On the Waterfront [Region 2] | Marlon Brando, Karl Malden | A film of major social importance;...

On the Waterfront [Region 2] | Marlon Brando, Karl Malden | Among the greats

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On the Waterfront ...

	On the Waterfront [Region 2] Marlon Brando, Karl Malden Columbia average customer review:based on 161 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech is such a warhorse by now that a lot of people probably feel they've seen this picture already, even if they haven't. And many of those who have seen it may have forgotten how flat-out thrilling it is. For all its great dramatic and cinematic qualities, and its fiery social criticism, Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront is also one of the most gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever made in the United States, a five-star gut-grabber. Shot on location around the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, in the mid-1950s, it tells the fact-based story of a longshoreman (Brando's Terry Malloy) who is blackballed and savagely beaten for informing against the mobsters who have taken over his union and sold it out to the bosses. (Karl Malden has a more conventional stalwart-hero role, as an idealistic priest who nurtures Terry's pangs of conscience.) Lee J. Cobb, who created the role of Willy Loman in Death of Salesman under Kazan's direction on Broadway, makes a formidable foe as a greedy union leader. --David Chute

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A film of major social importance; not to mention utterly fascinating to watch...

A staple for any fan of Marlon Brando, `On the Waterfront' is much more than a showcase for the actor's immense talent. No, `On the Waterfront' is a brilliant study of oppression, power and the struggle for control, not of others but of ones self. Sure, Brando delivers one of the finest performances of his career, but even with his dynamic performance stripped from the films core we are still left with a magnificent film that will stand the tests of time.

Marlon Brando plays Terry Malloy, an ex-prizefighter turned longshoreman living in New Jersey. The docks are run by the mob, everyone knows this, but when Terry unwittingly aids in the murder of a friend his conscience starts to wage war with his common sense. He knows that rising up against Johnny Friendly and his men could mean his life, but he also knows that sitting on evidence that only he can provide could mean his soul, and this inner struggle is what fuels the films tension. Terry becomes involved romantically with the deceased's sister Edie and becomes wrapped up in the fiery determination of Father Barry to put an end to Friendly's tirade.

`On the Waterfront' is one minute steely and rugged, the next soft and serene. It is at one extreme sincere and fragile and at the other harsh and manipulative. What is so brilliant about `On the Waterfront' is that it balances those extremes beautifully in order to create a film that is strong and endearing; one that we can appreciate and relate to.

As Terry convinces himself of the right course to take we are torn, because we like him and we want to see him make it out of this in tact. We know that his decision could mean his death and this scares us, almost enough to wish he'd reconsider, but we know him and we know that his life is better saved in the spiritual sense than saved in the physical sense. Terry's plight is one that we all do well to contemplate for it is a very real example of situations that we all face on a daily basis, yet most likely not to this extreme. We are all faced with conundrums of the conscience and we are always looking for a way out.

What would you have done?

Marlon Brando truly gives and inspired and flawless performance. There really isn't enough good to say about this fantastic performance. Eve Marie Saint is also wonderfully used as Edie, the moral crux at the films core. Karl Malden is brilliant as Father Barry, and I truly wish he had joined Brando and Saint as Oscar winners that year. His portrayal of the conflicted priest is outstanding and truly memorable amidst a very memorable cast. Rod Steiger is great as Charley, Terry's gangster brother and Lee J. Cobb is truly blood curdling as Johnny Friendly; such a diabolical turn.

Everything about this film hits the mark just right; from the acting to the script to the masterful direction on the part of Elia Kazan. The mood is perfectly set, the black and white tones are rich and engrossing, the music is flawlessly captivating and the film editing keeps us wrapped up in every scene. In a nutshell `On the Waterfront' is flawless.

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Among the greats

Probably the only good thing produced by "McCarthyism"; in the end it is the story of "ratting out" by Kazan, who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, naming his friends.

But it is also the story of standing up to evil. It is a post-WWII commentary on that achievement. And, in this regard Brando creates a hero for the ages in a remarkable picture in which I see something new every time I watch it.

Look, for example, for the New Testament parables, The "cloak" in the form of the Jacket that ends up with Terry Malloy, and Dugan's "ascension" from the cargo hold after the sermon, as it is slowly raised. Not to mention Terry's struggle to get up and walk in the end, bearing the cross of his truth-telling.

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A one-way ticket to palookaville

On the Waterfront begins on a shipping dock. The weather is raw and cold. A man emerges from a small wooden shack. He's bundled in the clothes of a poor common man--a laborer. His eyes are to the ground; his hands are stuffed deep into his pockets. Several well-dressed men follow him out of the small shack; they're all smiles. One of these men reaches out to pat the laborer's shoulder: "You take it from here, slugger," he tells the laborer.

