Film Noir and 'The Third Man'

Film Noir and ‘The Third Man’ (1949)

How does the third man use film noir conventions?

Film Noir

Film Noir is a type of film/genre of thriller that came from post second world war.  This was a time of great depression and socioeconomic collapse.  These were originally American gangster films (about the 1940’s).  Film Noir tends to have a mood of bleakness, fear and paranoia.  The characters within film noir generally encounter a degree of moral conflict creating a difficult situation.  Flashback and mystery are often involved and a narrator tells the tale as a twisting plot unravels.  Femme Fatale is used in this type of film.  This usually links directly to the moral conflict often present.  Film noir derives from German expressionist paintings and artwork.  The contrasts for example show this.  Conventions of film noir include heroes and corrupt characters, often villains.  Moral ambiguity is often present and so is the concept of femme fatale.

Femme Fatale is where a significant character (a woman) is ambiguous in that they are deceptive because they use their sexuality and innocent appearance to exploit what they want within a situation.  They are generally good looking and confusing to the viewer of the film. 

Extreme lighting effects are used to exaggerate extreme moods.  This lighting creates great contrasts.  Chiaroscuro lighting is a main feature of film noir where light appears to be coming only from one source that is often not natural.  The films in the film noir genre are black and white; this makes the Chiaroscuro lighting even more obvious and crucial to the genre. 

Codes and conventions of a thriller

Conventions of thrillers generally have a suspicious and unusual beginning creating something that is to be discovered throughout the rest of the film.  Thrillers often use flashback to confuse the viewer making for a more interesting film.  Spiral stair cases are also stereotypically found in thrillers, these can be seen as symbolic of aspects within the film because of their distance and hidden floors.  The Third Man uses most of these conventions within film noir.

The Third Man

The Third Man is a Film Noir mystery Thriller directed by Carol Reed.  The Third Man uses Film noir conventions excessively.  For example it begins with a lone man in an unfamiliar place that he does not know.  Also, the animalistic appearance given to Harry, showing him as if vermin within the city and the sewers below.  This creates an ideal level of corruption to create a complicated plot for the film.

Chiaroscuro lighting is used throughout the film.  For example when Harry escapes and disappears down the sewers.  The lighting hints to the viewer that he has gone through what is discretely a sewer entrance but it is not easy to make out.  The lighting adds a hint of suspicion to the entrance and the reflection of light off the cobbles creates scattered light giving definition to what otherwise would be a bleak shot.

The film is set in Vienna.  There are many shots of empty alleyways with only the main character present.  Also, the sewers of Vienna symbolise the state of the city and the socioeconomic climate.  The rain slicked stone cobbled alleyways in the film and the gloomy dank, dark and disorientating sewers are all classic conventions of the film noir genre. 

Anna is a significant character in the film as she feels for Harry even though he is clearly evil.  There is no perfect femme fatale in The Third Man; however Anna possesses some of the qualities.  She is independent and attractive.  She is morally ambiguous in that she loves a man who is evil and being chased by the police and what seems to be everyone.  Anna uses her innocence as a victim to try and get what she wanted from the situation.

Despite the atmosphere killing music The Third Man uses unusual camera angles to show obscurity of situations; Or to show the drunken state of Holly Martin.  These angles give expression and make the viewer feel physically part of the situation and therefore making the film brilliant from a media perspective.  The atmosphere gained from these shots presents for an uneasy atmosphere, perfect for film noir.

The film ‘M’ uses a child character to represent innocence in the film, The Third Man also uses this when the child rolls his ball accidentally in amongst an argument about the suspicions that Holly Martin has of the supposed death of Harry Lime.  This creates juxtaposition between the innocence of the child and the sinister situation making both of these sides seem more extreme.

I used mainly…

http://www.filmsite.org/filmnoir.html