Film Forum Bringing 35mm “Third Man” Print to NYC, Old-School Photochemical Style

Third-Man-2026Film Forum is screening a new 35mm print of Carol Reed’s “The Third Man” from June 12-25, and they’re doing it the analog way.

Unlike most classic film prints made today, which are digitally restored then output to film stock, this print was created photochemically in a lab from the original 35mm elements. Haghefilm and L’Immagine Ritrovata handled the work for Studiocanal, keeping the process true to the film’s origins.

The 1949 noir, starring Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles as Harry Lime, was shot across five weeks of double shifts in Vienna. Cinematographer Robert Krasker won an Oscar for his shadow work, and Anton Karas’s zither theme became a worldwide phenomenon.

Welles lit his own scenes and wrote much of his dialogue, including the famous “cuckoo clock” speech. The film won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and was named one of the 10 best-shot films of cinema’s first 50 years by American Cinematographer.

This matters because photochemical preservation is increasingly rare. Most repertory houses default to digital restorations. Film Forum’s commitment to analog processes keeps the craft alive for filmmakers and audiences who care about how classics are preserved and presented.

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Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend Returning to Theaters in 35mm This December

the-lost-weekendBilly Wilder’s landmark 1945 drama The Lost Weekend is set for a limited theatrical return beginning December 26, screening in a 35mm print for one week. The film, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Ray Milland, and Best Adapted Screenplay, remains one of cinema’s most influential depictions of alcoholism.

Milland stars as Don Birnam, a writer whose battle with addiction spirals over a destructive four-day binge, anchored by Jane Wyman’s performance as the woman determined to pull him back from the edge. Initially met with hesitation from preview audiences unaccustomed to its stark realism, The Lost Weekend later emerged as one of Wilder’s defining achievements and a milestone in Hollywood’s shift toward more unsparing drama.

Screenings will also include the 1947 Warner Bros. “Merrie Melodies” short Slick Hare, which features animated caricatures of 1940s celebrities, including Ray Milland himself, in a playful nod to the film.

A post-screening discussion with Eric Monder, author of Dashing to the End: The Ray Milland Story, and film critic Molly Haskell will be held on opening night, December 26.

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