The fine acting, stunning cinematography, incredible lighting, and remarkable art direction is all accompanied by the numbing, bouncy, unsurpassable zither music. This complex, eerie story is told with cynical narration and shadowy imagery. From the amateur floating in the water, to (spoilers) the balloon seller, whose enormous shadow is thought to be that of Harry lime. The story is almost brutal to the protagonist, the poor sap by the name of Holly Martins who falls into an unhealthy love story.<br /><br />The final scenes and opening scenes reach perfection. In fact, so do the middle ones. This is is one of the few films that I would never change anything in. From the wry humor to the masterful suspense and dark villains, this will always be one of the greatest, if not the greatest, movies ever made.