Case Study: The Third Man

How read uses, develops and challenges thriller generic conventions in this iconic noir thriller.

Location

This film is set in Vienna and it is represented as a divided and fractured place from the aftermath of the war. It is also shown as a shattered and hostile place with the segregation of the city and the black market. There is a montage of the city and the market with a British voice over who introduces the reality of Vienna and shows it in its true colours. It doesn't portray Vienna as an appealing place which instantly adds the sense of enigma and a traumatic places in which Holly will be entailing on this dangerous adventure in the labyrinth of Vienna which is conventions of locations of a thriller to add enigma and uneasiness to the atmosphere.

As Holly arrives at his destination, he enters and walks up the stairs. The stairs are an important object used in a thriller because it shows restrictions to characters as you can only go up or down, not knowing what's at the top or bottom of the stairs. It is a hazardous object and falling can be fatal. Although straight stairs were used here, spiral stairs are a sign of confusion and danger. As he walks up the stairs, there is chiaroscuro lighting used and a shadow of himself is on the wall, adding mystery and darkness. These are important conventions of a thriller used effectively by Carol Reed. The streets are deserted, dark and indicate a labyrinth which are used to the extreme in the sewer scene.

At the end of the film, Harry enters the sewers and is moving around in the sewers, trying to escape from the authorities. As soon as he enters, there is complete claustrophobia and a vanishing point, showing that if he decides to go deeper in, no one knows where he will be going. Chiaroscuro lighting is used and you get the whole noir essence as it's very dark and there's an enigmatic atmosphere which is the main conventions of a noir thriller.

Location Images

Vienna is represented in the beginning and the black market is mentioned which is showing illegal acts which is making Vienna a dangerous place which holly has to experience these things

An screen shot of what Vienna looks like in the time period when Holly travels to Austria. It is an isolated place with objects that have been left to rot such as the shipwreck.

The staircase is shown as dangerous and makes Holly seem vulnerable

Character Types

Holly Martins is the protagonist and is shown as quite a nave character as he has never been to Vienna before so his experience is limited to his ability is this city. He is British and doesn't understand German so he is instantly at a disadvantage because he has to rely on other people speaking English. For example in the beginning where he enters the house to meet Harry Lime, he is nowhere be seen, but a man speaks in German which he doesn't understand. Classic thrillers main character is normally a strong-willed man who has dominance over the female gender and are incredibly brave. A way in which Carol reed challenges thriller conventions is that holly is a man and is strong but he is always at a disadvantage in the location he is in because he doesn't know his way around and he can be confused which shows the challenging conventions in this film. He is innocent and has good morals to do the right things in life.

Harry Lime and Holly Martins are binary opposites of good and evil. This is shown through the black and white contrasts. Harry is a cunning character who seems sly and comfortable in his own skin. When he is first seen in the doorway, chiaroscuro lighting is used so you can see just a part of his face and he shows of a slight smile to make him seem smug and confident. This is using generic conventions of a thriller as the menacing characters are confident and aren't frightened and this shows in Harry's facial expressions, expressing no fear in his eyes. In the dark, chiaroscuro scene, there is a black cat by Harry's side which is a sign of bad luck which suggests that Harry is not a person that you want to be in contact with which is using conventions of character types and characteristics.

Anna is first spotted at a funeral and it's an upsetting a gloomy place to be which can show the type of character she is. She has no facial expression and she seems as if she looking into a place of emptiness. She seems like a femme fatale character, an attractive girl who has a dark side to her which you don't want to see. Femme fatale is a generic convention mainly used in noir type thrillers who are seductive but not to be messed with.

Character Images

Anna's facial expression makes her seem as if she's deep in though but she's unreadable. The use of chiaroscuro lighting shows that she has a dark side but her face is lit up so you can try and read what she's thinking.

Holly is a man who has travelled over to Vienna and is in a labyrinth and this is expressed by using tilt shots to show confusion and vulnerability to the area he is in.

Harry is a sly man who seems to live in the shadows. He is shown as a confident male but wants his identity to be keep unknown. Using chiaroscuro lighting does this as you can only see his face.

Lighting

Important conventions of lighting are creating shadows as it adds tension and suspense and can show the characters current status. For example, as the child ran to find Holly, the dark neighbourhood showed the boys shadows as big and tall which is menacing and intimidating. He is just a small, young boy who would seem quite and generally unseen. Challenging the conventions, his shadows made him look much taller than he actually is which can show this boy as mischievous and a danger to society, or a danger towards Holly.

Chiaroscuro lighting is used very often which is important in creating the noir effects. This creates the mise-en-scene with illusions and nightmare effects. This occurs most importantly in the scene where Holly finally sees Harry, but it is unclear to Holly who it is as it's a blur which is why tilt shots are used. As Harry's face is shown, his trilby hat is slightly on the tilt, as is his face where the doorway and his outfit is dark but in contrast, part of his face is visible to see his facial expression. Using chiaroscuro to show half of his face can show that Harry he two sides to his character, on is good and one is bad which can be conventions of a thriller film.

There is constantly a feeling of being in the dark and in empty spaces such as on the streets at night and in the sewer scene. Being in the sewers is a filthy place to be in and is small and confined with an empty location with nothing but sewage. More chiaroscuro lighting is used in the sewers to make it clear that Harry is the important part of the scene and the darkness behind him makes Harry stand out.

