I wouldn’t call it underrated, but it isn’t talked about enough. Once it gets a domestic release, it’ll on everybody’s tongues… Image had the DVD rights, so odds are Criterion will put it out one of these days. In fact, they already put it out on Laserdisc.
Here’s somebody who’s talking about it, via Criterion.
I’m seeing this on the big screen in a few weeks for the first time. I’m very anxious to see it. The Third Man is probably in my top 3 all-time.
I agree this is better than The Third Man. If/when Criterion releases it (soon, mercifully), it’ll be huge. It’s such a gem.
It is canonized – how is it underrated?
Odd Man Out (Reed, Carol; 1947; UK) ►NOW: 531 PAST rank:469 394 342
How is it better than The Third Man?
^Isn’t that the same as asking somehing like, How is She Wore A Yellow Ribbon better than The Searchers ? The idea that Idol is better than The Third Man is not total buffoonery.
The idea that Idol is better than The Third Man is not total buffoonery.
How is it not buffoonery?
According to TSPDT it has been overrated.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon better than The Searchers
Is that an equivalent comparison? vs two films of the same genre by the same director?
I’m asking for an explanation….
I have said this before but Carol Reed’s reputation needs some bolstering. He made other films besides “The Third Man” that are at least of equal merit. Along with “Odd Man Out,” there is “Outcast Of The Islands.” You cannot get a good print of it anywhere. But, even if you watch it in it’s miserable state on a small screen, it has a powerful impact.
Well, I just mean taking 2 films, both highly respected – with one of them usually slightly more canonical than the other – and asking how the lesser acclaimed is better than the other is not moot. The “equivalent comparison” doesn’t have to involve two genre films from the same director; it could just as easily be how is Full Metal Jacket better than Apocalypse Now? (I happen to think it is.) Or how is Full Metal Jacket better than Goodfellas? It has been many years since I saw Odd Man Out, but I don’t think it is outlandish (a better term here than buffoonery, so strike that in the earlier post) to suggest that it is better than The Third Man. Was there not a note of “Come on! How, in the name of all that’s holy (canonical) can you think that x is better than X!” in your original question? Apple ogies all round if I’m way off base here…
Also, I think I said Fallen Idol by mistake earlier; I meant Odd Man Out.
The “equivalent comparison” doesn’t have to involve
Well no, it doesn’t – one can compare an apple to an orange.
But apples to apples would be insightful – one can look closely at the skin of each apple as a point of comparison and mention the texture, color etc.
So I say to Zach, 3rd Man is better than Odd Man because:
The story grips me more, the cinematography, especially towards the end is some of the most stunning I’ve seen, and the themes are well-drawn.
Next we would look at specifics…
I don’t think it’s underrated, just not talked about as much. I just recently saw it but I had heard of it from some books on film that I had read, and being a big James Mason fan, I caught it this summer on TCM, and it left me breathless, to say the least. I saw it as an odyssey of the soul, Johnny’s soul. Since then I have seen it at least 4 more times, it’s that kind of film for me, as is The Third Man but for different reasons. That scene when he quotes from the bible really got to me, and really put this movie together for me. This focal point gave me a deeper appreciation of the entire film.
In the States, the issue is probably tied to its unavailability.
Hypothesis: Jonathan Rosenbaum —“it’s come to have a mixed reputation due to its allegorical pretensions and some of its fancier visual conceits..”
It’s good, but after finally getting to see it I was a bit underwhelmed. I like The Fallen Idol better.
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
Odd Man Out is currently in my Top 10 at the moment, so I ask, why is this film so underrated? I find it to be better than The Third Man. The story grips me more, the cinematography, especially torwards the end is some of the most stunning I’ve seen, and the themes are well-drawn. Why is this film so forgotten?