The Third Man
January 2009 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: Blu-ray	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

It was about seven months after Blu-ray won the format war for high-definition video discs that Criterion announced its first releases for the medium. Many fans had been speculating as to what course Criterion would take, feeling that the revered company’s decision would greatly influence the battle between HD DVD and Blu-ray. But Criterion chose to weather the storm and let a winning format be chosen before projecting any titles.

Now we have four Criterion Blu-ray releases. Chungking Express is reviewed elsewhere in this month's update; The Man Who Fell to Earth and Bottle Rocket are the other two. There are a few generalities to mention. The discs are not packaged in the standard blue plastic cases that we’ve come to expect. Instead, they are contained in digipak foldouts, which have a plastic tray with a hub to hold the disc and a slot on the opposing inside page that holds the booklet. The foldout is held in a thin cardboard sleeve. Frankly, it’s cheap, not what I expected from Criterion. The Third Man I received already shows wear from use; this is not sturdy packaging, you will want to treat it with care if you expect it to last. A book-like package such as Warner created for Bonnie and Clyde and other titles in its series would be ideal.

All of the first films have been done from the same masters that were used for the original SD releases. This seems OK to me, because Criterion was obviously thinking ahead. The masters they did for DVD releases were, almost to a title, better than the medium could reproduce. The initial titles also use the same special features found on the DVD counterparts. Well, almost. In the case of The Third Man, all of the disc extras are the same, but two essays in the original booklet have been cut, leaving only the one by Luc Sante. Perhaps the others will be made available on the company website.

As to The Third Man, what can one say of a movie that has received so many accolades? I am not one to believe it's the greatest film of all time; that would leave out Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and quite a few others, just sticking to black-and-white films. But surely it is one of the greatest thrillers ever made and one of the greatest films as well. A lot of its success happened by chance. The zither player Anon Karas was found on location, yet it is unthinkable to see this film without that vital music. Joseph Cotton was not the first choice to play Holly Martins, yet it is virtually impossible to imagine anyone else in the role. That goes for every member of the cast, particularly Orson Welles. Who else could play Harry Lime with the delicious mix of evil and naïveté that Welles brought to the character?

The Criterion DVD release of The Third Man looked wonderful, so it is not surprising that the Blu-ray appears even more so. What’s your favorite scene? The chase through the sewers? The giant Ferris wheel? The first discovery of Harry Lime in a darkened doorway? They all look better than ever before on home video. All of the details of post-war Vienna stand out, whether in the foreground or background. The contrast between shadow and light is impeccable, and there was only one moment at the very end where I detected film damage that had not been properly repaired. If you have gathered a bad impression of black-and-white film from chopped-up, washed-out, Saturday-night-late-show viewings, seeing this movie on Blu-ray will restore your faith. The sound is also much more robust than I expected, rendering the zither music and the dialogue quite well.

The extras are the usual college course on the film that we expect of Criterion. The crown of it is a 90-minute documentary, Shadowing The Third Man, which has unusual videos that show the original black-and-white film projected on top of more contemporary color shots of Vienna. The effect is haunting. There are many other enjoyable video documentaries and an audio delight: an episode from the series The Lives of Harry Lime written and produced by Orson Welles. There is also the 1951 Lux Radio Theater adaptation of the movie, and, as they say, a whole lot more.

I am a bit puzzled by some of the title choices Criterion made for its first Blu-ray releases, but this one rings strongly as a great selection. The movie is timeless and the Blu-ray transfer is state of the art. Now if we could only do something about that chintzy packaging. A masterpiece like this deserves better.

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