Movie #3: On the Waterfront

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On the Waterfront


Date Watched: 05/20/24

Format: Streaming on TV via Prime Video

"I coulda been a contender!"

Directing (⭐⭐⭐⭐):

Kazan did a wonderful job of bringing you into the Jersey shore.  You felt part of that time and that environment.  Some of the more action-packed scenes were a little rushed but overall, a very good job.

Writing (⭐⭐⭐⭐):

A sign of a good writer is bringing you into a story you know nothing about and making you want to learn more about it after the movie was over.  The struggles of the Jersey longshoremen is nothing we can understand in today's United States (thankfully).  It says something that the story was still so impactful to me 70 years later.  Well written.

Acting (⭐⭐⭐⭐):

I have a feeling as I go through more and more of these films, I will keep on coming back to Marlon Brando as one of the best performances in any Best Picture winner.  From the opening scene to the last one, he wore his emotion on his sleeve.  It was unfortunate that the rest of the cast fell a little flat.  Malden had his couple moments but everyone else was just playing a character.  I would have felt more for the conflict at the end with Charley if I was ever given a reason through the film to even care about him and his relationship to Terry.

Wildcard (⭐⭐⭐⭐):

Music.  It flowed through the movie without being a distraction.  It punched you at all the right moments.  I was surprised when the credits showed it was none other than Leonard Bernstein.  I was familiar with a lot of his work and just never knew this was the first feature he composed.

Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda:

Rear Window and The Caine Mutiny stick out to me as the only other options.  I still think Waterfront was better Best Picture material.  I do have a soft spot for musicals, so Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is still one of my favorites from that time.

Ranking:

1) Gone with the Wind (Movie #1) 17⭐

2) On the Waterfront (Movie #3) 16⭐

3) Shakespeare in Love (Movie #2) 13⭐

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