On the Waterfront (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
'On the Waterfront' (directed by the great Elia Kazan & adapted by Budd Schulberg), a gritty, hard-hitting melodrama about union corruption & mob informers was based on a number of true stories & filmed on location around the docks of NY & Hoboken, NJ. Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) is a washed-up ex-boxer corrupted with older brother Charley (stellar Rod Steiger) by a tough, ruthless Mob-connected union boss named Johnny Friendly (fiery Lee J. Cobb), who runs 'the waterfront' with an iron fist ... to say the least. The local cops realize that Friendly is responsible for recent murders, but witnesses (the dock men) plays deaf & dumb ("D&D"). Terry is an errand boy for the crooked dock union, while Charley is college educated & is now a crooked lawyer for the union mobsters.
When Terry witnesses the contract killing of Joey, a longshoreman who was talking to the crime commission, he remains silent - much like the rest of the scared, all-too-knowing dockworkers. But after meeting - and falling for - the dockworker's pretty sister, Edie Doyle (Eve Marie Saint in her 1st film), he thinks about changing his mind about staying quiet. Also in this story is Father Barry (excellent Karl Malden), a local Catholic priest who wants to reform the waterfront & talks with Terry about speaking out against the corruption. He wants Terry to do the right thing.
Eventually, Terry's pangs of guilt for not intervening when he had a chance to prevent the killing of Joey, as well romantic feelings for Edie weigh heavy on his heart, mind, & conscience. And it's after Father Barry receives a thorough beating from Johnny Friendly's henchmen when everything starts to overwhelm Terry ... and he turns informer. Drama ensues.
'OtW' shows differing ways of looking at moral responsibility. Father Berry & Edie see a world in which people should protect & support one another. Villainous Johnny Friendly sees the world as a place where you take all that you can from whomever you can. And then our protagonist, Terry, is caught somewhere in the middle. It could even be argued that Terry falls for Edie, not just out of love, but also with the 'idea' of a life that she represents. This film also talks about the nature of power. Early in the story, Johnny Friendly is all-powerful -- $$ doesn't even seem as important. But as he orders more people to be killed, you see him start to unravel. And various people from various factions of his life won't stand for his levels of violence.
This film, while very good, remained controversial at the time because, as the informer, Brando is turned into a martyr; derived from the fact that director Kazan & screenwriter Schulberg named names during the McCarthy witch hunts in the '50s. Kazan was ostracized by his liberal friends for appearing before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. All that said, this anti-Communist film is more enjoyable to experience if you can separate it from Kazan's personal story.
Boris Kaufman's cinematography builds the tension around the docks. The set locales are grungy, grimy, & very authentic. Elmer Bernstein's musical score is iconic; aiding the powerful emotions that the screenplay strikes. This movie is also noted for Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contendah" speech, as he asks his brother Charley how he could have let the mob fix his boxing fights so that they could profit by betting against him.
You know, watching this film in 2013 and looking back at 1954 (when it was released), in retrospect ... parts of 'On the Waterfront' feel too familiar and/or contrived. This movie is not the A+ knock-out I was expecting. But the anger & the impassioned performances from the entire cast & the realistic tensions in the story are more than enough to substantiate this film's 'classic' status. The pain, confusion, & passion in Marlon Brando's voice, expressions facial & overall body language resonates throughout the movie. I enjoyed his gentle romance with Eva Marie Saint's character.
And his method acting (totally immersing one's self in the craft of character portrayal) influenced many actors of that generation (notably, James dean) & for decades to come. It is probably his best performance in a long line of stellar performances; that's saying a lot. 2 scenes in particular stand out as examples of Brando at his best: 1) the scene where Terry & Edie walk through a park & he plays with a glove she drops (a moment of improv where Kazan let the camera roll, rather than stop & start again). And 2) the aforementioned 1-on-1 scene btwn. Terry & brother Charley where Brando gives the "I coulda been a contender" speech.
