On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) The film's background describes the depiction of the lives of New York City dock workers and the union thugs who control them and gives a tragic but well-told message about society's problems during its time. Plus, in a way, it's still relevant today.
 * 2) Terry's situation was ironically very similar to the screenwriter and director. They also witnessed corruption around the docks, so in a way, the film's almost a documentary. Although it's tempting to view the film as groundbreaking, it's really just part creative elite's growing disillusionment with postwar society. Kazan and Schulberg weren't the first filmmakers to address union corruption. Although the film does often call-back to 1930 social realist films from Warner Bros which expose problems and offer solutions.
 * 3) The film may use similar formulas from twenty years earlier (from westerns, William S. Hart morality stories, and the like), but despite all that, the film manages to stand out as unique and one-of-a-kind due to a new generation of actors and technology that helped with location shooting.)
 * 4) The film encourages its viewers to stand up for their people's rights because it's right and plays the ending very dramatically.
 * 5) Marlon Brando completely owns nearly all of his scenes with his role as Terry Malloy, especially the scenes where he's fighting against his conscience and wondering he should report the thugs.
 * 6) All the other stars are just as amazing including Eva Marie Saint (who made her film debut here), Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, and Rod Steiger.
 * 7) Aside from Terry Malloy and Edie Doyle -- Terry's brother Charley, the town priest Father Barry, and mob boss Johnny Friendly are all well-written, interesting, complex characters.
 * 8) Father Barry in particular is a pivotal character who's based on real life Father John Corridan), serving as a priest whose meetings helped expose the corruption in the longshoremen's union.
 * 9) The film's centerpiece is a five-minute scene in the back of a taxicab between the Malloy brothers. In this moment, Charley warns Terry not to testify against the union and Terry in turn accuses Charley of sabotaging his boxing career. This is easily one of the most iconic moments in 1950s cinema, to the point where it's used in classes and acting textbooks. And get this, the only reason the scene's limited to one cramped space was due to the film's limited budget, although cinematographer Boris Kaufman's able to work around this by playing with the lights to give the illusion that the car was moving. It also features Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger at the absolute top of their game.
 * 10) *"I could have been a contender!"
 * 11) Leonard Bernstein's score really sets the tone for the story, and it's also the only time he's scored a film that wasn't a musical.