Not necessarily the best movies ever made, but these are twenty of my favorites, in no particular order.  Each post for the next twenty days will feature a brief discussion of one film (though one or two days will have multiple posts to make up for absences). 

Post 4: The Third Man (1949 dir. Carol Reed)

Of all the great parts that form Carol Reed’s classic film, two have always stood in the center of my nostalgia for it. First, allow me to point to Anton Karas’ zithar score. On paper the idea probably sounded a little bizarre to the studio, but in practice it creates the perfect sarcastic tone. The sound evokes a playful yet slightly off-center panorama of mistaken expectations, story twists, and lies. Upon hearing it, one cannot help but wonder what the hell is going on here? What indeed.

The story is at times deadly serious, as with the switched medication at the hospital’s children’s ward, and at times cynically amusing especially with its observations of the characters’ subtle actions. Watch Crabbin (Wilfrid Hyde-White) throughout the film as he steers his many lovers around a room. Or watch Anna (Alida Valli) calmly and easily maneuver around Harry Lime’s apartment, clearly suggesting she’s spent a lot of time there. No one says these things, they just suggest them by their actions. We are shown, not told, what is really going on in post-war Vienna.

The second moment from my memory is the ending. The final shot, which Reed holds for longer than anyone would dare attempt today, says everything about the preceeding hour and forty minutes. The score again plays counter to the action. It is not a traditional happy ending, but it is the absolute right ending for this story.

Yes, there is the cuckoo clock speech, the shots of the ferris wheel, and the now famous chase through the sewers. And, of course, there thankfully exists the brilliant moment when we finally see Harry Lime (Orson Welles), his wicked smirk illuminated by the apartment across the street as though he just got his hand caught in the cookie jar which ostensibly he did. These are all wonderful, and the movie is filled with such monumental moments. The unexpected never ceases with this film, but the music and the ending remain my touchstones.

The Third Man is a force of nature, a true creative juggernaut, always entertaining, always inspiring, and always a joy to behold.