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Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront" is frequently listed among the greatest of all American films. It concerns a longshoreman's inner and outer struggles in exposing the corruption of union bosses.

Unquestionably, the strength of the film is the acting. Brando's performance in particular is one for the ages. He won his first Oscar for this role and Eva Marie Saint also garnered an Oscar in her introductory film role. On top of that Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb & Rod Steiger all earned Best Supporting Actor nominations. These accolades give an idea of the level of talent on display here.

Kazan's direction is well done as he strives for a gritty, realistic look. Shooting on location was an important part of that. Leonard Bernstein's score, on the other hand, is often overbearing. There's nothing wrong with the music itself, only the prominence of it.

The main area in which I feel the film doesn't quite deliver is the story. The film does a fine job of exploring the characters but I find that the underlying storyline doesn't really work for me. The main premise is a good one but after the initial confrontation I began to lose interest. The self-consciously 'inspiring' ending doesn't help, either.

All things considered, I give the film high marks for the excellent acting and direction which, unfortunately, are in service of a merely average story.

Terry lives in the shadow of his smart brother Charley the Gent working for a double-handed businessman of the underworld. He had his best times of his life during his boxing career, and has brought his dimes in for his brother. Charley's boss named Johnny Friendly is the man who is behind Terry's fame, but he is also the same man who nibbled his dimes from boxing.

The curtain opens with Terry working for Johnny Friendly to be participated in a murder. He does his duty and the murder takes effect. The victim was a labor, whose labor leader also works for Johhny Friendly. Terry turns gloomy when he finds out that the victim has been only seeking his rights when he became a rebel. Especially when Terry meets with the victim's sister his suspects grew. She reasons with him that there are two opposite sides: Johnny Friendly's rich and still-growing syndicate versus the dependent and needy workers who are driven into Johnny Friendly's punitive sanctions. Provided that Terry finds a third side: His own.

A run of the mill plot of the mid-20th century. Everybody is pretty much familiar with labor union issues. Mainly the subject gives nothing more than workers seeking out their rights. However, consider that it's Elia Kazan who ushers a new era of actors who rage the whole scenes and turn out heroes out of bums. On the Waterfront has surely inspired millions. For instance, in Robert De Niro's "Raging Bull", a prize-fighter like Terry Malloy turns out to be a stage actor and affirms Terry's speech of reproach to his brother, where no other words could describe his situation he fell into.

Marlon Brando's can-do attitude created an inspirational movement, imprinting our memory, that "If Terry Malloy can do this, yes; I can do this, and yes; everybody can do this". Subsequently movie makers began to deliver efforts and accomplishments to the silver screen in order to catch viewers' appreciations. On The Waterfront, Elia Kazan and Marlon Brando are those to remember together in the motion picture history.

I watched "On the Waterfront" last night, and I have seen it many times. This movie is a perfect capsule for any viewer. The actors are superb in their roles, the dialogue is raw and powerful, the staging is tight and reflects the claustrophobic nature of the characters' lives in this part of Hoboken. You have the feeling that they never leave this area of maybe a few blocks, because they feel trapped by their circumstances, poverty, grueling work, and the corruption that's endemic in this place and system.

Marlon Brando is Terry, a failed prize fighter with deep regrets and loneliness, who is a low-level thug in this corrupt system dominated by the bombastic, cruel union boss, Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb in an electrifying performance). He rules the waterfront with brutality and terror. To make Terry feel even more trapped is the fact that his only living relative, his brother, Charlie (Rod Steiger), is Friendly's right-hand man. Terry has no great ambitions in life, and seems resigned to this bleak path until fate, and two shining lights, appear in his life: Edie (Eva Marie Saint), a decent, loving, determined and angelic blonde woman, and Father Barry (Karl Malden), the local priest who can throw a punch, drink a beer and stand up to the mob with the strength of his faith behind him.

Terry and Edie embark on a seemingly doomed romance that both actors play so beautifully. You can feel their yearning, their awkwardness, their passion for each other and their deep connection -- all without the explicit nudity and fake grunting used in contemporary movies. When they embrace, you feel their desperation and desire for each other in a profound way.

"On the Waterfront" is certainly director Elia Kazan's great masterpiece. The performances are all outstanding, and Brando is just a marvel of tortured pain and passion and agony and courage. One particular thing I love about "On the Waterfront" is the scenery. Every set or outdoor shot conveys the grim, cold nature of the characters' lives. There is no movie glamour and little comfort here. Only a hot cup of coffee made on a plug-in heating plate in a "cold-water flat," or a beer and a shot hastily consumed in a waterfront saloon are pleasures to these characters. Their clothes are patched. Edie's hair isn't "styled," and she wears no makeup. Terry's face is a bit scarred. Malden's nose is...as we all know. The gritty setting feels real. If you've never seen this movie for any reason, do not delay!

Watching On The Waterfront nowadays, two scenes stand out head and shoulders above the rest. First is the impassioned speech by Father Barry (Karl Malden) to the gathered dock workers in the hull of a ship where he tries to rally them against the mobsters running their lives. Second is the confrontation between Terry and Charlie Malloy (Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger) in the back of a taxi which ends in one brother pointing a gun at the other and Brando's now legendary "contender speech." Both of them are sequences where the characters do nothing but talk but each is a fine example of what makes On The Waterfront the undeniable classic it is; acting, scripting, cinematography, music, everything fits into one cohesive whole and the end result is a welcome addition to any film collection.

