The Third Man

Cinematography

In the film The Third Man cinematography works to create an opinion about the mise-en-scene through different camera levels, lighting and distance. The first way I will analyze this is through camera levels or angles the film was shot from. The film is shot through many different angles. It is taken from high angles, which brings the viewer a view as if they were looking down on the person. In one of the very first scenes of the film this high angle shot is used when the butler is telling Holly Martins that Harry Lime was hit by a car and killed. With this high angle shot it helps express the shock and puts a shadowy or mysterious view on the scene you wouldn’t have gotten with a medium or low angle. The film also used low angle shots; these were used to help put almost a desperation feel to some of the films scenes. The low angle was also used to help put more of the physical surroundings into the shots like buildings and such.
Even though the film was black and white the lighting still plays a major role in creating the opinion for the mise-en-scene. At the beginning of the film when Holly Martins first arrives in Vienna the lighting is bright which helps express his excitement for arriving to a new place and hope for the new job that he was offered it places a happy opinion to the film. The film also used dim lighting to express a gloomy and dangerous opinion. This was used when people were walking in alleyways or in the streets at night, and also at the very end when they were hunting for Harry Lime in the