believe it or not, i have never seen this movie before, but with all the hype regarding the entrence scene, i might have to buy the criterion dvd? is the movie sans the entrence anything special? (i am a big citizen kane fan)

Anton Karas zither's score might try your patience (It certainly did mine) but The Third Man is the shit.

Greatest final shot ever to appear in a movie, anyone?

It is definitely worth seeing, if not buying.

A quitessential film noir with amazing cinematography by Robert Krasker. The showdown at the ferris wheel and the chase thru the sewers are extraordinary sequences not to be missed. Highly recommended.

It's an absolutely fantastic film that has to be on the shortlist of the greatest movies ever made.

Actually, it's even better than that!

This was the first title I ever bought on VHS (years ago) and was the first Criterion DVD I ever purchased. Quite simply, a masterpiece.

I love the cuckoo clock speech. Great movie and the Criterion DVD is awesome. I love all the Harry Lime old time radio supplements.

Well since you asked (this would be a good topic for a thread itself)...The Searchers gets my vote.

Back OT, The Third Man is truly a great film.

Great film and a great presentation on DVD. It's one of the favorites in my collection.

like the comments above, i always hear good things about it. when i finally attempted to watch it i got very bored and fell asleep. the video quality was not that impressive on the criterion dvd either.

i'll have to try watching again some other time.

I had high hopes and was dissapointed - the zither score was just flat out annoying to me. That said, Orson Welles plays an ultra-cool character and there were some great scenes. I wouldn't mind giving it another chance myself...

I hate to say this - I'm a big fan of film noir, and have seen all the great ones (except for Laura and White Heat since they're not on DVD yet), and this one was just dissapointing. The plot seemed somewhat interesting at first, but then just got so tangled up and incomprehensible. Maybe I should rewatch it, but I really didn't like it.

i don't know about 'greatest' but it sure is very memorable

and i did like the score very much too.

It took me a second viewing to fully appreciate, but now it's one of my favorite films. Great plot (that - unlike some noir films - actually makes sense,) excellent acting and a wonderful score. It never gets boring and is endlessly rewatchable...

And I can't believe how much better the Criterion DVD looked than the VHS I watched for the first viewing, which wasn't all that bad of quality anyways.

The Third Man is a great movie, and the zither score is great, too --unusual music for an unusual film.

Best final shot? How about The Graduate, Godfather 2, or a pesonal favorite: Being There.

It's the cat's meow!

As another poster said, it took me two viewings to really appreciate it. Its a good film and I think its a movie every film fan should see at some point. Its definatly worth checking out.

The scene where ORSON WELLES enters the movie is one of the greatest in cinema.This is one criterion disc that is well worth the extra money.

The plot is pretty simple:

I'm not a huge fan ... like others have said, the zither score really grated at my nerves.

Just watched the documentary "Shadowing The Third Man" last night (had it Tivoed from TCM). They mention that the European cut and American cut are different. Apparently they also showed the European cut, but I didn't get that Tivoed. Anyone know which version is on the Criterion DVD?

It may be worth noting (depending on what you think of him, of course), but I believe that Roger Ebert has stated several times that The Third Man is his favorite film.

The Third Man is a great film... Get it and absorb it, spin it twice if you get lost.

Ebert says Casablanca is his favorite film on that movie's commentary.