The Third Man
Loris, who had been bugging me to blog forever, asked me whether I still remember the films well. With a backlog of 3 months and over 10 films, I was surprised to see that I did indeed remember most of them fairly well. “The Third Man” is perhaps the only big exception. I read Graham Greene’s novel a long time ago, and almost completely forgot the story. (I only remembered one thing – that Harry was not dead.) Back in the day, I knew that the film was a classic and didn’t want to watch it because I thought the book ruined the story for me. This time, it’s been over 2 months since I saw the film and yet again I have forgotten most of the story. Maybe it just means that “The Third Man” has a curiously forgettable story, which allows you to enjoy it over and over again, feeling the suspense anew.
Unfortunately, I didn’t really perceive the film as particularly suspenseful. While I was really into the book back in the day, the film mostly left me cold. I acknowledged the stylish film noir elements and dark atmosphere, but that’s all there was to it. Honestly, I just wanted to see Alida Valli whom, amongst Italian actress, I now prefer over Monica Vitti, and that says something. Unfortunately she was essentially powerless in the entire story, and that ruined her role a little.
Another classic I have always wanted to see – check. Recently I have been mostly watching things I had a craving for, and it’s probably better that way.