Critic Reviews

On the Waterfront (1954) Rank 3 Reviews

Expert Review Summary

Movie critics combined give On the Waterfront (1954) a score of 3.4719 out of 4

based on (73) reviews

Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating

Excellent

(46)

Very Good

(26)

Good

(0)

Fair

(1)

Poor

(0)

Reviews by Score:

eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)

Ten minutes' difference in getting out of work, and this is a completely different review, because it means I catch the train instead of the bus, I reach Kendall Square an hour earlier, meeting up with L plenty early enough to take in the preview we had ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Jay Seaver)

Village Voice (J. Hoberman)

Re-released on the occasion of its golden anniversary, On the Waterfront is the supreme success story of '50s Hollywood-eighth on the AFI poll of the "greatest American movies," ahead of Schindler's List but behind The Graduate. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Village Voice (J. Hoberman)

Apollo Movie Guide (Brian Webster)

Marlon Brando's performance as ex-boxer Terry Malloy is widely considered to be one of the great performances of all-time, in this story of guilt and redemption on the wrong side of the tracks. Elia Kazan directed this multi-Academy Award winner. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Apollo Movie Guide (Brian Webster)

The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews

A dockworker struggles against his corrupt union bosses. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

For its day the RCA/Columbia release didn't look bad. The Columbia TriStar release, however, appears super, with a crisp and finely detailed black-and-white image. Except for a stray scratch and one or two speckles, the picture is spotless and provides ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

DVD Times

For a ceremony that will go to any lengths to avoid controversy, the Academy Awards has done pretty well over the years in ruffling more than a few feathers . Whether it be politicos like Michael Moore or the Sarandon/Robbins pair using the show as a ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at DVD Times

Moviegnome.com

his film may be seen as the justification for Elia Kazan's testament against the Communist party. This motivation gives the film an added momentum and honest urgency. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Moviegnome.com

Moviemom's review

Based on a true story (with a less satisfying conclusion), this is the story of the men who had the courage to stand up to the corrupt longshoreman's union. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Moviemom's review

Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)

This one's still a contender in anyone's book. Screenwriter Budd Schulberg's exposÃ© of the corruption in the dock workers' unions won eight Oscars and remains as stirring as ever - as does the performance of Marlon Brando. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)

Classic Film Guide

This Best Picture Oscar winner was Best Director Elia Kazan's justification for "ratting" on friends and colleagues to the House Un-American Activities Committee. This crime drama's (thinly veiled) story is about the onset of the Waterfront Crime ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Classic Film Guide

Movie-Vault.com (Aaron West)

Kazan's life had been changed forever due to his controversial decision to give testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Not only did Kazan testify about his own prior ties to the Communist party, but he named other people in the ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Movie-Vault.com (Aaron West)

Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)

One scene from On the Waterfront is all you need to see to appreciate the magnificent talent of Marlon Brando - and to regret how he largely wasted his skills in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Apollo Guide (Brian Webster)

Parent/Teacher Learning Guides at teachwithmovies.org

This classic movie is about organized crime's penetration of a longshoreman's union in New York in the 1950s. Several men break the community's code of silence to stand up to the gangsters and expose the murder of a friend. Marlon Brando's ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Parent/Teacher Learning Guides at teachwithmovies.org

filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

"On The Waterfront" is a classic film that nearly measures up to its reputation. While the characters are too neatly divided into good and evil, and the drama is sometimes overdone, there's never a dull moment, and the cast and cinematography is ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

DVD MovieGuide

TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)

It is all the more grim and hard-hitting because of the steel-gray look of cinematographer Kaufman's startling, neo-documentary approach. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)

Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)

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. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Christian Science Monitor (David Sterritt)

Reel.com (Sarah Chauncey)

There's something uncomfortably humbling about reviewing a movie that is textbook-perfect. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Reel.com (Sarah Chauncey)

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

On the Waterfront is a hard-hitting but pretentious melodrama about union corruption on the New York docks. It is directed by Elia Kazan ("A Streetcar Named Desire") and penned by Budd Schulberg. This colorful story of Mob informers was based on a ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)

There is a love story at the center of On The Waterfront and it constitutes the film's best quality. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)

The Film Journal (Daidria Curnutte)

The climate of paranoia that existed in Hollywood in the early 1950s had reached an almost frenzied point by the time of legendary Elia Kazan's damaging testimony against fellow filmmakers who had "named names". At that time, America was in the midst ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at The Film Journal (Daidria Curnutte)

BBC Films

Director Elia Kazan was shunned by many of his Hollywood peers for naming names during McCarthy's communist witch hunts of the early 1950s. When his "On the Waterfront" was released in 1954 it was seen by many as a defiant attempt to justify his ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at BBC Films

The Guardian at Cannes 2003

Ah memories! Can it really be a year since firefighters had to pump oxygen into 20 people who had passed out a screening? "In 25 years in my job, I've never seen this sort of thing at the festival," said Lieutenant Gerard Courtel of the Cannes fire ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at The Guardian at Cannes 2003

DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)

Here's an acknowledged classic whose reputation perhaps rides a bit too much on its superstar Brando performance. Savant is a big fan of Elia Kazan's work overall, but thinks this indictment of racketeering is a very entertaining show, with some ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)

CineScene.com (Chris Dashiell)

A former prizefighter (Marlon Brando) is caught up in a corrupt union headed by a mobster (Lee J. Cobb), but starts to question his beliefs when he falls for the sister (Eva Marie Saint) of a man who was murdered for informing. Kazan's boldly ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at CineScene.com (Chris Dashiell)

LYTRules.com (Luke Y. Thompson)

Do the politics make it bad? Not at all. It's a fictional story, not a soapbox. ...read the complete On the Waterfront movie review at LYTRules.com (Luke Y. Thompson)