Elia Kazan's seminal American classic.
Comment
11/01/07
On the Waterfront (1954)
100
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:47
Fresh:47
Rotten:0
Average Rating:9/10
Consensus: Considered one of the best American films of all time, Elia Kazan's powerfully sympathetic portrait of working-class Americans boasts a paradigm-shifting performance from Marlon Brando, as well as effectively realistic cinematography and riveting, timeless themes. Hard-hitting, compassionate, and without any significant flaws, On the Waterfront is required viewing.
Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Marlon Brando is Terry Malloy, an ex-prize fighter struggling against union corruption along the New York waterfront, in Elia Kazan's film classic. Malloy's battle takes him all the way to the... [More]
Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint
Director: Elia Kazan
Reviews for On the Waterfront
Top CriticIt's pretty electrifying.
01/26/06
Top CriticBrando won the Oscar he did accept (he refused his award for The Godfather), and Cobb makes for a great villain.
04/11/01
Top CriticMuscular, powerful human drama.
06/05/04
Retains the freshness of an original -- exploring the difficulties and corruptions of working stiffs with a realism, sensitivity and intelligence that has seldom been matched since.
05/23/01
Top CriticThe film is shot on location in black-and-white, semi-docu style, which suits the realistic subject and commonplace characters, particularly Brando's Terry Malloy, the passive dock worker forced to become a crusader-fighter against the union's tyranny
07/15/06
It is all the more grim and hard-hitting because of the steel-gray look of cinematographer Kaufman's startling, neo-documentary approach.
07/30/03
Top CriticOn the Waterfront has a script that is a work of love and shows it.
02/18/09
Top CriticAn uncommonly powerful, exciting and imaginative use of the screen by gifted professionals.
05/20/03
Top Critic
A powerful film, featuring one of the greatest performances you will ever see.
10/30/01
Brando and Kazan achieve career bests in this alternately thrilling and moving drama.
09/03/02
No review available.
05/09/08
You miss this, you're buyin' a one-way ticket to Palookaville.
03/03/05
Brando made one of his most indelible impressions in this relentlessly dramatic, ever-controversial tale of loyalty and betrayal in the world of working-class unions, first released in 1954.
11/04/04
A hard-hitting but pretentious melodrama about union corruption on the New York docks.
05/24/04
Kazan's classic golden age drama remains a rousing and riveting piece of cinema for anyone who appreciates intriguing characterizations. This legendary story is more than just a hopeful contender.
05/23/03
Extremely polished and featuring another powerhouse effort from Brando.
09/29/03
No review available.
01/31/05
It is thanks to Brando that this posthumous Popular Front classic is a heart-clutcher from beginning to end.
11/02/04
Latest News for On the Waterfront
June 22, 2007:
AFI Announces Top 100 Movies of All Time ... Again
Ten years ago the AFI gave us a list of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made -- and when that was done they churned out 15 other lists every few years. And then last night they... More...
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