Film News
The Third Man Is Back In UK Cinemas From 6 September And On 4K UHD This Autumn
Happy 75th Birthday Harry Lime
STUDIOCANAL are celebrating the 75th Anniversary of one of the masterpieces of cinema, The Third Man, by inviting audiences to enjoy the film back on the big screen where it deserves to be rediscovered or seen for the first time by a whole new generation. Screening in beautifully restored 4K, the film is still as fresh and enjoyable as the day it premiered in a small Hastings cinema on 1st September 1949…
Written by Graham Greene (Brighton Rock, The Fallen Idol), directed by Carol Reed (The Fallen Idol, Oliver!) and featuring iconic performances from Joseph Cotten (Gaslight), Orson Welles(Citizen Kane), Alida Valli (Eyes Without a Face) and Trevor Howard (Brief Encounters, Sons and Lovers), The Third Man is celebrated for its endlessly quotable lines, superb Oscar-winning cinematography, iconic musical score and for so many wonderfully entertaining, quintessentially cinematic moments. It will be released in UK cinemas on 6thSeptember and for the first time ever on 4K UHD this Autumn into Studiocanal’s Vintage Classics Collection. Special Features on the 4K UHD Anniversary Collector’s Edition will be announced shortly and artwork coming soon.
Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), an American writer of pulp Westerns, arrives in a bombed-out, post-war Vienna at the invitation of his childhood friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find him recently dead. His suspicions are raised after learning of a ‘third man’ present at the time of Harry’s death, and butting up against interference from British police officer Major Calloway (Trevor Howard) and falling head-over-heels for Harry’s grief-stricken lover Anna (Alida Valli).
The atmospheric use of black and white expressionist cinematography and tilted-angled camerawork by Robert Krasker, for which he won an Oscar, combined with the iconic hit theme music by Anton Karas performed on the zither, memorably evoke the noir thriller atmosphere of The Third Man, voted by the British Film Institute as the greatest British film of all time. The encounter on the Ferris Wheel and the ensuing Cuckoo Clock speech has become one of the most famous scenes in cinema history.
Marking the second collaboration between the great novelist Graham Greene and director Carol Reed, after their highly acclaimed film The Fallen Idol, Greene’s screenplay for The Third Man is a superbly skillful tale of deception and black market profiteering, brilliantly recreating post-war Vienna, occupied by the four Allied powers at the start of the Cold War. Having previously won the BAFTA award for Best British Film for Odd Man Out (1947) and The Fallen Idol (1948), director Carol Reed made it 3 years in a row scooping up the BAFTA again for The Third Man, winning the Grand Prix in Cannes and receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Director.
Here’s the restored film’s trailer too
About STUDIOCANAL (a CANAL+ Company)
STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+ Group held by Vivendi, is Europe’s leader in production, distribution and international sales of feature films and series, operating in all nine major European markets – France, United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, Spain, Denmark and Benelux – as well as in Australia and New Zealand. It finances and produces around 30 films per year, distributes around 80 films per year. It owns the largest library in Europe and one of the most prestigious libraries in the world, boasting more than 8 000 titles from 60 countries, spanning 100 years of film history. 20 million euros has been invested into the restoration of 750 classic films over the past 5 years. In addition, STUDIOCANAL also produces almost 20 series each year and operates at an international level by globally distributing its scripted productions and CANAL+ Originals (2,000 hours of current and library content in distribution). All productions take place directly through STUDIOCANAL entities or with its award-winning network of 14 production companies in Europe and in the United States (STUDIOCANAL Series, LAILAPS FILMS, RED PRODUCTION COMPANY, URBAN MYTH FILMS, BAMBÚ PRODUCCIONES, STUDIOCANAL ORIGINAL, 2e BUREAU, SUNNYMARCH TV, SAM Productions, DINGIE, KINO SWIAT, BIRDIE PICTURES, STRONG FILM & TELEVISION, THE PICTURE COMPANY).
About VINTAGE CLASSICS from STUDIOCANAL
The stunning roster of incomparable VINTAGE CLASSICS titles includes outstanding thrillers, heart-rending masterworks, horror favourites, war dramas, Ealing comedies, and plenty of lesser-known gems. The collection boasts some of the greatest and most beloved stars of cinema including Alec Guinness, Julie Christie, Paul Robeson, Dirk Bogarde, Diana Dors, Richard Attenborough, Margaret Leighton, Terence Stamp and Jenny Agutter to name but a few, in films directed by auteurs such as David Lynch, John Schlesinger, Carol Reed, Roger Corman, Nic Roeg, and Joseph Losey. Prepare to reappraise underrated actors, box office bombs and overlooked directors, such as the incomparable Muriel Box, director of three films in the collection. 2024 sees the eagerly awaited new 4k restoration of Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960), Ealing’s The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) in 4K, Carol Reed’s enchanting fable A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), the film that kick-started the British New Wave: Room at the Top (1959), Kenneth More as The Comedy Man and many more.
Take an in-depth stroll around this best of British on the brand-new VINTAGE CLASSICS website, taking film fans deeper into their favourite films with behind-the-scenes stills, never-seen-before vintage campaign books, specially commissioned writing, clips, extras and trailers and, new for 2024, a brand new merchandise store, where you can finally get your hands on some of the beautiful artwork for these iconic movies. Catch some of these titles on Studiocanal Presents, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video Channels and ITV X Premium.
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