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Author
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Topic: ON THE WATERFRONT 400' COLUMBIA DIGEST
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Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted June 07, 2011 06:23 PM
ON THE WATERFRONT - COLUMBIA/SUPER8/400'/B&W/SOUND
To begin a series of print reviews from our collection, we chose 'On the Waterfront' because it is one our favorite films and surprisingly missing from 8mm Print Reviews. It wasn't a difficult decision either since we have had our copy for almost a year and it has already had multiple screenings. This particular edition, released originally in 1973 by Columbia is very repeatable. Forum member Colin Hunt described it winning best cut-down in 1974. An April 1975 Columbia Digest advertisement has it listed for $35.75. In 2010, I purchased it on ebay for approx. $21.00, the print was in good condition, with some light lines. As a film buff and admirer of this movie, it was very exciting to project it for the first time.
The story begins and the iconic scenes take their time to unfold. The cinematography, pacing and editing allow the story to develop very nicely. Columbia also released this film as a full length feature on Super 8, there are many prints available by many distributors in the 16mm format as well. We hope to own it someday, in the meantime, the Columbia classics viewers digest print by Triangle is good enough.
The direction by Elia Kazan and the acting of the cast are impeccable, giving you a brilliant and dramatic production that won 8 Oscars and is number 8 on AFI's list: 100 years...100 movies. Why is this film so important? For me, it speaks about truth even when it is painful to listen to. The duality of the shadow life is brutal, in this film it leads to various deaths, one foreshadowing the next. Exposing the dark underworld to light has its consequences for many of the characters in the film.
Eve Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, and Karl Malden play supporting roles, Saint's character is devastated to learn her brother has been thrown from a roof top and killed. Brando plays a longshoreman with a longing for professionalism and pain management. Although his character is a bird keeper, he moonlights as an amateur boxer and is haunted by his fixed fights for quick money. Brando as Malloy attempts to 'settle the score' and soon he will reject those he worked for. He becomes desperate and attempts to talk with the driver of his destiny. Brando incidentally, worked as little as possible on this film, spending hours with an psychiatric analyst in New York when he wasn't shooting.
Originally, Brando refused the role of Terry Malloy, after many revisions he accepted. Making a movie that reveals corruption and organized crime was very risky in many ways. The FBI even stepped in while Arther Miller was writing a draft for the film and told him to change the villains into Communists. It's almost hard to believe that this film cost less that $1 million to make, Brando received $100,000 for the role. When he starred in the classic 1954 union movie there were 41,333 longshoremen in New York. Today, there are only 3,000.
The cut-down keeps the story together using a narrator to describe brief changes in the film and over montage. I'm personally indifferent about the use of a narrator in a cut-down, it was a decision that worked for some films, here it's unobtrusive. There are few films that draw me in like 'On the Waterfront' does, and this 19 min. version (is a very full 400' reel) has all of the right elements for a terrific digest; a strong cast and great timing. The print has good contrast however, slightly soft at times growing sharper as the picture continues.
Not only does the truth hurt, it could also get ugly sometimes. The last third of this film is gripping and the cut-down does a remarkable job of again holding all of the right elements of the story together; the short life of a stool pigeon, the consequences of trust when it is absent, and a taxicab confession. Have you ever wondered why there are blinds inside that taxicab? The rear projector was left behind that day during filming.
Brando's Oscar for his role in the film was stolen, later recovered when it showed up at a London auction house. Real longshoremen were used in the film as extras, their scenes are also pivotal in the climax as Brando delivers a verbal blow to the villain that arranged the murder of his brother and countless others. This longshoreman has had enough of corruption. The sad truth however is in his attempt to attain justice through whistle-blowing later, violence. The bitter truth is hard to swallow, in the end , we all have to "Go back to work", trying figuring out who we are and who made us this way...really.
[ June 08, 2011, 05:05 PM: Message edited by: Gerald Santana ]
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http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/
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Gerald Santana
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1060
From: Cottage Grove OR
Registered: Dec 2010
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posted June 08, 2011 01:55 PM
Doug - Thank you, it's true...Steiger was very upset about Brando's self-dismissal from the set during the close ups in the taxi cab. During Steiger's close-ups, a crew member read Brando's lines. The set was always very cold, and Kazan stepped in to stop Brando from improvising any dialogue in the film, especially that scene. Steiger used his emotion from the moment to add to his performance.
While Brando tried to reason what should be said when a brother points a gun to his own brother, Kazan enforced the script and the scene should resonate as expected by the author and director. Brando did not improvise that scene at all, and Steiger held a grudge for walking out during a probable temper tantrum by Brando over the dialogue.
On a side note, lets not forget the "villain" - Lee J. Cobb as 'Johnny Friendly', along with Saint, Steiger and Malden were all nominated for Oscars. They all helped changed the tone of movies overnight. They simply were not the same after that film, the par was set very high. Most American films lacked the emotional depth needed to breakthrough into deeper, more engaging performances.
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http://lostandoutofprintfilms.blogspot.com/
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