, also found on the SDVD version, one by filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and director Tony Girloy, and the other by film scholar Dana Polan. Both of those are terrific. I've listened to the two on my DVD and highly recommend that you find the time to have a look at them. Especially the second commentary, the one by Dana Polan, offers a wealth of information that surely allows for an entirely new appreciation of this spectacular film. "Shadowing The Third Man" (2005) is 90-minute documentary that chronicles the production history of the film. It was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and it is herein narrated by actor John Hurt. "Who Was The Third Man" is an extensive documentary that was commissioned for the fiftieth anniversary of the film by Wien-Kanal (the Vienna Sewer Department). The piece is written by Georg Markus and directed by Beate Thalberg. Next is "A Ticket to Tangiers", a collection of early 1950s radio announcements for The Third Man as heard on "The Lives of Harry Lime" show. "Insider Information" is an interesting collaboration between writer Charles Drazen, author of "In Search of the Third Man", and Criterion offering a short production history of the film with rare behind-the-scenes photos. "US vs. UK version" focuses on the different voiceovers in the opening scenes for The Third Man. Detailed information pertaining to the exact differences is provided. "Kind to Foreigners" gathers the German spoken scenes director Carol Reed intentionally left unsubbed with English subtitles. In addition to the original US theatrical trailer, and UK press book with scanned documents from Carol Reed's personal archive, you will also find archival footage from post-war Vienna. Finally, an Omnibus-featurette focuses on writer Graham Greene's history. The Blu-ray disc also offers the "Timeline" feature which allows you to bookmark selected scenes and compare them after you've listened to the commentaries/analysis.
Wow! I really cannot see what could have been improved here. The entire package is absolutely superb. This is what Blu-ray is all about, and in the hands of competent distributors, the format sure is capable of delivering miracles. Very Highly Recommended.
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4K Restoration
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1946
2006
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Warner Archive Collection
1946
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Encore Edition | Limited Edition to 3000 - SOLD OUT
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Warner Archive Collection
1947