In the late 1940s and early 1950s it was generally accepted that Sir Carol Reed, the British filmmaker responsible for ‘The Third Man’, was Europe’s greatest filmmaker. This wasn’t just based on that beyond-classic noir. (Actually placing ‘The Third Man’ in a genre–like noir–is reductive; it’s many different types of movie wrapped up in one never-before, never-to-be-repeated package). The two movies he made prior to that, ‘The Fallen Idol’ and ‘Odd Man Out’ were equally revered. They remain eminently watchable and still impressive for performances, staging, mise-en-scene. Alas the subsequent years saw a drop off in quality–‘Trapeze’, ‘The Agony and the Ecastasy’ were among his later mediocrities. Yet why gripe about that? Most directors would be happy with one movie that barely even approaches the level of ‘The Third Man’, much less three classics in a row. Directors are subject to the whims of the business to say nothing of their own bank accounts. Reed redeemed his faltering reputation in 1968 with the mammoth and marvelous film version of ‘Oliver’ for which he won an Oscar. Above is a lovely short doc about Reed–I was struck by the genuine love he had for actors which wasn’t always a way directors of the time behaved, as well as his colleagues veneration of his work-ethic. Like most excellent directors he fretted and sweated his way through every moment of the making of the films, never taking an easy way out. Below is a precious short reel (two minutes) of on-set 16mm footage of ‘Oliver’. It’s silent, which gives it a ghostly quality that I rather like, and Reed’s presence is both authoritative and benign somehow at the same time.