How does the sewer scene in The Third Man use framing and composition technques, mise en scene and cinematography to create meaning,metaphors and effect?

Figure1

Figure 1 displays Harry Lime attempting to crawl up the sewer stairs after being shot. One way that this shot displays features of interesting framing and composition is through the use of jagged geometric edges and setting. Particularly the stairs, it appears that Harry is being boxed or framed into a single position, which constructs the sense of entrappment for the audience. Furthermore this adds connotations of German Expressionism, with the use of focused, pinpointed edges and from the use of chirascuro lighting we see Harry's face mixed with light and dark which represents his "evil within"; another connotation of German Expressionism. Also by filming the shot as looking down on Harry's face, or a high angle shot, it constructs the idea for the audience that as they are looking down at him now, that he is inferior to them. This idea also represents Harry's struggle for power, as he is trying to climb up the stairs to freedom but he is being held back and therefore cannot gain the power and freedom that he so desperately desires.

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows Harry being spotted by a light that the police are using to try and find him. This shot is metaphorical in the sense that Harry has found the light at the end of the tunnel but he know he cant go the path that it leads as he will be caught. The metaphor here might be that of a Holy kind, being that if he takes the path towards the light and enlightenment he will be doing a good thing, but this means he will be caught. however if he is caught that means he must confess himself and therefore this is a good thing in the eyes of some religious believers. However if he does not take this path he will stay in the darkness and have to keep evading the police to stay alive and free. The use of chirascruo lighting is also very effective here as it highlights the darkness which Harry is currently in and the pure power of the light that is being pointed at him, reinforcing the metaphor. Also as the shot that is being used is a mid shot, this constructs the feeling for the audience that we are following Harry and that we are almost a companion of his. Due to the use of this shot it allows the audience to feel more involved in the film, therefore making this hot very immersive.

Figure 3

Figure 3 is very similar to Figure 2 due to it being the same shot but with different character placement. In Figure 3 we see Harry has moved away and the police are starting to chase him again, and they are immersing from the light that they used to locate him. Using the same idea of the same metaphor, we could suggest that the police are upholders of good, or maybe even saints, come to locate and find the dark character or maybe even demon who has committed a crime, this being Harry. This metaphor links back to the idea of the "evil within" and German Expressionism, as many people during World War 2 thought that God would save them as the war was the work of the devil. Again through the same use of a mid shot, the feeling of entrapment is constructed as the camera does not move as the police move towards the camera. Then linking back to the idea that we were following Harry, it creates suspension for the audience as we are potentially guilty for committing the same crimes as Harry as we were his companion, ands therefore the police are running towards the camera to arrest the audience.

Figure 4

In Figure 4 we see Holly immerging from the light at the end of the tunnel. we as an audience know he has just shot and killed Harry, which we can use to analyse the meaning of this shot. We see that in previous shots that Holly had a mixture of light and dark upon his face. Again the idea of "evil within", and Holly's evil could be debated to be due to Harry, as Harry tries to persuade Holly to help him. Therefore the mixture of light and ark on his face would be him considering whether to help Harry or not; the differences in his morality. Now that Holly has killed Harry, we only see Holly in darkness. And as this is the last time Holly is seen in the movie, we can say that he killed Harry but it turned him into something evil - which is represented in the chirascuro lighting of the shot and him being all black in the shot. However with him emerging from the light, it could also suggest that he was doing the right thing by killing Harry as he had done a lot of wrong before he was killed. Also from the use of a vanishing point into the light, it could be suggested that the path into the light is endless, and linking back to the religious metaphor, the path into Heaven is endless. But as Holly comes back through the light and into the dark, this could represent that Heaven is a safe haven for people at the time after the war or even during the war and that Earth is a dark and dismal place to live