Film 1000

Extract Analysis – The Third Man (1949)

Introduction

In this film extract analysis I will be looking at Carol Reeds - The Third Man. I will be looking at certain points and aspects of studding this opening extract and I have split this essay up into sections discussing different aspects of the extract and I will compare and contrast throughout.

   The first thing that strikes me about this film is the opening narration by a happy friendly voice immediately letting the audience feel at ease and comfortable before settling into watching the film, the narrator starts by talking about how he never knew Vienna before the war and that he only got to know it during the period where the classic black market was apparent. By the narrator talking about this before going on to tell us the story he has already made a link with the audience.

   Then the narrator goes on to describe the situation and why Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) is arriving in Vienna. That is all the narrator does in the extract but it is a very important part in creating meaning in the film because in the first couple of minutes he has made a connection with the audience making them feel at ease and has explained a part of the situation that we have not seen (Martins leaving and coming to Vienna).

   The narrator can tell the story from his point of view or from the view of another character, in this film he is talking from his point of view almost like an audience member. This narration reminds me of the narration in The Big Lebowski (1998) where the narrator has an outside view and talks about the situation at hand.

   The film has a Classic Narrative Structure because it follows a set of rules, it confines to the three act structure I have included a picture which shows a brief example of the three act structure.  

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   The film develops over a 3 act structure by firstly setting up an Inciting Incident (Limes fake death) then the film moves on to plot point one, (Martins meeting Limes wife) following that it moves onto act two and reaches the midpoint.  Plot point two (where Martins sees Lime alive) then moves onto act three where the climax of the film is reached (where Lime is killed for real) the film has then passed though all the three act structure.

   Mise en scène are widely used throughout the film but I will just ...

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