Customer Reviews

On the Waterfront (includes Oscar's Greatest Moments 1971-1991) [VHS]

5 star:		(156)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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'!?

In On the Waterfront, all the elements of great film making meet so ideally that the subtext of Kazan's self-justification becomes a non-issue. Those who dismiss the film because they villify its maker have a personal ax to grind and forget that great art is often achieved by very flawed artists. The plot turns Greek tragedy (and Shakespearean) on its ear. Brando's Terry Malloy is a self-proclaimed bum with no apparant redeeming virtues. But he rises to greatness when one virtue surfaces and exhalts him. It is not a sense of duty to break the corrupt union that saves him. It is love--for his brother and for the girl whose brother he has helped to murder, although unwittingly. The acting, from Brando all the way to the slightly smarmy government agents and the thugs and hangers-on who do Johnny Friendly's dirty work, is supurb. Kazan has said that Brando's performance is the greatest in American film history, and I agree. He is so inventive and so unlike anything that had ever been seen at that time. Though his character is certainly not subtle, Brando's performance is immensely subtle. I'll mention one emotion that is central to the theme of the story: indecision. In the scene in the bar (with Eva Marie Saint), he suffers a moral agony unfamiliar to him as his attraction to her, his horror at her brother's death, and his misplaced sense of "don't squeal" values hold him in conflict. This indecision comes to its conclusion, again in a bar, when he struggles with the same sense of allegiance and his hatred for Johnny Friendly. Kazan achieves one his most brilliant insights when Brando hurls the pistol at the mirror which holds his own reflection: his decision is clear. (Interestingly, Kazan used a smashed mirror to convey an entirely different idea in "Streetcar"). The music, which is indeed by Leornard Bernstein, not Elmer, is as elemental, brutal, and blood-stirring as is Kazan's direction and Brando's acting. I've seen Citizen Kane and the other films that some rate above this one, and I don't get it. On the Waterfront is America's great movie, the product of two geniuses at their best.

"On the waterfront" is one of my favourite movies of all time. Marlon Brando is superb in this film and the dramatic tension throughout the entire production is a testament to the filmaker's skills. The acting, cinematography and script are all top-notch here.

To the guy who wants this in widescreen, widescreen was not used greatly in 1954, the previous year saw the first use of it with "the Robe" so I wouldn't be holding my breath to see this one released in widescreen! For the other guy who won't watch it unless it's in colour, I hope your joking!! Talk about spoiling a great film.

Thanks for reading and buy and enjoy this dvd.

I knocked a star off the rating of this classic film because the quickie flip to DVD. I also have an old VHS copy(1984)where there's a moth(!)fluttering across the screen for several seconds. Some of it was cleaned up for this "Special Edition" DVD, but the editors obviously were dozing or had to get said product to market so you still inexplicitably see it fluttering around on the DVD version.

Honestly, they were probably too lazy to get the orignal masters from the vault & just transfered the VHS version through the computer cleaning up a few dropouts, but not really taking the time to release a professional standard.

That being said, the extra features are essential for film geeks. James Lipton gets almost teary-eyed talking about Brando's artistic choices & the famous scene in the cab has a great backstory.

Maybe a "definitive" version of this release is still a few years away. Perhaps there's an even better version in pre-production for HD DVD or Blu-ray. Until then, there's tons of VHS copies floating around for cheap or classic movie weekends on cable.

If rating this movie on its power as a story, then it's five star hands down. This is what Brando was capable of before becoming a victim of his own ego. The priest character played by Karl Malden is anything but preachy. He drinks & smokes w/the dockworkers & even throws a punch. Even though some reviewers on this forum don't get it, this is perhaps one of the best examples of the paschal mystery ever caught on film.

This is simply one of those "required reading" films--part of the new Western Cultural Canon. If you are exploring older movies, or are simply exploring, you'll find considerable merit here: an excellent script, a dazzling Brando performance, a cast that's from top to bottom exceptional, beautiful direction, tremendous atmosphere and cinematography, and a dynamic score by Leonard Bernstein. It's almost an exercise in how to make a fine film.

For younger people who may not have a good sense of what the past was like, or may have learned too much about certain struggles and not enough about others, this is an educational film. This is what New York City--and most of urban America--really looked like back in the Fifties. Get a good sense of that and you'll understand why so many back then were drawn to glass and steel skyscrapers and big colorful cars with tail fins--between the Stock Market crash in 1929 and the end of WWII in 1945, urban America was a mean and grubby place, and it took till the late Fifties to begin to change that. The mean and grubby characters are pretty accurate too--nothing glamorous about corruption and racketeering back then. It was a pretty sad world.

I'm a little bewildered and saddened by some of the reviews this fine film has picked up.

Marlon Brando. What can you say about this guy? He's the greatest actor ever. Every single role he plays is at least as good as, say, De Niro in Raging Bull. Except for this one, because this one is the best. Wow. You might have heard the famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech but if you haven't seen the movie, you are missing out on one hell of a ride. I'm 17 years old and I absolutely love this movie. The minute it was over I was seized with a feeling that I had to see it again.

The mob hit at the beginning immediately grabs your attention and it doesn't let go until the final credits. Thoughts of the movie will stay with you long after that, however. That's how I think you can judge how good a movie is, by how long you are thinking about it afterwards.

