Originally conceived as our series for March 2020--and we all know what happened then--Roxy Confidential is a celebration of the masterworks of American film noir, one we're overjoyed to finally present in full to our community. As much a style as a genre, film noir perfectly captures the angst & moral ambiguity of the post-war era. Its directors found the means to explore elements of trauma in a world no longer solidly "black and white," elements that continue to influence today’s culture. The five films in Roxy Confidential are noir to their bones, containing the classic imagery of the genre: the femme fatale, the private eye, and the plan gone horribly wrong. Through the haze of moral ambiguity and sudden violence, unforgettable stories and indelible images emerge.  

Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime—and thus begins this legendary tale of love, deception, and murder. Thanks to brilliant performances by Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles; Anton Karas's evocative zither score; Graham Greene’s razor-sharp dialogue; and Robert Krasker’s dramatic use of light and shadow, The Third Man, directed by the inimitable Carol Reed, only grows in stature as the years pass.