On the Waterfront (Criterion Collection) (1954)

If you want to know why Marlon Brando inspired and influenced an entire generation of actors, see On the Waterfront. His Terry Malloy is real down to his fingernails. Brando in his prime took and held the screen like no one else, absolutely magnetic, whether as a seeming uncaring pug with unawakened nobility in his heart (Terry) or a Mexican revolutionary (see Viva Zapata) or a racist jet ace (Sayonara) or whatever.

Matching Brando is a perfect cast. Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, there isn't a missed note or lesser performance from any of them, not to mention the thugs and real-life dockworkers surrounding them. Elia Kazan was an actor's director, and his skill at eliciting superior performance is nowhere more evident than here. He also knew how to make a movie, and his work with the camera and pacing is first rate. The B&W photography is gritty, beautiful and serves to locate the film in time and place while eliminating distraction from the performances.

You must know the story by now, culled from the real dockside union problems of the day, Budd Schulberg & Kazan fashioned a story that is about courage, loyalty (misplaced and otherwise), responsibilty and the willingness to stand up for something, stand alone if need be, and in that stance to risk the mistrust and misunderstanding and ostracism of your friends, your society, and the loss of your place in the world and even your life. They created a powerful melodrama of greed & corruption, of the struggle with compromise and conscience, of loss and redemption.

Frankly, this is just great movie making. It isn't done any better than this, and if for some reason you have never seen this film, treat yourself to excellence.

This is one of the best, don't miss it, and don't miss one of our greatest actors in his prime.

Often mentioned among the greatest films of all time, this gritty story of corruption in the longshoremen's union and one man's courage to resist the mob bosses, hits with the force of an emotional sledgehammer. The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won 8 including best picture, best actor for Marlon Brando, best director for Elian Kazan and best supporting actress for Eva Marie Saint in her feature film debut. The acting talent was so deep that four cast members (Saint, Malden, Cobb, Steiger) were nominated in the best supporting actor category. The film was also rated number 8 on AFI's top 100 list of the twentieth century.

The story focuses on Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), a small-time former boxer whose brother was highly placed in the corrupt longshoremen's union. Terry lures out Joey Doyle, an informant and friend of his, so the mobsters can deal with him. Terry thinks they are going to rough him up to keep him quiet, but instead, they throw him off a roof to his death. The guilt begins to gnaw at Terry, compounded by the fact that he is falling in love with Joey's sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint). He is further urged to inform on the mob by Father Barry (Karl Malden) setting up a dramatic confrontation with the union.

The setting was highly realistic, filmed on the docks of Hoboken, NJ with the New York City skyline as its backdrop. Most of the extras were actual longshoremen who worked on those same docks. The use of black and white film rather than color only served to enhance the dramatic effects.

This film was a vehement and personal political statement by Elian Kazan. Kazan had just finished testifying before the House Unamerican Activities Committee, naming former associates who were affiliated with the Communist party. As a result, he was ostracized by most of the filmmaking community. "On The Waterfront" became his personal mission to justify his testimony. He looked at Terry as his own alter ego. In one scene, a union boss shouts, ``You ratted on us, Terry,'' and Brando retorts: ``I'm standing over here now. I was rattin' on myself all those years. I didn't even know it.'' This was Kazan's defiant statement in response to the vituperation of his critics.

For this reason the film was reviled by the Hollywood elite and Kazan vilified as turncoat. In his 1988 autobiography, he wrote about how he felt after the film won 8 Oscars: "I was tasting vengeance that night and enjoying it. `On the Waterfront' is my own story; every day I worked on that film, I was telling the world where I stood and my critics to go and **** themselves.''

The political agenda aside, this was brilliant filmmaking. The story had gut wrenching power, a classic struggle between good and evil with one man defying insurmountable odds and certain death to stand by his beliefs. It contains one of the most memorable and most quoted scenes in film. Brando gives his now famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech in chastising his brother for selling him out and making him take a dive so the mob could win the bets they laid on his opponent. The ending of the film is one of the most triumphant in filmmaking history.

The acting was superlative across the board. Brando's performance is without question one of the most unforgettable ever. His character was a simple man with extraordinary courage making him an amazingly attractive hero. The anguished torment he portrayed was deeply affecting. Karl Malden was electrifying as the defiant priest who stood with the union members to encourage them to oppose corruption. Lee J. Cobb was also fabulous as Johnny Friendly, the crooked and maniacal union boss who would stop at nothing to maintain power. Rod Steiger gave a fantastic performance as Terry's older and "smarter" brother who was nothing more than Johnny Friendly's stooge. Eva Marie Saint was compelling as the courageous sister of the slain longshoreman. Also playing minor roles were a very young Fred Gwynn and Martin Balsam.

