Review of On the Waterfront (1954) by Shark M — 28 May 2010

"You don't understand, I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum which is what I am".

On the Waterfront is undoubtfully one of my favorite films of all times. Boosted by Marlon Brando's brilliant performance and by Elia Kazan's directorial style, this film remains today as one of cinematic masterpieces.

In 1955, the film well received the 8 Academy Awards it received, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.

The film is about Terry Malloy, a kid who's brother is part of the mob who is ruling the waterfront.

There are several reasons of why this film is so great. First of all is the brilliant performances delivered by the whole cast. Not one actor delivered a bad acting in this film. First is Marlon Brando's genius performance, for which he won his first Academy Award. Brando brings realism to the character of Terry Malloy he is playing, and makes the audience simpathyze and care for him. Eva Marie Saint plays Edie Doyle, Brando's love interest and sister to a kid who's been murdered by the mob. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance of an insecure girl. Three actors were nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Award: Lee J. Cobb, Karl Madden, Rob Steiger. Lee J. Cobb plays Johnny Friendly, a gangster who rules the waterfront and has everybody silenced and scared. His performance was stunning, he makes his gangster feel realistic. Karl Madden pllays Father Barry, who is trying to get people to talk against the mob so they can loose control. The whole time I was watching the film I was thinkin "This guy is doing a terrific job". His scenes you can see he is into character, you can see that he is absorted by his character, that he is no longer Karl Madden but father Barrry. Rob Steiger plays Charley Malloy, Terry's brother. He also did an amazing job at his character, bringing him to life. Sadly, none of the three won the Academy Award.

Another reason for why this movie was so great was the careful eye of director Elia Kazan, who won the Academy Award for Best Director, well deserved. You can watch in the film the great job he did with every scene, how he got everything to feel so realistic.

The score, by Leonard Bernstein, is powerful and strong, and brings a dramatic effect to the scenes in which the music is added. This is another nomination that did not result in a win, but it should have.

Apart from all of this, the editing crew did an amzing job in here. With their editing the film feels dramatic and powerful.

That's with the technical aspects, but with the storytelling part, it was also outstanding. The writers did a wonderful job at creating this story of mob violence and corruption. I was intrigued the whole film with the story. I was completely absorbed to it. The script adds suspense and emotion to the film. The writes did an amazing job with the characters, who develop while the film goes on, and we all can simpathyze with them.

On the Waterfront is a masterpiece of cinema, certainly the best of its era, and I proudly say this film lies in my top 5 films of all times.