On the Waterfront is a classic black and white film made in 1954. In my opinion, the film was very good. It film was controversial consisting part drama and part gangster. It is a drama about going against your society, and standing up for what you believe in. However, it was exciting to see how people lived in a community run entirely by gangsters. The film’s effectiveness was important see how people lived in that depressing time period, and how society can be affected by the beginning. Terry’s last scene when he walked “the walk of crucifixion” was very significant in that he showed his work was done, and that the other dock workers should look up to him as a good leader.
On the Waterfront’s setting, characters and symbols are some important literary aspects of the film. The story takes place on New York’s oppressive waterfront, where the dock workers worked for their boss, Johnny Friendly. They struggled for money and to be able to work at all. What used to be a job on the waterfront turned into a gang that committed crimes forced by their cruel leader. Terry Malloy works on the docks of New York for dock leader Johnny Friendly. Terry, known by the gang as a bum, is unsure about the gang’s violence and when his friend gets pushed from a roof he feels guilty for not telling the truth. He realizes his choices in life have been bad, and joins the priest and Edie to challenge the gang. Terry is a hero therefore known as a saint. The gang referenced pigeons, canaries and hawks as metaphors often, and related it to the people in the gang. For example, Pigeons were known as the deaf and dumb. They do exactly what is told, and act as stools for the canaries and hawks. The Canaries were less oblivious as the pigeons. Duggan and Joey were often called canaries before they were killed by the “hawks”. Terry was known as a pigeon but not until the end when he whistle-blows and does what is right. Finally, the hawks were a union who stood over the others. They were the top of the ladder and tried to eliminate any weaker or good person; Johnny friendly was a hawk, but not until Terry changed how things were on the waterfront.
The dramatic aspects in the film On the Waterfront are what made it complete. Marlon Brando (Terry) is very intense and down to earth. His facial expressions describe his acting without being too unrealistic. In the scene when he is in the bar, and is being lifted up over the crowd defines himself as a saint rising above everyone else, marking the point when he realized gang life was wrong. Or, that people look up to him to make a change in the unfair gangster community. Another great actor was Eva Marie Saint (Edie). For example, her hair set her apart from everyone else. It portrays her as being angelic possibly because she changed Terry from following the gang. She also had great facial expressions and preformed very well considering she was portrayed being different from other women in that time period. Finally, Karl Malden (Father Barry) preformed a powerful and capable priest who was tough-minded and courageous.
Another dramatic aspect of the film was the color of the film. Usually I do not like films in black and white, but this film was perfect for it! It was great for that time period, and I cannot imagine it any other way. Something about it, made the film seem more dramatic, especially when you saw the atmosphere of the waterfront. Also, it saved me from seeing Terry’s bloody face from being beat up by Johnny. Another thing is that when a character was placed up against the sky in a close-up, you could not tell what kind of day it was weather sunny or cloudy, so it gave it more of a mysterious feel.
The cinematic aspects were what made the film interesting. For example, the music fit perfectly to the film. Whenever there was a problem, off-tune violins played loud to give off an eerie feeling. It was jumpy, and had sort of a theme for the fighting scenes: upbeat and exciting. The sound also was very realistic. The dock and ship noises can be heard throughout and when Terry told Edie the truth, the ship horn was going off in the background. It was very obnoxious, but played an important role metaphorically. The photography was also very realistic, and it set up the atmosphere. There were many close-ups on Edie and Terry’s faces, and then the famous low angle shot where Terry is being lifted up like an angel.
On the Waterfront is related to Arthur Miller’s All My Sons in many ways. First, the protagonists were both in ethical dilemmas in which it could either benefit them or not benefit anyone, but they would have to live with the guilt. Contrasting, Terry decided to make the right choice, and tell on the bad guys, while Joe Keller was the bad guy committing the crime. Technically, Terry did nothing wrong, but by keeping quiet it could be considered the same thing. Whereas Joe committed the crime but no one told on him, and he had to live with the guilt. All My Sons and On the Waterfront both dealt with a similar ethical dilemma within the protagonists.
On the Waterfront was defiantly a movie to see. The film would not have been as great as it is without the actors. They were phenomenal, and flawless. It gives you the sense of living in corruption during that time period. Marlon Brando was great performing Terry, with amazing facial expressions. Eva Marie Saint playing Edie was Brando’s lover, and helped him move to the good side. The priest played by Karl Malden was dramatic, and different from any other priest. The film was overall great, and it made me question myself if I would have done the same as Terry: let the crime go, or would I have been the whistle-blower on the guilty. The right thing to do would be to whistle-blow, but then what would my society think? The person who did the crime should get blamed, because they broke the law. It should not be fair the others have to take the blame, so I think a person should act according to their moral compass, and do the right thing. All in all, the film was well done, and a must see!
