How does the sewer scene from The Third Man use framing and composition techniques, mise en scene and cinematography to create meaning metaphors and effects?

 How does the sewer scene from The Third Man use framing and composition techniques, mise en scene and cinematography to create meaning metaphors and effects?

The sewer scene from The Third Man uses a combination of framing and composition techniques, mise en scene and cinematography to create a tense, claustrophobic atmosphere that engages the audience and enhances the scene. An inescapable, uncomfortable tone is maintained throughout the entirety of this film noir classic to portray the paranoia and tension within Europe at the time. This scene showcases this, using the sewer setting as an extended metaphor of the evil and darkness that surrounded Europe and it's people.

Figure 1

In this shot, sharp, angular edges as well as geometrically aggressive shadows create a German Expressionist like composition. This technique creates connotations of paranoia and claustrophobia to the audience and this along with Orson Wells' character physically crawling up a narrow staircase creates an uncomfortable atmosphere. The use of a high angled shot makes the character of Harry Lime seem powerless and as if the audience is the only one who can aid him. This strengthens the tense, uncomfortable tone as it puts in to question the audiences own morality. The high intensity key light positioned below Orson Wells, creates strong, bar like shadows which is symbolic of prison bars, further strengthening the tight trapped atmosphere created by the shot. The unnatural triangle shapes used for the stairs implies that the evil of humanity is trapping and destroying Harry Lime. As well as this the sharp vertices of the triangles strengthen the link to German expressionism as well as the connotations of inner human evil and paranoia.

Figure 2

The use of a blocked, central vanishing point in Figure 2, makes the audience feel trapped and hopeless as the symbolic hope of the light is blocked. This sense is heightened by the tunnel like setting, making the audience feel as if this is the only way to escape. By blocking the vanishing point, the audiences eye is dragged to somewhere that is obscured and that they can not see. This in combination with the void like atmosphere in the shot gives the audiences a sense of vertigo as if they themselves are falling in to the darkness and evil of the sewer. The use of water in this scene is symbolic as, historically, water is used to represent cleanliness; to wash away sins. However in this shot, the water appears to be black as an effect of the chiaroscuro lighting. As a result the water strengthens the implication that everything within Vienna -and a larger level, Europe- has an inner evil and darkness which can not be escaped. The use of intense Key lighting as well as slight backlighting creates a silhouetted figure. The chiaroscuro lighting intensifies this as well emphasising the charter shadow on the wall. This very dark portrayal of this character is symbolic of the darkness man had had to battle and deal with shortly before the creation of this film, post World War Two. The position of the man in the shot is dead centre. This pulls the audiences eye towards him making him the focus of the shot. By doing this both the obstruction of the vanishing point and the darkness of the man are emphasised strengthening the two techniques effects. In addition to this, the matrix of lines and shadows created by the shadows of the bricks on the wall, create connotations of German expressionism. This in turn maintains a sense of paranoia and aggression in the shot, giving it a continuity with the rest of the sewer and scene and the film as a whole.

Figure 3

In Figure 3, the use of quadrants adds to the intensity of the chase. In the upper half of the shot, the police can be seen searching for the character of Harry Lime, where as in the lower half of the shot, Harry Lime can be seen running away. By doing this, the audiences eye is dragged back and forth between two simultaneous events, creating a intensity which strengthens the portrayal of the chase. As well as this, connotations to heaven and hell are created, as in the top half of the shot, good is situated, trying to catch the criminal where as in the lower half of the shot, the criminal who represents evil is escaping. By doing this, a metaphor of morality is created, highlighting the inner morality crisis that resides in the character of Harry Lime. The representation of him as both a good and bad character symbolises the inner questioning Europe was experiencing as a result of World War 2. This metaphor is extended through the high contrast, chiaroscuro lighting used in the shot. By using this technique, opposing deep blacks and bright whites are created, again symbolising good and bad and further strengthening the metaphor of morality. Finally, hints of German expressionism are again created through the sharp angles of the railing in the upper half of the shot. This creates tones of paranoia and aggression which links to the context of the chase.                                  

In Figure 4, the use of a central, on screen vanishing point adds a sense of finality to the scene as well as the film as a whole. By allowing the audience to finally see the vanishing point, after constantly obscuring it for the entirety of the film, this shot implies to the audience that a sense of evil has been defeated and therefore the film as well as the moral crisis is being resolved. The vertigo felt in previous shots is removed and so the audience no longer feels as if they are falling to the darkness and evil within the sewer,and Vienna as a whole. This feeling of closure is strengthened by the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel, symbolising that hope remains even after the darkness and uncertainty of the film. This is on a larger scale symbolic of the emotions felt after World War 2 of which the film explored throughout. However there are still hints of darkness within this shot. The silhouetted figure at the end of the tunnel, while not blocking the light, partially obscures some of the vanishing point.This in combination with the figure's shadow on the side of the wall is a metaphor for the fact that in life endings are never perfect. It's symbolising that even after the source of evil within the film, Harry Lime, is killed, a moral crisis still remains as it was his friend who killed him.This imperfection is strengthened via the position of the character in the light. Instead of being dead central, he is slightly to the right. Further more instead of being a perfect final shot, elements such as the darkness which surrounds the character, the slight obstruction of the light and the off centre position of the character implies to the audience that while one moral situation had been solved, a moral crisis still remains. This is symbolic of the societal state of European at the time.