The Third Man Theme The Third Man Theme "The Third Man Theme" (also known as "The Harry Lime Theme") is an instrumental written and performed by Anton Karas for the soundtrack to the 1949 film "The Third Man". "The Third Man" is a 1949 British film noir, directed by Carol Reed. One night after a long day of filming "The Third Man" on location in Vienna, Reed and cast members Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli and Orson Welles had dinner and retired to a wine cellar. In the bistro, which retained the atmosphere of the pre-war days, they heard the zither music of Anton Karas,
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film) out. British television director David Yates was chosen to direct the film after "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" director Mike Newell, as well as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Vaughn and Mira Nair, turned down offers. Yates believed he was approached because the studio saw him fit to handle an "edgy and emotional" film with a "political backstory", which some of his previous television projects including "State of Play", "Sex Traffic" and "The Girl in the Café" demonstrated. Producer David Heyman supported Yates' comments about the film's political theme, stating that "["Order of the Phoenix"] is a