The story here concerns Terry Malloy, a New York shipyard worker who finds his conscience bothering him when one of his friends is murdered. Terry at first is a tough guy with a grim outlook ("you know my philosophy on life, give it to 'em before they give to you") who despite his inner turmoil refuses to confess anything to the Police as it would make him a "rat." However, the arrival of Malden's headstrong Preacher and the victim's innocent sister Edie (Eva Marie Saint in her debut appearance) throws his deaf and dumb world into chaos. Soon, Terry finds himself falling for Edie and the Preacher's words hit home, leaving the angry young dockworker to question what's really right. The mob meanwhile aren't too happy about Terry's UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP and begin to pile on the pressure, especially his older brother Charlie who's torn between loyalty to his boss and looking out for his younger sibling. Before anyone can put a lid on things, the dockyard becomes a very tense place to be.

Brando of course puts his heart and soul into his performance. Terry by his very nature isn't one to carry his heart on his sleeve and so the great Method Actor is left to convey his turmoil through body language alone. It is a testament to how good he is that you can tell exactly what Terry is feeling even though he hardly ever expresses it verbally. Instead his shoulders hunch with resigned indignation and his eyes spark with anger, Brando playing the part so well he more or less disappears into the character completely. While he may have taken a lot of the credit however, he is far from the only strong presence in the film as Karl Malden's rock hard Preacher is just as compelling, his depiction of the dignified man of Christ who isn't afraid to drink beer and smoke cigarettes with the Wharf rats being a refreshingly positive portrayal of a Catholic leader. Eva Marie Saint meanwhile puts in a convincing portrayal of Edie, but she is hamstrung a little by some old fashioned writing. Her pursuit of her brother's murderers give her some powerful moments but there are a couple of instances where it becomes all too clear that the part was written by a man. However, she still gives us one of the most touching moments in the film, a confrontation with Terry where most of their chat is disrupted by a tug horn that is achingly sad despite the absence of dialogue.

Acting is only one half of the equation of course and needless to say, the story remains constantly gripping. The murder that opens the film leaves an instant grip on the viewer's attention and as Terry spirals further into an intricate web of half truths, things get incredibly dark. The New York tenement blocks that tower over the proceedings provide an imposing sense of claustrophobia while the rooftops are a smoke laden jungle of chimney stacks and TV aerials. However, if you look closely it becomes apparent that the crew still had some fun with the material and there is some subtle humour to be had - a wedding party degenerating into a brawl and a bar full of panicked customers emptying into the streets followed by a shot of one isolated individual desperately jumping into the bathroom.

All in all therefore, On The Waterfront is a film that is thoroughly deserving of its reputation. Brando excels in his role and heads up a highly talented cast giving it their all. Most of all though, it's an engaging and captivating story of urban paranoia, filled with tough guys spitting out slang in barking New York accents. Think you're a big shot, do ya? Huh? Well do us all a favour and check this one out. Ah enough a youse guys, ged outta here.

This compelling and dynamic drama is set on New York's dock where mobsters control the Union and stevedores . An ex-prize fighter named Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando who deservedly won an Academy Award) turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses (Lee J Cobb) and is embroiled in violence . Malloy faces the terrible dilemma of whether or not to turn informer . While his brother (it was originally offered to Lawrence Tierney , but he asked for too much money so the role went to Rod Steiger who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance) is a crooked lawyer and he meets a beautiful ex-nun (Eva Maria Saint , Grace Kelly turned down the role of Edie Doyle, deciding to make Rear Window instead) and falls in love for her .

This is an interesting and thought-provoking film with attractive plot by screenwriter Budd Schulberg , containing intense drama with pungent lines , emotion , wonderful performances , memorable climax , magnificent direction and classic musical score by maestro Leonard Berstein . For this brooding film and highy charged throughout story writer Budd Schulberg took the idea from newspapers , as he started with an expose series written for The New York Sun by reporter Malcolm Johnson , the articles won him a Pulitzer Prize and were reinforced by the 1948 murder of a New York dock hiring boss which woke America to the killings , graft and extortion that were endemic on the New York waterfront . Marvelous acting by entire casting . Marlon Brando is perfect as stevedore who faces the thorny dilemma of whether or not to become himself into an unfortunate informer . The taxicab scene , one of the most known scenes in the cinema, in which Brando began to improvise some dialogue , while surprising Rod Steiger listened and Kazan simply stood back and let the two actors direct themselves . Along with first-rate main cast : Brando , Steiger , Eva Maria Saint , appearing here and there great secondaries giving nice interpretations , such as : Lee J. Cobb , Leif Erickson , Michel V. Gazzo, Pat Henning , James Westerfield , Martin Balsam , Pat Hingle , Nehemiah Persoff, among others . Being film debuts of Michael V. Gazzo, Pat Hingle, Martin Balsam, and Eva Marie Saint . The leading characters were based on real people: Terry Malloy was based on longshoreman and whistle-blower Anthony De Vincenzo ; Father Barry was based on waterfront priest John M. Corridan ; Johnny Friendly was based on mobster Albert Anastasia. On the Waterfront is widely known to be an act of expiation on the part of Elia Kazan for naming names to the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) during the Joseph McCarthy witch-hunts of the 1950s.

This trend-setting film has a gritty portrait of N. Y. waterfront and stand up well nowadays and resulted to be a huge financial hit , it is a winner all the way , as from a budget of just under $1 million, the film went on to gross ten times its production costs in its initial release. And winning eight Academy Awards , including : Best Picture , Direction (Elia Kazan) , Actor (Marlon Brando), special mention for Eva Maria Saint who gave a debut performance that won her the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, Cinematography (cameraman Boris Kaufman) , Art Director (Richard Day) . The motion picturre was compellingly directed by Elia Kazan , and it seems to be a direct response to Miller's play The Crucible. In fact , Kazan intended it as a direct attack at his former close friend Arthur Miller who had been openly critical of Elia's actions . Rating : Very good , above average , and a real must see . Well worth watching .