This is one of my favorite films of all time. Of course, I rate it a 10/10. It is required viewing for any classic film buff. Its power cannot be adequately described, it must be experienced.

Buy On the Waterfront (Criterion Collection) (1954) Now

Most of us know how great this film is, so I will stick to the quality of the Criterion blu-ray.... The print is near perfect, with just the right amount of film grain....three aspect ratios are offered: 1:33, 1:66, and 1:85.... The 1:85 fills the whole screen on a 16:9 hdtv, which would make it actually 1:78-a true 1:85 film on a 16:9 would have thin black bars on the top and bottom of the screen.... Oh, well, aside from that minor nitpick, the rest of the release is fantastic-Two discs, with the "preferred" 1:66 version on the first disc with numerous incredible supplements, and the 1:33 and 1:85 versions on disc two.... The audio is fantastic as well, with a 1.0 mono option, or the fantastic 5.1 surround, which really opens up the magnificent Bernstein score.... It seems to work just like the "Anatomy of a Murder" blu-ray, where the score is in stereo, with everything else seemingly in mono....the sound is just perfect--the supplements are as well, with a brief visual explanation for the multiple aspect ratios....terrific release all around....definite must-own....

Read Best Reviews of On the Waterfront (Criterion Collection) (1954) Here

Columbia continues its downward spiral where its classic DVD output is concerned. "On The Waterfront" is not only a great Academy Award winning film, it is an American icon. The plot is concerned with a union stooge, Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) who eventually realizes that the intimidation racket of his boss, Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) is an evil and destructive force in his community. Eva Marie Saint costars as Edie Doyle, the sister of a man who was thrown off of a rooftop on Friendly?s orders. It is partially through her love and the stoic commitment of Father Barry (Carl Malden) that Terry reforms his ways. Rod Steiger is particularly effective as Charley Malloy, Terry?s brother.

Quite simply: this transfer is a let down. Contrast levels are extremely low, fine details are lost in video noise reduction enhancement and digital grit, grain and noise are detected throughout. The gray scale is poorly balanced. Scratches, chips and distortions in the original camera negative stick out like a soar thumb. The audio is mono and undistinguished. It's not a bad mix, though there are moments where a slight background hiss crops up. No extras! Oh, come on Columbia. This is one of your BEST PICTURES and it gets this kind of treatment on DVD?!? It ?could'a been a contenda'!?

Want On the Waterfront (Criterion Collection) (1954) Discount?

The full screen version we've all seen on DVD and on television is, technically speaking, the fullest version, containing the most visual information. But, as the very informative video-essay in the special features explains, the filmmakers shot with the 1:66 and 1:85 borders marked on the viewfinder, and composed the shots more for the wider screens (by necessity I mean, you can't really do it the other way without later mangling the composition to make it fullscreen). Consequently, there's a ton of extra headroom in the full screen version.

So, while the 1:66 version, the preferred version, does in fact cut some of the full screen information off from the top and bottom, it's nothing like the way pan-and-scan formatting used to cut off valuable parts of the movie from the widescreen frames. Because those top and bottom portions of the full screen shots in On the Waterfront weren't really in the director's composition; it's basically just extra room filmed so it could be viewed that way if necessary in certain theaters. And while it's neat to see a little extra sky above or ground below the main action, the frames are much more elegant and artful in the 1:66.

I'm taking all this trouble to say this because my first reaction to the three ratios was this: if it was shot in full screen, I want to watch it in full screen. I don't want any picture lopped off to make it look widescreen. But after watching the two different versions (there are actually three, but the 1:85 loses vital screen information in several scenes and looks more like somebody's goofed with the ZOOM button on your remote control) it's clear to me that the 1:66 version makes a big, big difference in the feel of the movie, and for the better. The film on DVD, the full screen one, has always suffered a lack of intimacy and a certain awkwardness from all that extra headroom in medium and wide shots. Watch it once at 1:66 and I believe you'll agree it's a knockout. Happy viewing.

Oh, and it's a great, great Blu-ray. I'm not much on extras because I don't like having the magic diluted by tons of behind-the-scenes info on a movie, but I browsed the interviews, commentary, and documentaries and it looks like a lot of prime material, not filler. And the transfer is beautiful. A huge improvement over the DVD. Check out the depth in the dock scenes and the scene in the park when Terry puts on Edie's glove. This is a top 3 all time film for me, so I'm thrilled to have it on Criterion, who has knocked it out of the park like usual.

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