What defines a classic? Distinctive gripping plot, richly drawn, complex characters, iconic set, memorable locations, terrific performances, tension, soundtrack? Carol Reed’s 1949 adaptation of Graham Greene’s story bears all these hallmarks and more, reissued in splendid 4K. Its well-known tale set in a disillusioned post-war Vienna, into which lands naïve American writer Holly Martens, intent on revitalising an old friendship with Harry Lime who has been mysteriously run over. Slowly reality is uncovered, with layers of criminality and deception, and a love story that doesn’t fade. No matter how often you see it, it’s a film that continues to give, from the great Lime reveal in out-of-kilter doorways, to the heart stopping underground chase. Novelist and screenwriter John Banville describes it as the perfect film, all set against the magnificent, hummable Anton Karas’s zither soundtrack.

John Banville will introduce The Third Man as his Bigger Picture choice.

Notes by Alicia McGivern.