'The Third Man' was one of the first Thriller films to be made, using the correct codes and conventions to conjure up this suspenseful and twisting story it also had a sub genre of Crime. The story follows an author by the name of Holly Martins who gets a job request from his ex school friend Harry Lime however upon arriving in a post war Vienna he only discovers that Harry has been killed in a traffic accident. While talking to some of his companions and friends about his death Martins then comes to realise that all the stories don't add up and vows to investigate what really happened.
For being the first Thriller film made you can easily spot where some of the codes an conventions originated from as well as seeing their early effect, only to grow within the modern development of technologies with better equipment and editing software.
As we can see, because of the old age of the film the colours are all in black and white, which could also give way for the future convention of dull colouring and using the dark tones and colours to create this very serious, intense and sometimes eerie atmosphere. it also makes it very easy to distinguish shadows as well as a night scene which adds more effect to the intensity.
The position of the characters against the stairs and the tilted camera angles shows the power struggle between both of them, as an unknown character is on a higher level than the protagonist, slightly towering over the camera as well as the audience creating an unsettling feeling towards who this man could be. Also the fact that he is slightly off to one side shows that he is not glorified in a way, like the Protagonist for example, in the middle of the camera shot.
Further more the view on the protagonist against the set of stairs almost disorientates the audience in a way of not know where they lead, which could also symbolise how the character may be feeling, in an unknown place he has never been before.
In this frame here we see one of the characters with the camera zooming into his face in an extreme close up, as he turns around the soundtrack is drawn out to build up tension as the audience doesn't find out who or what he was looking at.
The next few frames involve a chase scene where the use of the dull lighting corresponding with the black and white of the films age is used to create a very intense and suspenseful atmosphere. Also the shadow on the floor and wall almost create a sense of danger as the audience as well as the characters are surrounded by unknown enemy's.
The next frame has an extreme contrast of light and dark, as the protagonist is seen from the light of above going down into the dark depths of the underground which is a clear sign of danger and foreshadowing as to what evil events may unfold.
In the next frame we see the dark depths of the underground tunnels however a bright light coming from a passage way which the black silhouette of the character is running towards, could be a sign of a way out and that this character is finally escaping from whatever or whoever is pursuing him.
Furthermore this film also contains the plot twist that could have started off the convention for all thriller films, the fact that Martins was trying to figure out what happened to lime and what caused his death however it then becomes apparent that he was never killed in the first place, catching the audience off guard and further adding to more of the story instead of find out what happened, it also opens up why he did it and if he gets caught or not.
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