Lighting Images

This lighting shows the boy as a silhouette as he is completely black which can show his menacing side and his shadows on the buildings look much bigger and taller than he actually is which shows the influence a young child can have to situations.

The chiaroscuro lighting used to show Harry implies he has a dark side as he is in a small, confined space in darkness and only his face con be seen. This is being shown in contrast to the music playing showing his good side.

The spiral stairs are used in this image with light shining through the gaps in the steps. This is giving a little bit of light so the audience understand where Harry is and his intentions. Chiaroscuro lighting is used here with the contrast of black on white.

Costume

Suits are used in this film along with the trilby hats and are worn by the protagonist, Holly Martins and Harry Lime another significant character in the film. These are classic 1940's noir outfits. This fits in very well with the media film I will be making because me and my group are making a noir type thriller and a suit will be worn by me, suggesting the concept of the flashbacks to the 1940's.

Camera Angles and Movement

High angle shots are used to show vulnerability towards characters. For example when holly was speaking to the man at the beginning, he was on a lower level and there was a high angle shot from the other man's perspective to show how vulnerable Holly is in a country he isn't very familiar with.

Tilt shots are used to portray confusions within the film. When holly was on the streets at night in Vienna, he sees a figure lurking in a doorway with a black cat and a tilt is used to show confusion and disorientation. He is in a dark area and he is struggling to figure out that it is Harry in the dark.

There are constant tilt shots used which are very important so that you understand the connotation of confusion in the thriller. In the shop where Holly is sitting down talking others, a tilt shot is used through the window to show the uncertainty of himself and the audience in the labyrinth of Vienna.

Low angles are used to shot intimidation. In the beginning, after the montage of Vienna, a steam train common to the 1940's for travelling in noir films pulls up and as it draws closer and closer, it becomes bigger and bigger until it is hovering over the camera, showing the intimidation put into it which makes the audience feel uncomfortable which is creating emotions early on in the film which builds up tensions.

One of the most important parts of thriller camera angle and movements are the use of close ups which are used to show the emotions of the characters and the feeling they have towards others which can be hard to identify without seeing them close up e.g. Harry and Anna are inscrutable to the naked eye so using close ups can reveal some hidden identities.

Camera Angles And Movements Images

The use of tilts is very important and is very significant in a thriller as it shows confusion and this shot of Holly shows his position is Vienna and he is shown as uncomfortable and lost.

Here is a point of view shot from Holly's perspective and again, a tilt shot is used to show his confusion. The is chiaroscuro lighting used to show the doorway as complete darkness but a figure can be made out and there is a black cat with them to show bad luck and a gloomy atmosphere.

As the train pulls up, it get bigger which is intimidating to the audience and Holly steps off the train which shows his importance to the film straight away

Sound

The soundtrack to this film is named the Harry Lime theme. The sound is very whimsical and cheerful and makes the atmosphere more light-hearted and it shows the 'good' side of Harry whereas through the film and at the end, Harry's bad side has caught him up and he is trapped in the sewers. The decent man he is, is shown through non diegetic sounds and his cheeky, bad side is shown through his own actions. The sound is normally in contrast to the current actions or moods. The music is played on a zither which is a cultural signifier of Vienna.

Enigma

There is a constant sense of enigma within Vienna, especially when Anna and Harry Lime are around. They are both inscrutable because no matter how long you look at them, you are unable to read what they're thinking or planning. Their facial expressions are just like Leonardo da Vinci's art piece of the Mona Lisa.

When Holly arrives in Vienna he is walking towards his destination, and unknown to himself, he walks under a ladder which is signified as bad luck so instantly the audience are feeling the tensions as you know undesirable things will occur throughout this film. Again, he sees a black cat with Harry later on in the film, increasing the amount of bad luck which builds up the suspense, ready for the climax at the end.

The city is divided into four occupying armies and you get the feeling of Vienna being enigmatic because the Austrians are feeling alienated in their own city which isn't natural.

Labyrinth

There is a lot of confusion within the film because the language of German is not translated into English so there is not only confusion for Holly, but for the audience as well. It is as if we are positioned with Holly Martins but there is unclear situations which are hard to resolve when you do not understand what is going on. Vienna is shown as a labyrinth, especially with the segregation of the city after the war, you don't know where you stand. As the audience is with Holly in a bar, there is a slight tilt used to show disorientation and we are lost in Vienna and we're all in a labyrinth.

Inter-textuality

At the end of the film, Harry is well and truly trapped inside the dark labyrinth of the sewers and as a final pledge for escape he climbs to a drain and sticks his fingers out. This reminds me of the burial scene in Kill Bill Volume 2 when Bud buries The Bride in a coffin underground and it turns to a shot of her hand reaching out of the ground.

Again, in the beginning of the sewer scene, when Harry first enters the sewers, there is a long shot of just him and a long view of the sewer with a vanishing point where you cannot see beyond so anything can be waiting further in the depth of the sewer. This shot has a intertextual reference to Clockwork Orange where there are vanishing points used with shadows bigger than the actual character. A reference which I instantly thought of was in Essex Boys when Jason and Billy are driving through a tunnel and there is a vanishing point with no idea of what's waiting on the other side. A key convention used by Carol Reed to add tension and suspense.