Harry Lime is dead - or is he? Harry Lime is a good man - or is he? Joseph Cotten's naive writer must find out the truth about his friend, played memorably by that most charismatic of men, Orson Welles. The unravelling of these questions is the canvas for a truly great film. You can bandy around enthusiastic opinions on film, but sometimes, just sometimes, superlatives have to be unleashed. And, oh, that zither music.
Vienna is a city still off-kilter in the aftermath of war - Carol Reed's camera angles emphasise the lack of balance. Cotten is pitch perfect in the lead and Welles steals scenes with easy larceny. Underpinning it all is Graham Greene's acid script. Cinema can ascend to high art - this is an example. The Third Man. 95/100. The greatest British movie ever made?
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