The laborer is Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando). The mob has a problem with Joey Doyle. Mobster Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) runs the docks and his problem is Joey Doyle's big mouth. Johnny orders his flunky, Terry Malloy, to set up Joey for the hit. Terry and Joey are friends and coworkers on the shipping docks. However, Terry's loyal to Johnny and follows Johnny's orders: he sets up Joey for the hit.

Work is short on the shipping docks. Everyday, men crowd the cold windy docks to beg Johnny for a day's work. The foreman, Big Mac, tosses out a fistful work-tabs; the small coins scatter like bird feed. Laborers punch, choke, grab, and kick each other silly for those work tabs. Johnny and his hoods laugh in the background. A lone man in the background--a preacher--isn't laughing. He sees injustice and organizes some of the laborers at his church. Johnny Friendly sends Terry, his stool pigeon, to the church to eavesdrop on the laborers. Later, on the shipping docks, laborers unload a ship of fine Irish whiskey. Laborers stack the boxes onto pallets, and cranes hoist those heavy pallets out of the ship's hull. A faulty cable snaps above a grizzled and outspoken laborer named Kayo. A block of fine Irish whiskey drops and kills Kayo. Everyone--including Terry Malloy--knows why that cable snapped. Now, for his conscience and for the love of a woman, Joey must betray either the mob--including his brother, Charlie the Gent--or his fellow laborers on the shipping dock.

On the Waterfront distills three themes--betrayal, loyalty, and redemption--into the backseat of a taxi. In this scene, Charlie begs Terry, his brother, not to rat out Johnny Friendly. Charlie draws his gun and aims it at Terry; gently, Terry pushes away Charlie's gun. Terry was once a prizefighter; he was good--could have been another Billy Conn. He weighed 168 pounds--he was beautiful. His manager brought him along too fast--this is Charlie's version of the past; Terry has another version of the past. It wasn't the manager's fault but Charlie's fault that Terry never reached his potential in the boxing ring. Charlie made Terry throw a crucial fight, a fight that Terry could have won. The mob had a load of money riding on Terry's opponent. Terry threw the fight. His opponent got the title shot; Terry got a one-way ticket to Palookaville. Finally, Terry says to Charlie, "You don't understand, I coulda had class, I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody instead of a bum... Let's face it: it was you, Charlie."

Elia Kazan shot the film's famous taxi scene in the studio. The taxi prop had an open front so that the cameraman could shoot Brando and Steiger in the back seat. The taxi prop's back seat offered a naked view of the studio. Kazan complained that he couldn't shoot the film's signature scene in the mock-up taxi; he wanted a real taxi. But cheapskate producer Sam Spiegel prevailed upon Kazan to film Brando and Steiger in the mock-up taxi. A real taxi would have enabled the camera to see the outside world--the traffic, the cars, the lights, the people, the streets, etc--out the taxi's back window. Instead, the back window of the mock-up taxi exposed the walls of the studio and ruined the illusion of realism that Kazan initially wanted. To address this problem, Kazan had Venetian blinds installed in the taxi's rear window. The Venetian blinds eliminated the need for rear projection; as an added bonus, the Venetian blinds muted the background and created depth by pulling the actors--Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger--nearer to the foreground. Most importantly, the taxi's darkened interior focused the scene on the two brothers. This black and white film has one beautiful picture. Varying tones of black are distinct, but touched with enough grit to enhance the movie's grim tone.

Elia Kazan--from Budd Shulberg's screenplay--directed On the Waterfront. In 1954, On the Waterfront earned 8 Academy Awards--best picture, best director (Elia Kazan), and best actor (Marlon Brando). Also, the Academy nominated for supporting roles Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Steiger. Following On the Waterfront, in 1956, Elia Kazan had another film in theaters: East of Eden. And in 1951, Kazan had another film in theaters: A Streetcar Named Desire, which also starred both Marlon Brando and Karl Malden. All three of these films are on every best film list. Marlon Brando was the greatest actor and one of very few who conveys both sides of the human condition: yin and yang. See this movie at all costs.

Oh, and by the way, if you look very closely at Johnny's hoods, you'll spot the long face of Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster).

author of Gotta Be Down!

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The greatest movie of all time

On the Waterfront has all the power that Brando was capable of, filmed in black and white the lighting and stength of the images together with the power of the story make this for me, the greatest movie ever.

Brando is recognised by many, myself included as the best actor ever. This is probably the best example of his craft.

Marlon Brando was definitely a contender.

Marlon Brando, who won an Oscar for this role, changed the face of acting in the mid 20th century.

He's brilliant, inspired, and completely magnificent. And who hasn't heard, "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am."

This movie is a classic, a movie that should be in everyones collection.

They just don't make them like Brando, anymore.

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