Description
I could have been a contender, I could have been somebody. So speaks the haunted former boxer Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) to his brother Charley (Rod Steiger) in a scene from On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954) that is one of the most famous in all cinema. Set among unionised New York longshoremen, Kazans film (from a screenplay by Budd Schulberg) recounts Terrys struggle against corruption and his ultimate, hard-won victory. The marvellous performances of Brando, Steiger and Eva Marie Saint (as well as Karl Malden and Lee J. Cobb), Boris Kaufmans photography and Leonard Bernsteins score all justify the films fame. But On the Waterfront is also notorious, regarded by many as an attempt at justifying the decision on the part of Kazan (and Schulberg) to name names before the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. That controversial decision is still incendiary today (as was evidenced in the furore that surrounded Kazans Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1999). With Kazans death in 2003 and Brandos in 2004, a reappraisalof On the Waterfront is timely and necessary. In this definitive study, Leo Braudy tells the complicated story of the films production. He revisits the facts behind the controversy of Kazans testimony but, above all, he analyses the elements which contribute to the enduring appeal of On the Waterfront: the Method-inspired acting, the music and cinematography, the use of authentic locations and its powerfully symbolic depiction of post-war American values.
Author: Leo Braudy
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: British Film Institute
Published: 04/30/2005
Series: BFI Film Classics
Pages: 80
Weight: 0.36lbs
Size: 7.54h x 5.46w x 0.26d
ISBN: 9781844570720
Language: English
This title is only available via back order
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