Research: Analysis of The Third Man

The Third Man (1949)

Mise en scene:

The location at the start of the Third Man is a war torn Vienna. In the background there is a ferris wheel, this juxtaposes the ruined bomb struck city streets. The location shows a lot of snow on the ground. Even though the film is black and white the white of the snow is key to the thriller genre. This is because the bright white of the snow gives the scene a grayscale colour which creates tension in the audience as they wonder why the there is an absence of colour.

The costume of Holly Martins is typical to the era of the film (late 1940’s). Martins wears a white shirt with a fabric/tweed tie and fabric/tweed jacket. This costume is iconic to the thriller genre as many male characters wear suits in thrillers. Martins also wears a trilby hat, this is commonly worn in thriller films by detectives and government officials. The trilby was also commonly worn by men in the late 1940’s – 1950’s.

The costume of the femme-fatale is also typical to the late 1940’s. She wears a white blouse and a black jacket. This shows that by wearing smart clothes that are similar to the suit worn by the male character, she is showing that she has power and authority like the male character. This is important as it allows the audience to see how powerful the femme-fatale can be.

In the Third Man chiaroscuro lighting- low key and high contrast lighting- is used when Harry Lime stands in the door way and a house from across the street shines a light on his face. Chiaroscuro lighting allows the audience to see that the shadowy figures face and recognise that it is the supposedly deceased Harry Limes who has faked his death.