Chasing The Screen

Most people remember Orson Welles for his fictitious portrayal of William Randolph Hearst in Citizen Kane, fewer have seen him shine as Harry Lime, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) "dead" friend in the thriller The Third Man. A textbook film noir that earned three 1951 Academy Award nominations, and won for Best Cinematography: Black and White. Holly Martins arrives in post-war Vienna to find out his friend Harry has been killed in a car accident. Then a host of characters appear and lead Holly to believe his friend's death was no accident. Holly, who is a crime novelist plays detective and tries to unravel the mystery behind his friend's death. Released in the United Kingdom in 1949, it is widely regarded as a film ahead of its time. In fact it was filmed on location in Vienna, giving the story added drama and authenticity.

Although the film's story didn't completely captivate me, the technical aspects of the film really drove the mystery and suspense and kept me interested. The climax of the film is really no surprise (Harry might not be dead after all), but nevertheless leads to a brilliant scene between Cotton and Welles, where we learn just who our characters really are and who they are pretending to be. This film is a must for any Orson Welles admirer or film noir aficionado. It really is filmed the way I would expect to see a true representation of the genre.

My Rating: (out of 5) 4 stars

Want to see it for yourself? Catch it on February 24th @ 10 a.m. on Turner Classic Movies

So about a month ago I thought I would jump start this blog, but of course as usual I have been dragging my feet. I have already watched 3 films from the 1001, which obviously puts me way behind schedule. My hope is to have those three film commentaries available by the end of this weekend. Of course I like to use work as an excuse, but this time of year, much of my movie watching is consumed by the Award Nominees of the previous year. In the midst of the Awards season I make it my goal to see as many movies that were nominated for major awards (Golden Globes, National Board of Review, etc.), and all of the Academy Award nominees (in every category) before they are handed out on March 7th. The good news this year is even though they have added 5 additional nominees in the Best Picture category, I have already seen 7 of the 10 nominees (still have An Education, Precious, and Blind Side to knock out sometime in the next month. Later this month Tiffany and I should find time to make our 3rd annual trip down to LA to see the Oscar shorts at the Landmark in Westwood (great theater by the way).

In addition to my 1001 reviews I will probably use this blog as a venue for my yearly Oscar predictions and talk about my own personal faves of the past year that were snubbed by the ever unfair Academy (i.e., (500) Days of Summer & Away We Go). So all I can say now is, stay tuned....