'On the Waterfront' was nominated for 12 Oscars (including 3 for Supporting Actor) and it won 8(!), including Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor for Brando, & Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint. As you can see, this movie was (and is) a force to be reckoned with. The last scene, where right prevails over wrong, may lean a tad too ... triumphant? Sentimental? Yes, what happens in the end completes Terry's character arc without fixing the union corruption issue at hand. But trust me; it's a blood-battered, high octane finale where our protagonist struggles to get to his feet to complete his quest for redemption. Like I said before, this is not a perfect movie. But it's powerful. And this rousing final scene ends at just the right moment.
When Terry witnesses the contract killing of Joey, a longshoreman who was talking to the crime commission, he remains silent - much like the rest of the scared, all-too-knowing dockworkers. But after meeting - and falling for - the dockworker's pretty sister, Edie Doyle (Eve Marie Saint in her 1st film), he thinks about changing his mind about staying quiet. Also in this story is Father Barry (excellent Karl Malden), a local Catholic priest who wants to reform the waterfront & talks with Terry about speaking out against the corruption. He wants Terry to do the right thing.
Eventually, Terry's pangs of guilt for not intervening when he had a chance to prevent the killing of Joey, as well romantic feelings for Edie weigh heavy on his heart, mind, & conscience. And it's after Father Barry receives a thorough beating from Johnny Friendly's henchmen when everything starts to overwhelm Terry ... and he turns informer. Drama ensues.
'OtW' shows differing ways of looking at moral responsibility. Father Berry & Edie see a world in which people should protect & support one another. Villainous Johnny Friendly sees the world as a place where you take all that you can from whomever you can. And then our protagonist, Terry, is caught somewhere in the middle. It could even be argued that Terry falls for Edie, not just out of love, but also with the 'idea' of a life that she represents. This film also talks about the nature of power. Early in the story, Johnny Friendly is all-powerful -- $$ doesn't even seem as important. But as he orders more people to be killed, you see him start to unravel. And various people from various factions of his life won't stand for his levels of violence.
This film, while very good, remained controversial at the time because, as the informer, Brando is turned into a martyr; derived from the fact that director Kazan & screenwriter Schulberg named names during the McCarthy witch hunts in the '50s. Kazan was ostracized by his liberal friends for appearing before the House of Un-American Activities Committee. All that said, this anti-Communist film is more enjoyable to experience if you can separate it from Kazan's personal story.
Boris Kaufman's cinematography builds the tension around the docks. The set locales are grungy, grimy, & very authentic. Elmer Bernstein's musical score is iconic; aiding the powerful emotions that the screenplay strikes. This movie is also noted for Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contendah" speech, as he asks his brother Charley how he could have let the mob fix his boxing fights so that they could profit by betting against him.
You know, watching this film in 2013 and looking back at 1954 (when it was released), in retrospect ... parts of 'On the Waterfront' feel too familiar and/or contrived. This movie is not the A+ knock-out I was expecting. But the anger & the impassioned performances from the entire cast & the realistic tensions in the story are more than enough to substantiate this film's 'classic' status. The pain, confusion, & passion in Marlon Brando's voice, expressions facial & overall body language resonates throughout the movie. I enjoyed his gentle romance with Eva Marie Saint's character.
And his method acting (totally immersing one's self in the craft of character portrayal) influenced many actors of that generation (notably, James dean) & for decades to come. It is probably his best performance in a long line of stellar performances; that's saying a lot. 2 scenes in particular stand out as examples of Brando at his best: 1) the scene where Terry & Edie walk through a park & he plays with a glove she drops (a moment of improv where Kazan let the camera roll, rather than stop & start again). And 2) the aforementioned 1-on-1 scene btwn. Terry & brother Charley where Brando gives the "I coulda been a contender" speech.
'On the Waterfront' was nominated for 12 Oscars (including 3 for Supporting Actor) and it won 8(!), including Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor for Brando, & Supporting Actress for Eva Marie Saint. As you can see, this movie was (and is) a force to be reckoned with. The last scene, where right prevails over wrong, may lean a tad too ... triumphant? Sentimental? Yes, what happens in the end completes Terry's character arc without fixing the union corruption issue at hand. But trust me; it's a blood-battered, high octane finale where our protagonist struggles to get to his feet to complete his quest for redemption. Like I said before, this is not a perfect movie. But it's powerful. And this rousing final scene ends at just the right moment.