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The Third Man at Film Forum
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 9, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 9, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
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For the next week, Film Forum is showing a restored print of The Third Man, the great 1949 noir film based on the book by Graham Greene. This is one of Gothamist's favorite movies, not only because it's a wonderfully twisting story set in post WWII Vienna, but because of Joseph Cotten who plays the protagonist, a Westerns writer named Holly Martins. Cotten was friends with Orson Welles (who plays Harry Lime in The Third Man, above) and played Jedediah Leland in Citizen Kane and Eugene in The Magnificent Ambersons. He also played the deceptive Uncle Charlie in Shadow of a Doubt, where he made you understand why someone might marry a murderer.
The Times' Elvis Mitchell calls The Third Man, "quite simply, one of the finest movies ever made and Roger Ebert says it most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies with its existential loss and weariness knowingness. If you're in Vienna, you can go on a Third Man Walk. The Third Man was also the inspiration for a Pinky and the Brain episode, The Third Mouse.
Tagged
books
Citizen Kane
Elvis Mitchell
film
film forum
friends
gothamist
Graham Greene
movies
orson welles
roger ebert
The Third Man
the times
Uncle Charlie
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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