On the Waterfront (Special Edition)

After a recent walk through the world of Kazan, reading T.Williams' plays, plus his memoirs, plus Kazan's memoirs, and then watching some of the Williams movies, not all by Kazan, and some of Kazan's other films, after non-Williams texts, I had, for unclear reasons, postponed watching the Waterfront until now. (Maybe just because nobody in this house wanted to watch it with me. Despite Brando. Which is surprising, as all other inhabitants here are female, in homo sapiens as well as in house cat species.)

The Kazan experience prior to the Waterfront exposure was mixed. I am not sure I think Kazan was such a great director. His scenes are frequently awkward, his actors often move like zombies, his pathos is most of the time over the board. Sometimes he was lucky: the Streetcar movie is great, because it is a great play and he was lucky with the cast. Brando was at home there. Malden was ridiculous as usual, but it did not do much damage there.
I watched Kazan's fiasco with East of Eden, which, to me, is one of the worst Oscar winners that I ever watched. Unbearably ridiculous. James Dean was unbelievably unbelievable. (The book is useless, but the movie is endlessly worse. I say this as a Steinbeck fan.)

Now I found myself `alone at home' and decided to watch the Waterfront. Let me come up with my version of the truth right away: this is not in line with my idea of great cinema. It is cheap melodrama with a completely over-acting Brando and a ridiculous Malden. Cobb is ok as mobster boss, but those roles are easy. Eve Sainte Marie is actually quite good as pure Irish maiden, she is coming close to saving the film for me, but not quite, after all.

Another complaint: Bernstein's music is totally indequate for the subject! This whole thing is kitsch!

Apart from that, one needs to see the questionable role of the film in the political scenery of the time. After all, Kazan himself had just `talked', so it was in his interest to portrait `talking' in a positive light. The enemy in the film is the trade union, which has been usurped by the Irish mob. I am quite sure, or rather, I will readily believe, that this kind of situation has happened in real life, but I am not willing to accept a stereotypical satanification of the unions as just `social drama'. This is also political propaganda, and it works on the antenna of the audience. Unions equal mob. Not seeing that dimension of the reality of the film would be naive.

This is a movie about pidgins, both literally and figuratively. Local priest (Karl Malden) goes up against cabal.

This might be entertainment for some and was a type of movie art that came and passed. This presentation is a good variant of the genre. People that enjoy "Citizen Kane" will enjoy this film. The acting is touted as great, however everyone acted the same as it is a 1954 style; if it is so good out of its time and place there would be movies like this today. I suggest that a better variant is "Funeral in Berlin".

For people that look at other film dimensions the music is over the top heavy handed. The one plus is that the music (Leonard Bernstein) usually does not compete with the dialog. Unfortunately the one exception is the "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender." statement where all the violins break out next the rush of horns and whatnot.

I will not go into detail on the movie as there is just the chance you have only heard about this movie and haven't seen it yet, but be prepared for stool pigeons and dead pigeons.

After 50 plus years the film is sort of out of place. So to gain a good perspective on why it is so popular you will need to watch the commentaries and other DVD extras. Then re-watch the movie.

The Teahouse Of The August Moon (DVD) Marlon Brando, Glenn Ford

Absence of Malice ~ Paul Newman

Marlon Brando starred in one of his least pretentious roles in this film about a dock worker in NYC who decides to fight the corrupt officials who run the docks. Eva Marie Saint plays the young woman whose brother is murdered by them. Of course, Marlon who had something to do with the brother's murder, and Eva Marie fall in love but Karl Malden as the priest keeps it on a higher plane. The moral struggle against corrupt gangs who intimidate and murder to influence the community and the struggle to live a moral life is a classic tale which carries a powerful whop!

On the Waterfront (Special Edition)

On The Waterfront

Elia Kazan's classic 1954 film "On The Waterfront" isn't just great drama; it's serious social commentary as well. Based on the book by Budd Schulberg, "On the Waterfront" is the story of ex prize fighter Terry Molloy. Terry, who famously claims "I coulda been a contender," has lost a few brain cells along the way, and now hangs out on the wharf where his brother Charley The Gent (Rod Steiger) looks out for him in Johnny Friendly's (Lee J. Cobb's) crooked empire.
Terry is drawn into the hostile and dangerous game of intrigue when his brother pressures him to spy on the Parish Priest played by Karl Malden, who is organizing a rival gang to take on the hoodlums. Terry says he doesn't want to be a "stoolie" for Johnny. "On the docks we've always been "D" and "D" - Deaf and Dumb."
Considering Kazan was being pilloried in Hollywood for naming names before the House Un-American Activities Committee, his cinematic treatment of informing on colleagues has always been controversial. With the death in August, 2009, of Budd Schulberg at age 95, the story has come full circle. It's difficult in these days to comprehend the paranoia of the post-WWII world, when Russia was the devil, and people saw Communists under every bed. The pressure on Hollywood was tremendous. The LA Times quoted Schulberg as saying: "I was interested in social conditions on the waterfront and drawing a truthful story, not in justifying my position."
The cast of this classic is uniformly good: Steiger, Cobb, Malden, the "newcomer" Eva Marie Saint, and the truly outstanding character actors and non-professionals who play the dockworkers... street-hardened, hard-drinking, and accustomed to playing by the rules of the docks. The Score by Leonard Bernstein is dramatic and powerful, and Kazan's direction takes on the gritty, noir character of the docks.
It's not surprising "On The Waterfront" garnered eight Academy Awards in 1954 - for Best Picture, Best Director (Kazan); Best Actor (Brando); Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint); Best Screenplay (Schulberg), and four nominations.

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It's not hard to see why "On The Waterfront" won the Best Picture Award in 1954-Great actors like Marlon Brando,Karl Malden,Eva Marie Saint,& Rod Steiger-Memorable dialogue like "I coulda been a contender"-Great screenplay by Budd Schulberg & superb directing by Elia Kazan-If you haven't seen this film before,what are you waiting for?