On the Waterfront a great, essential film
Classic film, one of the greatest and most influential American films ever made. Hands down, Marlon Brando's best performance. Important for its gritty, shot-on-location b & w cinematography and one of the most famous movie scenes ever--Brando and Rod Steiger talking in the back of a cab. Everyone knows the lines--"I coulda been a contender, I coulda had class," etc., but until you've seen the agonized look on Brando's face and heard the pain and sadness in his voice--accompanied by Steiger's quiet but equally compelling reaction--you don't know what the scene is about. It's more than great dialogue. It's intense, behavioral acting at its best. This is not to say the film doesn't have problems--the ending, while powerful, is too neat, too tidy. So, it's Hollywood with a difference but still Hollywood.. And, of course, it's generated controversy because the director, Elia Kazan, gave friendly testimony to HUAC denouncing former colleagues as Communists. The movie has been seen as his justification for testifying, and to be sure being a whistleblower and naming names are depicted as heroic acts. Also, the relationship between Brando and Eva Marie Saint, while very sweet and touching, is marred by his character's chauvinistic behavior, including the most problematic scene in the film, Brando's assault on her in her apartment. Probably true-to-life but difficult to watch today, let alone read as "romantic." But overall, this is an essential film, a true must-see for everyone with a genuine in interest in cinema.
Bestätigter Kauf: JaArtikelzustand: Gebraucht