On the Waterfront (1954)
97%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: Won 8 Oscars
30 wins & 9 nominations total
With his electrifying performance in Elia Kazan’s thought-provoking, expertly constructed melodrama, Marlon Brando redefined the possibilities of acting for film and helped permanently alter the cinematic landscape.
Holy cow, have you guys seen Marlon Brando in that movie by Elia Kazan? It’s like he’s got lightning bolts shooting out of his eyeballs! And the story is so well put together, it’ll make your brain do somersaults. Brando’s acting is so next-level, it’s like he’s from another planet. Seriously, he changed the game for acting in movies and made a huge impact on the whole film industry. It’s a must-see for anyone who loves movies and wants to witness a true master at work.
Production Company(ies)
Horizon Pictures,
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
St Peter and St Paul Church – 400 Hudson Street, Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Approved
Year of Release
1954
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 11.66 : 11.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 48m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1954 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 23, 2001
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J Cobb, Rod Steiger, directed by Elia Kazan, written by Budd Schulberg, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Brandon Judell, Marjory Adams, Mae Tinee, Mildred Martin, Helen Bower, Robert Bingham, André Bazin, Ian Kane, Moira Walsh, Russ Burton, produced by Sam Spiegel, MPAA rating, corruption, union, mob boss, longshoreman, murder, testimony, priest, lawyer, waterfront, gritty, realistic, character study, romance, crime drama, powerful performance, timeless, immortal moments
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Eva Marie Saint – Edie Doyle
Karl Malden – Father Barry
Lee J. Cobb – Johnny Friendly
Rod Steiger – Charley
Leif Erickson – Glover, Crime Commission
Director(s)
Elia Kazan
Writer(s)
Budd Schulberg, Budd Schulberg
Producer(s)
Sam Spiegel
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 8 Oscars
30 wins & 9 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (108) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (107) | Rotten (1)
But sometimes great art, like Wagner’s and Celine’s, comes from people you wouldn’t want to break bread with. But snub the art? Who’d want to miss Marlon Brando’s performance?
June 15, 2021
Brandon Judell
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
On the Waterfront is strong, tough and cruelly violent, but it is also a film that should make theatre history for 1954. It will strike audiences with special impact because it is based on undisputed fact.
April 8, 2021
Marjory Adams
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The film has a ring of authenticity. It is as close to the unvarnished truth as has been seen on the screen in many a day and a shining example of intelligent use of a medium too seldom utilized to its greatest extent.
April 8, 2021
Mae Tinee
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
If reservations still linger in any one’s mind concerning Brando’s ability as an actor, On the Water front should dispel them completely.
April 8, 2021
Mildred Martin
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
This is a motion picture with a great deal to say, and a great deal will be said about it.
April 8, 2021
Helen Bower
Detroit Free Press
TOP CRITIC
Kazan’s nervous direction… draws all characters with throbbing lifelikeness, and views them in a wintry environment that spreads its own dread into their drama.
April 8, 2021
SMH Staff
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Although there is excellent support — notably from Lee J. Cobb and Karl Malden — without Mr. Brando’s pervasive personality On the Waterfront could certainly not have been what it now is: the best American picture seen so far this year.
February 10, 2022
Robert Bingham
The Reporter
On the Waterfront’s value as a gangster film is in itself mediocre. The best of the picture lies elsewhere, in the character of Marlon Brando… I don’t know of any young movie actor in the world who can compare with him.
January 27, 2022
André Bazin
L’Obs (France)
“On the Waterfront” can be considered not only as one of the finest achievements in filmmaking, but also as Kazan’s metaphor for standing up for what’s right and calling out evil wherever one may find it.
December 27, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Ian Kane
Epoch Times
Elia Kazan’s direction is uncannily apt in capturing the essentials of interior conflict in visual terms.
July 15, 2021
Moira Walsh
America Magazine
[Brando’s] portrayal Is powerful, incisive and complete, and they can put his name on the Oscar now and save the etcher time.
July 13, 2021
Russ Burton
Illustrated Daily News (Los Angeles)
We’re entitled to it
May 13, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
James Wegg
JWR…
Plot
Terry Malloy dreams about being a prize fighter, while tending his pigeons and running errands at the docks for Johnny Friendly, the corrupt boss of the dockers union. Terry witnesses a murder by two of Johnny’s thugs, and later meets the dead man’s sister and feels responsible for his death. She introduces him to Father Barry, who tries to force him to provide information for the courts that will smash the dock racketeers.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Marlon Brando’s performance in On the Waterfront is described as “electrifying” and “redefining the possibilities of acting for film.”
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