Review: The Third Man

The Third Man
Cert: PG / 104 mins / Dir. Carol Reed / Trailer



Phoenix Picturehouse. Arthouse audience, Sunday afternoon. Coughing, sneezing, fidgeting, talking, more badly behaved than the Friday night crowd in a multiplex.

Movie's sound only run through front/centre speakers (ie none of the surrounds) and volume not raised to compensate. Film so quiet that the auditorium's air-conditioning unit was drowning out the dialogue at several points. Combination of low-volume, muffled audio-mix, mumbled dialogue, thick 'foreign' accents and frequently un-subtitled (and untranslated) german dialogue meaning that the intricacies of the plot were borderline impossible to follow. Worst performance from a child-actor of all time. Unable to care about characters or plot. So bored by ferris-wheel sequence that actually started to fall asleep.

Frankly average film 'restored' by someone who hasn't listened to it, and ruined by poor presentation in an establishment which claims to be passionate about cinema.

'All-time classic'?
Fucking treat it like one, then.

I did, and it wasn't.



TV. Rainy afternoon. BBC2.



I hope not.



I'd say no; many would disagree.



I'll ask you to explain yourself, put it that way.



There isn't.



The Third Man stars Orson Welles, who lent his vocal cords to Unicron in the 1986 Transformers movie, a film which also starred Corey Burton, the voice of Count Dooku in Star Wars: The Clone Wars.







DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Bond Night: Goldfinger

Bond Night: Goldfinger
Cert: PG / 110 mins / Dir. Guy Hamilton



Oh come on, who doesn't love Goldfinger? Perhaps the ultimate Bond film, with the humour, charm and action all on full throttle. Plus an iconic opening song that's nicely worked into the overall film score.

The terrible acting from the troops in the gas-spray sequence loses it a point, but Connery rocking a blue velour shorts-onesie regains that.

An ageless treat that triumphs over its shortcomings with sheer, auric glee.

Yeah.



Yes.



Yes.



Cinema*¹.



Yes.



Yes.



Nope.





*¹ It gets fairly regular re-releases and convention showings. If you can, do.

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.

Bond Night: From Russia With Love

Bond Night: From Russia With Love
Cert: PG / 115 mins / Dir. Terence Young



And... we're on. Following an uncertain start, FRWL definitely sets the template for Bond as we know it, and it's a testament to Terence Young's direction that the film still holds its own today.

I spent a lot of the 115 minutes rolling my eyes, but still thoroughly enjoyed myself. Everyone's a lot more relaxed this time around, the action is smoother and the moments of humour are more wry.



Yeah.



Yes.



Yes.



DVD.



Nah.



Yes.



No*¹.





*¹ Although there are some very similar cries during the shootout at the gypsy camp, so there could well be one hiding in the mix that I didn't catch.

DISCLAIMERS:
• ^^^ That's dry, British humour, and most likely sarcasm or facetiousness.
• Yen's blog contains harsh language and even harsher notions of propriety. Reader discretion is advised.
• This is a personal blog. The views and opinions expressed here represent my own thoughts (at the time of writing) and not those of the people, institutions or organisations that I may or may not be related with unless stated explicitly.