On the Waterfront’s setting, characters and symbols are some important literary aspects of the film. The story takes place on New York’s oppressive waterfront, where the dock workers worked for their boss, Johnny Friendly. They struggled for money and to be able to work at all. What used to be a job on the waterfront turned into a gang that committed crimes forced by their cruel leader. Terry Malloy works on the docks of New York for dock leader Johnny Friendly. Terry, known by the gang as a bum, is unsure about the gang’s violence and when his friend gets pushed from a roof he feels guilty for not telling the truth. He realizes his choices in life have been bad, and joins the priest and Edie to challenge the gang. Terry is a hero therefore known as a saint. The gang referenced pigeons, canaries and hawks as metaphors often, and related it to the people in the gang. For example, Pigeons were known as the deaf and dumb. They do exactly what is told, and act as stools for the canaries and hawks. The Canaries were less oblivious as the pigeons. Duggan and Joey were often called canaries before they were killed by the “hawks”. Terry was known as a pigeon but not until the end when he whistle-blows and does what is right. Finally, the hawks were a union who stood over the others. They were the top of the ladder and tried to eliminate any weaker or good person; Johnny friendly was a hawk, but not until Terry changed how things were on the waterfront.
The dramatic aspects in the film On the Waterfront are what made it complete. Marlon Brando (Terry) is very intense and down to earth. His facial expressions describe his acting without being too unrealistic. In the scene when he is in the bar, and is being lifted up over the crowd defines himself as a saint rising above everyone else, marking the point when he realized gang life was wrong. Or, that people look up to him to make a change in the unfair gangster community. Another great actor was Eva Marie Saint (Edie). For example, her hair set her apart from everyone else. It portrays her as being angelic possibly because she changed Terry from following the gang. She also had great facial expressions and preformed very well considering she was portrayed being different from other women in that time period. Finally, Karl Malden (Father Barry) preformed a powerful and capable priest who was tough-minded and courageous.
Another dramatic aspect of the film was the color of the film. Usually I do not like films in black and white, but this film was perfect for it! It was great for that time period, and I cannot imagine it any other way. Something about it, made the film seem more dramatic, especially when you saw the atmosphere of the waterfront. Also, it saved me from seeing Terry’s bloody face from being beat up by Johnny. Another thing is that when a character was placed up against the sky in a close-up, you could not tell what kind of day it was weather sunny or cloudy, so it gave it more of a mysterious feel.
The cinematic aspects were what made the film interesting. For example, the music fit perfectly to the film. Whenever there was a problem, off-tune violins played loud to give off an eerie feeling. It was jumpy, and had sort of a theme for the fighting scenes: upbeat and exciting. The sound also was very realistic. The dock and ship noises can be heard throughout and when Terry told Edie the truth, the ship horn was going off in the background. It was very obnoxious, but played an important role metaphorically. The photography was also very realistic, and it set up the atmosphere. There were many close-ups on Edie and Terry’s faces, and then the famous low angle shot where Terry is being lifted up like an angel.
On the Waterfront is related to Arthur Miller’s All My Sons in many ways. First, the protagonists were both in ethical dilemmas in which it could either benefit them or not benefit anyone, but they would have to live with the guilt. Contrasting, Terry decided to make the right choice, and tell on the bad guys, while Joe Keller was the bad guy committing the crime. Technically, Terry did nothing wrong, but by keeping quiet it could be considered the same thing. Whereas Joe committed the crime but no one told on him, and he had to live with the guilt. All My Sons and On the Waterfront both dealt with a similar ethical dilemma within the protagonists.
On the Waterfront was defiantly a movie to see. The film would not have been as great as it is without the actors. They were phenomenal, and flawless. It gives you the sense of living in corruption during that time period. Marlon Brando was great performing Terry, with amazing facial expressions. Eva Marie Saint playing Edie was Brando’s lover, and helped him move to the good side. The priest played by Karl Malden was dramatic, and different from any other priest. The film was overall great, and it made me question myself if I would have done the same as Terry: let the crime go, or would I have been the whistle-blower on the guilty. The right thing to do would be to whistle-blow, but then what would my society think? The person who did the crime should get blamed, because they broke the law. It should not be fair the others have to take the blame, so I think a person should act according to their moral compass, and do the right thing. All in all, the film was well done, and a must see!
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