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The Third Man Blu-ray
Criterion CollectionCriterion | 1949 | 104 mins | Not rated | Dec 16, 2008
The Third Man(1949)Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller     Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime--and thus begins this legendary tale of love, deception, and murder. Thanks to brilliant performances by Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles; Anton Karas's evocative zither score; Graham Greene’s razor-sharp dialogue; and Robert Krasker’s dramatic use of light and shadow, The Third Man, directed by the inimitable Carol Reed, only grows in stature as the years pass. For more details about The Third Man on Blu-ray, see The Third Man Blu-ray Review Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Paul Hoerbiger Director: Carol Reed The Third Man Blu-ray, Video Quality  Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Carol Reed's The Third Man arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. I could not wait to get my hands on this disc. I was excited to see Wong Kar-Wai's Chungking Express in 1080p but, for a number of reasons, I was waiting to see how Criterion will treat their B&W films. Suffice to say, I have some terrific news that will surely warm plenty of hearts. First of all, the big news is that The Third Man is not picture-boxed. Those of you who have followed Criterion's output on SDVD closely know that there have been a number of issues related to their window-boxing practice, which have left perfectionists hoping for more. Put all those hopes aside - your wish has been granted. The Third Man arrives in a handsome 1080p transfer lacking the tiny little lines seen on the SDVD version. As a result, not only does this transfer look mighty impressive on a large HDTV set but, blown through a digital projector, it convincingly overshadows the image quality the SDVD set boasts. Here the blacks are rich and lush, the whites are sharp, and the actual color-scheme significantly more nuanced than that seen on the SDVD. Furthermore, contrast is absolutely superb. The fine film grain The Third Man reveals is perfectly intact and I could not help but admire how impressive the picture quality is. Folks, this isn't the rant of a film snob who has been suddenly exposed to a marvelous discovery, no, this is the evaluation of someone who has seen four different releases of The Third Man and each time he found that there was something of substantial importance missing. Furthermore, those of you who own the old Criterion SDVD know that there were some scratches, dirt, and debris that were eliminated on the reissue disc. Last night, when I started watching the Blu-ray disc, the first thing that made an impression on me was the superb quality of the print. Yes, the SDVD reissue of the The Third Man also had the scratches, dirt, and specks eliminated but when you look at the Blu-ray release, with the terrific black and white gradation I addressed before, I am convinced you will see a completely different film. Finally, I also noticed that the Blu-ray transfer appears to have eliminated a substantial amount of the background flickering I've seen on the SDVD disc. To sum it all up, this is an outstanding release which has absolutely no flaws whatsoever! For the record, the packaging is exactly the same as the one Criterion used for Chungking Express. (Note: This is a Region-A encoded Blu-ray disc which you will not be able to playback on your Region-B only hardware. You will need Region-Free hardware in order to view its content). The Third Man Blu-ray, Audio Quality On this Blu-ray disc you will find exactly what the majority of us were hoping to hear - an uncompressed English mono track. I really do not have any critical thoughts pertaining to this audio track. The dialog is crystal clear and very easy to follow, there aren't any inconsistencies that I could detect, and overall it really shows that serious restoration efforts have gone into securing a deserving audio presentation. Of course, I am certain, the big question many of you are pondering is: Is there a difference between the SDVD mono track and the uncompressed mono track the Blu-ray version boasts. Yes, there is. I was listening very carefully last night and I could convincingly state that not only is the uncompressed mono track clearer but it is also, I hope this makes sense, more stable. I would like to point you to a particular scene from The Third Man which I found to be quite revealing of the discrepancies between the two tracks. If you could, listen to the dialog between the main protagonists right after they approach the home of the doorman who has been murdered. Pay attention to the lines they exchange, and listen to the cries of the kid with the ball. It is very clear, to me, that the uncompressed mono track delivers a much more stable audio quality here. I hope you hear what I mean as well. This being said, the actual track is, as noted earlier, free of pop-ups, hissing, or cracks. Optional English subtitles (white) are provided for the main feature. The Third Man Blu-ray, News and Updates• The Third Man Criterion Blu-ray Going Out of Print (Update) - October 29, 2009 We have the first discontinued Criterion BD before us. Both the DVD and Blu-ray editions of the classic movie 'The Third Man' are listed on the Criterion Collection site as out-of-print. Hence, the only available copies will be those already in the retail channel. ... • Today on Blu-ray - December 16th - December 16, 2008 Since the days of Laserdisc, the Criterion Collection has dedicated their efforts to collecting the greatest classic and contemporary films from around the world, and make them available to the general public at the highest quality possible. Today, they release ... • Criterion Titles Get Delayed - November 17, 2008 Criterion Collection has announced that they have delayed their first wave of Blu-ray releases by about a month. 'Bottle Rocket', 'Chungking Express', 'The Third Man', and 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' have all been delayed until December 16th, while 'The Last Emperor' ... The Third Man Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
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