The Opening of the Third man

"The Third Man" is a British film noir. It was Made in 1949, four years after World War Two ended. It was directed by Carol Read, who also directed "A Letter From Home"(1941), and "The Man Between" (1953). It starred Joseph Cotten, and Orsen Wells.

In the opening sequence, Read presents themes that are going to run throughout the film, Crime, War, Anger, and Death.

The opening is a montage of images representing these themes, bought together With a Voice Over. The Voice over pieces the images together, and adds a slight air of humour, as the character seems to be unusually fine with the criminal activity taken place in Vienna, as he mentions “The Black Market” in a fond way. The opening also uses enigmas, as it makes the audience question, “what type if man could this character be?”, “why has he come to Vienna?”


The film also uses binary opposites, to establish these themes. Such as, the detailed gothic architechture of vienna, and the war destructed poor peoples houses, shown in the opening images. Good and Evil, are also used as binary opposites. These opposites are used succesfully by Read in The Third Man.