Review of On the Waterfront (1954) by James Joseph L — 20 Jun 2009
What a great film On The Waterfront is, truly great in every sense of the word.
I always judge films by the following criteria (in no particular order);.
Plot/storyline.
Script.
Score/music.
Acting.
Direction.
Believability (in terms of characters, location, costumes, backdrops etc).
Cinematography.
This movies scores 10 out of 10 on all fronts.
If it's the movie that made Brando it's also the movie that really cemented Kazan's place as one of Hollywood's great directors.
But it's the plot and script that also make On The Waterfront great. From the Budd Schulberg novel of the same name the words simply rip up the screen to become classic cinema lines. How many times have we heard "Ah coulda been a contender, I coulda been a somebody"? It's up there with "Too be or Not too be" when it comes to dramatic lines.
Brando is terrific as failed boxer Terry Malloy in the grip of the gangsters and now fighting his conscience to do the right thing against all the odds. Lee J Cobb is equally brilliant as the gang leader "Johnny Friendly" and Rod Steiger is great foil for both as the disloyal "wide boy" brother of Malloy and smooth operator come "crawler" for Friendly.
Eva Marie Saint provides Brando's love interest and she has some very memorable moments as the decent innocent girl looking for answers for her brother's death at the hands of Friendly's gangsters.
But if these actors were great then Karl Malden puts in one amazing performance as the local priest. Look out for his rage and compassion combined as he tells the shipyard workers to turn on the gang leaders declaring "Boy's what happened here is a crucifixion".
This movie has great drama, compassion and even now several scenes bring a tear to my eye.
It's arguably Brando's finest hour and the Oscar was more than deserved. From this performance dawned a million copycat actors wanting to be Marlon Brando.
One final thing worth mentioning is it has an absolutely awesome ending.
On the Waterfront is and always will be a cinematic classic, but also a watershed in US Cinema, this was really the start of the docu-dramas and also the beginning of what was to follow - method acting in practically every movie since.
Brando said "I could have been a contender" But in truth this movie could be a contender for one of the greatest ever.
This review of On the Waterfront (1954) was written by James Joseph L on 20 Jun 2009.
On the Waterfront has generally received very positive reviews.
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