The Third Man (1939) | Keeping the Score Series

Name: The Third Man (1939) | Keeping the Score Series
Start: 2025-04-10T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Princeton Garden Theatre

Schedule

Thu, 10 Apr, 2025 at 07:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Princeton Garden Theatre | Princeton, NJ

Be it a gentle piano interlude or a glorious orchestral fanfare, no element of filmcraft sets a movie’s tone and identity quite like the musical score. Film music has the power to underline a filmmaker’s narrative ideas, forge our bond to a heroic character, and move us to the point of tears. Join us all year long as we showcase cinema’s iconic composers whose musical talents enrich the images we see on screen and have us humming their unforgettable melodies as we exit the auditorium. The series continues with the iconic Carol Reed classic THE THIRD MAN. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗧𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: princetongardentheatre.org/specials
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲: Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend. Featuring a haunting zither score, amazing black and white cinematography, and some of the best performances of the postwar period. Voted the #2 Best British Film by the British Film Institute, THE THIRD MAN is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time.
𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲: Anton Karas was an Austrian zither musician who had no prior experience in the film industry before his involvement in THE THIRD MAN. His significant opportunity arose when the film's director, Carol Reed, encountered the 40-year-old artist performing for tips while out to dinner with the cast. Impressed, Reed immediately offered him the chance to compose the film's score, which Karas completed over a six-week period, creating and recording 40 minutes of music exclusively on a concert zither. This instrument, characteristic of Central Europe, features 40 strings and is typically played by strumming or plucking with fingers or a plectrum. The zither was the sole instrument featured in the film's soundtrack and was intentionally tuned a semitone lower, contributing to a unique, gritty sound that resonated with the atmosphere of post-WWII Vienna. Upon its release, the score for THE THIRD MAN gained considerable acclaim, remaining at the top of Billboard's U.S. Best Sellers in Stores chart for 11 weeks.
𝗦𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 $𝟭𝟬!Become a member of our nonprofit theater for as little as $40 a year. Learn more at princetongardentheatre.org/membership