Third man movie annotations Opening scene = Extreme close up on zither Zither – complex nature, provides the setting of the movie – Vienna Austria Coming out of WW2 Extended metaphor – city = self/people Broken ruins Needs to be rebuilt Vulnerable to exploitation – Hamlet is Elsinore, Denmark is vulnerable to exploitation Caption and dialogue to confirm that the location is Vienna Film about the nature of Vienna post war – contemporary times Significance of black market – theme of corruption (same as hamlet) Corruption – Harry Lime, dilutes penicillin and sells on black market If penicillin is diluted = not effective = people die Harry = Racketeer – does not value human life = danger to everybody Shot of body floating – kill or be killed environment – savage and difficult place – Dirty links to corruption. Use of euphemism – dark humour Tong à light, music has a carnival light appeal Contrasts against harry lime Meiosis – understatement, satirical tone – “bombed about a bit” – then shows dramatic bombing No common language or culture Introduced through dialogue of Holly Martins à introduced immediately as an American – represents America as a whole What does this movie has to say about the nature of Americans with Holly representing America as a whole. Chiaroscuro – train and steam Film Noir Expect shadows – action is often led by shadows – see shadow before action – before we see the person Symbolises the darkness within us – questions human nature and positions us to ask ourselves what we are capable of. Human nature = betrayal – Gertrude betrays hamlet, Hamlet betrays Fathers ghost. “Thought he’d be here to meet me” – first sign that something is wrong Walking under ladder – bad luck Perspective shot High angle shot – displays weak and powerlessness Dialogue is not translated Effect of lines coming into middle gives idea on where we should focus Coincidence – build tension of narrative - “10 minutes too late” Pointed wrong way to heaven and hell – how complicated life has become Zoom to close up – shrinks world around him – receives a jolt of empathy to how the individual feels. Lap dissolve – slow dissolve àtransitions – ghost of experience hangs around – on the journey with him Do the lap dissolves carry through? Sequence of shot reverse shot – Holly is key to the story of what has happened to Harry Leather jacket – positions audience to distrust the character – man standing at graveyard – suspicious Fur coat and bow tie = high status – sense of esteem of two men Fleeting shot of anna – reveals anna in profile – not enough – want to see more of her Mis-en-scene = use of mis en scene to deliberately discombobulate the viewers – is a spy or police officer Cramped shot – feels uncomfortable Hand held camera – inside the car along the road à denoted truth – being mislead Exposition of narrative – discover that murder was a part of his racket – discover that holly is a writer of western novelettes. Western – masculinity – hero/antittero Final frontier – discovery of new places 12/5/2022 Hollys drunkenness – American archetype – overconfident, hot-headed, unwise Feel more sympathy towards Harry Lime We see Holly as being foolish – author of pulp fiction – demeans his nature Sympathetic towards sergeant – accent emphasises his friendliness Opposite of the sergeant – upper class – too highly educated to hear about pulp fiction – involved with “cultural re-education” (Propaganda) – interested in using Holly – intervention is what keeps holly in the city. Intertextual reference to Hamlet – takes the original meaning of the text and adds to the new text – links the central concerns of Hamlet (Trust, betrayal and corruption) foreshadows that the audience may not be interested in Holly Martins speech – not interested in pulp fiction. Reference to lone rider – Indirect characterisation – in Hollys mind, he fantasises being a hero – becomes complicated as he needs to betray his childhood friend. Idea of performing an expected role – in hamlet – as a loving son must revenge fathers murder Holly – as an independent American man – should learn to solve this issue (Harrys death) himself Everyone is corrupt – “everyone in Vienna is (corrupt)” “I’ve done things that would have seemed unthinkable before the war” High angle close up – juxtaposition of dialogue – kind/straightforward with the visual – things are not what they seem – perception vs reality – lack of trust, cannot trust this man – enhance fear for holly – uses classic European stereotypes – vampire? Lap dissolve into walking past Harrys house – denotes that this scene will all be lies àExample of dramatic irony – dramatic irony throughout Hamlet Characterising holly as being naïve, innocent – babe in the woods Dog – links barren to dog Harry cat – only likes Harry No reason to suspect if Harry is not dead Woman – suspicious of what is occurring – wants to protect the man – knows everything the Barren is saying is a lie – worried for her partners safety Lap dissolve – Barren feels satisfied he is able to manipulate the situation to his desire – Holly is interested with pursuing inquiry with Anna – not taking the hint Play within a play – same literary device in Hamlet used in the text – reference to poison in the play Dutch tilt – Rationing after war – didn’t have tea – given tea instead of flowers Anna needs to be involved with racketeering to survive – will sell whiskey – want to get drunk all the time – American stereotype German dialogue – references poison Costuming = Austria’s wealth – former glory, now occupied territory – emphasises the fall of Austria and Vienna and builds empathy in the audience about what they have lost Audience laughing about play – slapstick comedy – happy distraction in a place that is very difficult to live in. Reference to tea, whiskey and cigarettes – contextual of rationing – denotes the difficulties of everyday life, eventuates in everybody needing to behave in some form of low level corruption.
