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Directed by: Elia Kazan Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint This is probably the best Marlon Brando has ever looked on screen. His acting alone seriously knocks this movie up into probably my top 15 of all time. Brando plays Terry Malloy, an ex-prizefighter (I coulda been a contenda') who now works the docks under the shady control of a local mob. The mob, looking like a team of circus freaks which lends well to our identifying with Brando rather than them, runs the local longshoremens' union and does typical mob stuff. Brando eventually fights back and provides many great scenes throughout. Kazan shot this film very well and the method acting he advocated was awesome. I was kind of disappointed by the soundtrack sometimes because it seemed like it was overly obvious at some points. Kazan made this movie while he was ratting on his fellow directors and friends in Hollywood for the HUAC and this film can be seen as his way of keeping himself in the clear with the government. However, if we look closer, I think Marxist ideals are throughout the movie. For example, Terry leading the overthrow of the mob bosses is kind of like the overthrow of the Bolsheviks in the early 20th century. Also, while most people saw a happy ending, I took the ending to mean that the workers had just gone from one rich despot to another and the door closing behind them signaled they were trapped again. Anyways, awesome, awesome movie. RATING: 5.5 PROS: Amazing acting, engaging characters, awesome ending CONS: Sometimes lame music ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047296
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Feb 3, 2005 21:28
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 05:44 |
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Good, but not especially impressive. It was mostly the performances that made it decent. It's hard to watch this without considering the personal implications it had for Kazan. The score was unbearably oppressive. Rating: 3
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Feb 4, 2005 22:52
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"On the Waterfront" is a fantastic movie, essential viewing both for its own merits and for its place in film history -- there are few movies which have been so often quoted and referenced elsewhere. The acting and directing here are all top-notch, with Marlon Brando putting in an espescially amazing performance; Karl Malden's character of Father Barry is also worth mentioning. The movie makes varied and interesting (but never gimmicky) use of camerawork and deep, spacious sets; the way it uses its sets and environments to augment the storytelling is masterful (a character is standing in a rooftop pigeon coop, seen through the wire mesh, wondering whether to 'sing' to the cops). On top of this is a powerful script, one which works very successfully both as a Marxist allegory and a Christian allegory -- the character of Terry Malloy is a powerful retelling of the Christ story, resurrected to take on the sorrows of the world. It's also a great story on the literal level; the characters are compelling and the film leaves me with a poignant feeling, simultaneously uplifting and saddening. 5/5; One of the finest movies ever made.
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Mar 27, 2005 18:11
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