The Third Man

(Note: This review refers to the Blu-ray version of the DVD.)

Criterion's first wave of Blu-ray arrives with high-def editions of a few choice greatest hits and favorite films. Carol Reed's continental noir "The Third Man" is one of Criterion's best DVDs and it makes a magnificent Blu-ray. Joseph Cotten stars as a cynical American pulp novelist who searches through the rubble-strewn underworld of postwar Vienna to uncover the truth about the death of his best friend, Harry Lime (Orson Welles), and discovers that his pal is a ruthless black marketeer with blood on his hands. Reed (directing from a witty script by Graham Greene) stirs up a rogue's gallery of profiteers and petty crooks that scurry through the cinematic landscape of cant angles and long shadows, while Welles steals the show with barely 10 minutes of screen time.

The Blu-ray master comes from the same high-definition master as the 2007 DVD release but delivers greater clarity and resolution. It includes most of the supplements from their two-disc DVD: two commentary tracks, the documentary "Shadowing the Third Man," a portrait of Greene from the British series "Omnibus," and more. But it comes with an abbreviated version of the original booklet; I can only assume that's to accommodate Criterion's brand of Blu-ray packaging. While Criterion sticks with the basic dimensions that have become industry standard (between the CD and DVD case sizes), it opts for a simple, paperboard digipak in a slip-sleeve. It's a simple design but not as durable as the plastic case, and Criterion uses it for all of the Blu-ray discs in this first wave.