On the Waterfront

Buy This Item On the Waterfront by Sony Pictures  Available from Amazon  $14.95  on 9-22-2008     Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech is such a warhorse by now that a lot of people probably feel they've seen this picture already, even if they haven't. And many of those who have seen it may have forgotten how flat-out thrilling it is. For all its great dramatic and cinematic qualities, and its fiery social criticism, Elia Kazan's <I>On the Waterfront</I> is also one of the most gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever made in the United States, a five-star gut-grabber. Shot on location around the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, in the mid-1950s, it tells the fact-based story of a longshoreman (Brando's Terry Malloy) who is blackballed and savagely beaten for informing against the mobsters who have taken over his union and sold it out to the bosses. (Karl Malden has a more conventional stalwart-hero role, as an idealistic priest who nurtures Terry's pangs of conscience.) Lee J. Cobb, who created the role of Willy Loman in <I>Death of Salesman</I> under Kazan's direction on Broadway, makes a formidable foe as a greedy union leader. <I>--David Chute</I> Reader Reviews This is one of my favourite movies of all time for its very powerful message about doing the right thing despite the consequences and about sins of omission being just as or even more damning then sins of commission. The screenplay was excellent and the acting especially of Brando and Steiger was even better. This was Brando's best ever performance on screen and this film is among the top ten ever made. The only problem is with the dvd which had few special features worth mentioning and had many picture and sound quality deficiencies. Here's hoping that with the advent of Blu-ray they will take the opportunity to thoroughly remaster and restore the sound and picture quality. For the former a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround sound option would be much appreciated. This film belongs in every film fan's dvd library but give this dvd version a miss until a much better restored version surfaces. Here's me waiting with bated breath.

On the Waterfront Available from Amazon Price: $14.95 Updated on 9-22-2008.

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