This is the story of Terry Malloy, a washed up boxer who now is working on the waterfront, which is controlled by the mob (which was true in real life). Eventually, Terry has to decide whether or not he should go against the mob or just keep his mouth shut and his eyes closed like he had done in the past. I won't say anything more than that, because I don't want to spoil it for you. Just let me say that this isn't one of those movies with a huge surprise ending or dazzling special effects, it's simply a great drama that leads up to an exciting climax and holds you riveted from beginning to end.

And to top it all off: the DVD treatment is incredible! It includes a commentary by critic Richard Schickel and Elia Kazan biographer Jeff Young which provides much incite into the making of the movie, a fascinating interview with Elia Kazan, a featurette, and the sound has been digitally mastered! It's not in widescreen, but it wasn't originally shot that way, so that doesn't matter (it was shot in 1.33.1, so full screen DOES preserve the aspect ratio).

If you are still unsure, go up to the top of this page, and click on "quotes and trivia" and read some of the dialogue. That's what clinched it for me. And if you don't want to do that, I will leave you with the famous "contenda" speech:

Charley Malloy: Look, kid, I -- how much you weigh, Slick? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast.

Terry Malloy: It wasn't him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, "Kid, this ain't your night. We're going for the price on Wilson." You remember that? "This ain't your night"! My night! I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn't have to take them dives for the short-end money.

Charley Malloy: Oh I had some bets down for you. You saw some money.

Terry Malloy: 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, let's face it. It was you, Charley.

Still don't know if you should buy this or not? What's wrong with you, then?!! Go buy it! NOW!!!

It is difficult to come to grips with "On the Waterfront" On the one hand it has enormous strengths, indisputable elements of greatness, and on the other it is surrounded by ambiguities which cannot be wished away...

The surface concern of the film is gangsterism in the trade-union movement... The film appears to be concerned with the exploitation of working men by the mob, and thus presents itself as a reformist picture, one that demonstrates a social ill and apparently hopes that it will inspire its cure... However, on inspection, this surface concern seems little more than a gloss, covering up a story whose real concern is the problem of whether or not a man should be an informer...

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) agonizes over this problem of informing... His moral dilemma is well drawn in the film... The crucial question of whether or not to "squawk"--which provides the film's suspense--is only resolved after incidents of considerable dramatic intensity... Elia Kazan will always be remembered as the director of some of the most vivid film performances of the fifties... His film constitutes an extraordinary tour de force of fluid direction and nervous, edgy acting...

The scene between Rod Steiger and Brando in the taxicab--one of the famous scenes of American film--is an example of Kazan at his best... He himself takes little credit for it, insisting that the special way Brando says "Oh, Charley" is the key to its success... But the conviction of both actors, and the total truthfulness of their performances must be credited to a fine director working at the height of his powers...

The same could be said for the scene between Brando and Eva Marie Saint, when Brando--haunted by his complicity in the "shape-up" scene, faces a crisis of his own conscience... It is a love scene of enormous power... Brando's love for Edie Doyle, his anguish at what he must say, and her reactions to both, make it one of the truly exquisite moments in cinema acting...

Eva Marie Saint is not exceptionally beautiful, but manages to make the blood go through Brando's valves reviving and creating a heart that never existed before... There is a melancholy in her eyes, an exquisite sweet sadness...

Cobb is excellent as the arrogant racketeer Johnny Friendly, who intimidates the workers into silence, stopping at nothing to maintain his position of power on the docks... Rod Steiger gives his finest performance as Charley, the clever and suave opportunistic lawyer, who works for the local docker's union headed by Johnny Friendly...

Karl Malden is hard and clear as the activist Catholic priest who defies the abuse of labor racketeering, and urges Brando to fight for his rights and control his own destiny, rather than be a pawn in a ruthless system of bribes and killings...

'On the Waterfront' is one of the great American films... Not only because it bravely spreads a wonderful light on the violation of justice, but because it is a powerful piece of film drama, which propels a classic study of man's responsibility to his fellow man... The motion picture was nominated for 11 Oscars and won eight... The actors were all convincing, even the smaller parts for thugs...

On the Waterfront is an enduring masterpiece. It stars Marlon Brando in the legendary role of Terry Malloy, who is an ex-prizefighter and is now a longshoreman. On the docks he is D and D (deaf and dumb) to the corruption and murder that surround him. Yet Terry just goes through the motions until he can no longer just plod through his life. His friend Joey is killed by union boss Johnny Friendly and he begins to fall for the dead man's sister, who tries to get him to follow his conscience. This escalates into suspicion by Friendly and the death of his brother Charlie, which forces Terry over the edge to become a "cheese-eater" and tell of the illegal activities that his union is involved in. But, unfortunately, he is blacklisted for threatening the order. This is a tremendous film that is as exciting today as when it first opened, Brando is truly astonishing as Malloy. He really becomes the character. His "I coulda been a contenda" speech is one of the most immortal moments in all of film, and was repeated verbatim in Martin Scorsese's excellent film Raging Bull. Great camerawork and realistic set and wardrobe decoration just pull us into the action. This movie is a must see. Now it is available in a special edition DVD with a load of special features, which makes it an even more collectible item.