On the Waterfront (1954)
 

On the Waterfront (1954) - **** (Out of 4)
This masterpiece was really made what it is by the excellent performances of it's stars...Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and Eva Marie Saint. On top of that it was a great story by Budd Schulberg, directed brilliantly by Elia Kazan. With all that talent, it is simply one of the great movies. Regardless of how you feel about the specifics of this story of corruption in the dockworkers union, it really is a basic story of human struggle between right and wrong that we can all relate to. The scenes between Brando and Eva are very touching and realistic, but I must say, the famous "I coulda been a contender" scene really is deserving of all it's praise. A very touching scene between two brothers and the eventual ultimate sacrifice that comes from it. Watching this movie for the first time in 2003, makes me long for this time when the really great movies were made.

Re: On the Waterfront (1954)
 

I agree with every word you said.

This is one that has really stood the test of time, for all the reasons you mentioned. Another (often overlooked) contributing factor to the over-all success of the film is the excellent score by Leonard Bernstein.

I haven't seen this movie in years. Time for a revisit. Thanks for the post.

I want to see this now. Its nice to see a thread actually praising a movie instead of complaining about one.

I actually don't care for it. Kazan has half a dozen better pictures. The scene where the priest preaches over the body of the "accidently killed" dock worker is obvious and cliche. I'll go into more detial latter I'm short of time now.