Director Dissection with Seanc and Rauldc

Just Wild River for me.

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Letterboxd

Same here, I only have Wild River left to watch.

On The Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)

Terry Malloy, "You don't understand. I could've had class. I could've been a contender. I could've been somebody instead of a bum, which I am."

I watched the DVD extras before watching the movie. Several times they showed that taxi cab clip, and talked about how dynamic it was. Kazan himself was in awe of what Brando and Steiger did in that scene. It's considered one of the important scenes of cinema and the quote about, is one of the most quoted movies lines.

When I finally watched the movie...I was deeply moved by that scene. Even thinking about it as I type, makes me feel Brando's remorse. It's a helluva scene.

Needless to say I'm dully impressed by On The Waterfront! Brando almost always knocks it out of the ballpark, but here he's sanctified.

He's the embodiment of Kazan's theory on characters, ' that every protagonist should have a dark side, and every antagonist, a soft spot'. And Brando does, he's both sensitive & gentle...and violent & powerful. Brando makes this film!

Father Barry is the crux to the story, it's him who turns the tide by his impassioned speech about the evils of looking the other way as wrong is done in the world. Strong stuff, he is Kazan speaking to the audience. Father Barry's part is well written. But I couldn't help but seeing Karl Malden instead of the priest. In Streetcar I bought that he was his character, but here I didn't. I liked the character, but didn't like Malden in it.

Eva Marie Saint, I thought she was real and believable. I read that Grace Kelly had been asked to do the role but declined in favor of doing Rear Window. Thank Goodness!

Rod Steiger was a power house and one of my favorite actors, Lee J. Cobb really made this a memorable film. All around a fine cast.

You know the writer never gets enough credit. On The Waterfront won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Writing, Story and Screenplay: Budd Schulberg, who also wrote: (A Face in the Crowd, The Harder They Fall).

The script is tight! Kazan said the producer Sam Spiegel (who he did not like), kept asking Budd to rewrite the script to sharpen it to a fine point. Kazan said it was the best script he had worked on.

The movie has so many elements that are layered, like Terry Malone's past as a prize fighter who was ordered to take a dive for the big boss....And the entire subplot of caring for pigeons among the hawks of organized crime.

I'm glad I rewatched this as it gave me a new appreciation for the film.

Great write-up Citizen. I have a feeling we are all going to be gushing over Waterfront. Between this and Streetcar it's hard for me to believe how good Brando is. Really astounding. I kind of go back and forth between the scene you mentioned and his stroll through the park with Eva for my favorite scene.

Ahh, the stroll in the park scene, yup I loved how that established a bond between the two of them. It's so weird that I had seen Waterfront before but remembered nothing about. I must have been real tired last time I watched it. Agreed on Brando being amazing, has he ever done a bad acting job? Not that I've seen.

You saw On the Waterfront prior to this, right Citizen?

Yes, I seen it like 5 years ago. But I remembered nothing, not even the basic plot. All I knew was Brando was a longshoreman up against a corrupt union. I didn't even remember he had a brother or any of the other actors...well I did remember Eva Marie Saint

Saint is great and it is probably one of the best debut acting performances I've seen. I'm looking forward to watching again, it may be this afternoon at the earliest.

What do you guys think of the original choice of Grace Kelly? I also read that a young Elizabeth Montgomery was up for the part.

Brando's part was originally given to Frank Sinatra who was pissed when he was told Brando had gotten the part instead of him.

I think Frank could have done an interesting take on Terry Malowe. Sinatra then insisted he be given the role of the priest, but Karl Malden had a contract.

I could see Grace Kelly. Very glad she chose Rear Window though, I love her in that. I don't mind Sinatra in the stuff I have seen him in. Over Brando though, not a chance. Everything worked out perfectly.

I agree. Brando and Saint were the perfect tandem for their roles.

Did you guys spot him in the movie?



Sans make up of course.

Didn't realize it was him but as soon as you posted that I knew who he played. I recognized a lot of the union thugs from other stuff.

On the Waterfront



My favorite Kazan film, once again it is engineered by fantastic performances. Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy is one of my favorite performances of all time. He commands the screen and you really are rooting for the guy at the end of the film. Kazan and Brando seemed to have a great working relationship. I also love Eva Marie Saints character. Nobody would have been a better choice in that role. She is perhaps my favorite winner of Best supporting actress ever, though don't completely hold me to that.

This is the most crisp any Kazan film has ever looked. The camerawork is perfect and the shots are absolutely fantastic. A striving filmmaker would need to study this film to take a piece out of Kazans book. Especially underrated are the roof scenes in my opinion.

It's sort of ironic that Sean said he always had trouble with the ending to the film, when that is certainly my favorite part of the entire film. The duel between Brando and Cobb's characters is legendary and I love the entire dock scene. Of course his talk with Charley in the car was a great scene too as well as Edie and him in the park.

The supporting acting is one of the strongest in any movie too. Cobb was simply magnificent and I really like Malden as the priest. Stieger was real good too. Crazy that this movie got 5 acting Oscar nominations, but it's just a testament to the sort of abilities that Kazan is able to use to get the most out of his movies roles.

In the end, probably my 2ND or 3RD favorite movie from the 50s, certainly in my top 25 of all time and my favorite Kazan film. I'm glad both of you enjoy it as well.

I think Raul likes On The Waterfront...It's always cool to read a review, when someone just really loves a film. Well written review!

I'm glad you noticed Kazan's camera work. His philosophy for the film was to go on location and let the locations dictate the shots, and not the other way around. He's also known for letting his actors run with a scene and even allowing improvisation. That's something Brando was famous for.

So Raul what are your 2 other favorite 50s films? I'm guessing Rear Window and 12 Angry Men?

Rear Window. Then it's very very close between On the Waterfront and North by Northwest for second. Some like It Hot and Sansho the Bailiff round out the top 5.

Here is the baseline for the Kazan wrap up that I intend to do, feel free to chime in with anything else you would think to be relevant:

Best Film:
Best Male Performance:
Best Female Performance:
Best Cinematography:
Best Supporting Performance:
Best Screenplay:
Best Scene:

Is that what you guys normally do after watching a batch of a director's movies, that format? Or is it up to the individual?

I think we usually have the same baseline, with a few different things here and there. I'll also rank all the Kazans I've seen.

Sounds good to me.