This film is currently unavailable
The Third Man
Carol Reed's timeless classic, one of the greatest British films, lavishly marries a perfect script, an unforgettable theme tune and the star power of Orson Welles.
Thriller 1949 104 mins
Director: Carol Reed
Overview
One of the greatest British films, Carol Reed's classic very consciously emphasises its time and place - post-war Vienna - yet its resonant themes around loss of innocence and a fall from grace render it timeless. Joseph Cotten plays the writer searching the Austrian capital for his missing friend, Harry Lime. He's disturbed to discover that Lime recently died, but soon begins to doubt the official version of events.
Graham Greene's peerless script borrows its pessimistic outlook from American Film Noir, but manages to balance its cynicism with wit and pathos. Containing many celebrated sequences, including its sewer-set finale and Welles' iconic onscreen entrance, the film also boasts one of the most memorable theme tunes in all cinema; the puckish zither score by the then unknown Anton Karas, whom Reed discovered in a bar. The Third Man was a big success upon its release, generating radio and TV spinoffs, but it's also risen in estimation over the years to become one of British cinema's most cherished treasures.
mild threatAccessibility
Related
Thriller
Pulse Pulse
Horror 2001 119 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's dark and apocalyptic J-Horror foretells how technology serves to isolate us as it grows more important to our lives.
Obsession Obsession
Romance 1976 98 mins Director: Brian De Palma
High melodrama, creeping insanity and barely contained delirium abound in this dizzying tribute to the high tension thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock from director Brian De Palma.
Hyena Hyena
Crime 2014 112 mins Director: Gerard Johnson
In this stylish, dark crime thriller, a policeman’s complex web of underworld relationships is threatened by an internal affairs investigator.
The Old Dark House The Old Dark House
Comedy 1932 72 mins Director: James Whale
A group of weary travellers arrive at a spooky mansion with a madman on the loose, in this classic horror-comedy from James Whale (Bride of Frankenstein)
Goldstone Goldstone
Thriller 2016 110 mins Director: Ivan Sen
Ivan Sen follows his acclaimed Australian thriller Mystery Road with another distinctive, 'outback noir', with troubled indigenous detective Joe Swan (Aaron Pedersen) again on the trail of murder and corruption.
Suture Suture
Thriller 1994 96 mins Director: Scott Mcgehee
David Siegel and Scott McGehee's sumptuously shot neo-noir is a moody, monochrome meditation on race and identity politics.
Kermode introduces
Lodger: A Story of the London Fog Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
Crime 1926 91 mins Silent Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Ivor Novello plays a strange lodger who may be behind a number of Jack the Ripper-style killings in Alfred Hitchcock’s silent thriller.
Unrelated Unrelated
Drama 2007 96 mins Director: Joanna Hogg
On a Tuscan break a fortysomething woman finds herself drawn to the company of a group of partying teens, including a young Tom Hiddleston (in one of his earliest roles).
For Those in Peril For Those in Peril
Drama 2013 92 mins Director: Paul Wright
An intense and mysterious drama about the lone survivor of a strange fishing accident who’s outcast and persecuted by his fellow villagers.
Distant Voices, Still Lives Distant Voices, Still Lives
Biopic 1988 84 mins Director: Terence Davies
Terence Davies' debut feature is a remarkable evocation of working-class family life in the 40s and 50s and a visionary exploration of memory.
Within Our Gates Within Our Gates
Drama 1919 74 mins Silent Director: Oscar Micheaux
Oscar Micheaux’s startling silent classic – the earliest surviving feature from an African-American director – presents a fascinating black counterpoint to Griffith’s Birth of a Nation.
My Brother the Devil My Brother the Devil
Drama 2012 107 mins Director: Sally El Hosaini
Sally El Hosaini's feature debut tells of the love and disenchantment of two British-Egyptian brothers. Gangs, drugs and sexuality come between them
Featuring Alida Valli
Eyes without a Face Eyes without a Face
Horror 1960 90 mins Director: Georges Franju
Georges Franju’s gorgeous, poetic horror film about a surgeon’s dark obsession with restoring his daughter’s disfigured face.
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
New
Chemsex Chemsex
Documentary 2015 80 mins Director: William Fairman
A hard-hitting and often graphic documentary about the 'chemsex' sub-scene in London’s gay community.
Reaching for the Moon Reaching for the Moon
Biopic 2013 114 mins Director: Bruno Barreto
Beautifully told true story of the love affair between American poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lola de Macedo Soares.
You and the Night You and the Night
Drama 2013 89 mins Director: Yann Gonzalez
Eric Cantona and Beatrice Dalle star in an outrageous erotic fever dream about a couple who invite four diverse guests to their midnight orgy.
Once Once
Musical 2007 87 mins Director: John Carney
The unique, charming musical about the whirlwind romance between an Irish street musician and a Czech immigrant; winner of an Oscar® and a major prize at Sundance Film Festival.
What We Do in the Shadows What We Do in the Shadows
Comedy 2014 86 mins Director: Taika Waititi
An achingly funny mockumentary about New Zealand’s hitherto unknown vampire (and werewolf) communities, from the creators of Flight of the Conchords.
The Singing Detective The Singing Detective
Comedy 2003 105 mins Director: Keith Gordon
Robert Downey Jr. is at his caustic best in this acerbic adaptation of Dennis Potter's classic serial about a writer tormented by dark visions from his own novels.