Release Year: 1954

Genre: Crime, Drama, Romance

Director: Elia Kazan

Writer: Budd Schulberg

Stars: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb

Hollywood is full of movies about normal men doing great things. An oil driller saves the world from an asteroid in Armageddon. A cable guy saves the world from aliens in Independence Day. A farmer saves humanity from crop failure in Interstellar.

And in On the Waterfront, a washed-up boxer…walks to work.

Okay, we're not been completely fair. Before clocking in, ex-boxer Terry Malloy (Brando) has to endure a rough childhood, a mob-affiliated brother, witnessing a couple of murders, getting his own life threatened a handful of times, turning police informant, and getting the living snot beaten out of him.

But if you're still a little underwhelmed that all Terry does is go do his job on a weekday—well, that's kind of Elia Kazan's point. This ain't the apocalypse. This is 100% pure, unadulterated social realism.

Terry Malloy has to tackle the issue of corruption in dockworkers unions on the East Coast—specifically, in Hoboken, New Jersey. At the time (the movie came out in 1954) this was a big problem in real life: the longshoremen's union had stopped serving the workers, becoming a mob-run outfit that shook down its members for cash and profited only a select few at the top. It even killed people.

In the movie, the gangsters who run the dockworkers union push a guy named Joey Doyle off a roof to prevent him from telling the cops about their illegal activities. Understandably, Tery's not so eager to turn snitch at first, but he realizes that it's the right thing to do.

Plus, Terry wants to get with Joey's sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint)…and ratting out the murderers of her brother is a good way of showing her that he really cares.

Heroes…Or Rats?

The screenwriter, Budd Schulberg, and director, Elia Kazan, decided to wrestle with the issue of "snitches get stiches" because it was important and extremely relevant…and because they had both done a little snitching of their own.

Kazan and Schulberg had named names of film industry Communists to Congress during the HUAC hearings in 1952. You can see On the Waterfront as a sharp rebuttal to these critics: the filmmakers wanted to explain their state of mind, comparing their situation to Terry's.

But you don't have to be personally invested in what was going on in 1950's longshoremen's unions or in the blacklisting of Hollywood Communist to appreciate why the movie has been so awarded and so honored.

Given its social relevance and amazing performances, the movie racked up the Oscars in a big way: On the Waterfront won Best Picture, Kazan got Best Director, Brando snagged a Best Actor win, Schulberg won Best Screenplay, and Eva Marie Saint won Best Supporting Actress.

That's a lot of "bests," showing that this movie has endured the test of time for a reason. Some critics consider Brando's turn as Terry to be one of the very finest performances by the greatest actor of all time.

On the Waterfront is a film for anyone who's ever been an underdog, anyone who's ever had to stand up to the majority, and anyone who "coulda been a contender"—as the movie's most famous line would put it.

Bob Marley once sang the words, "Get up, stand up—stand up for your rights." And in On the Waterfront, Terry Malloy does exactly that: he stands up for not only his, but all of his fellow dockworkers' rights.

And guess what he gets a reward? A thank-you card? A nice bottle of bubble bath? A teddy bear with a heart embroidered on his tummy?

Yeah; no. He gets a bloody nose, a split lip, a black eye, and a near-death experience. Which is still better than what his brother (and a cage full of unfortunate pigeons) gets, which is a death-death experience.

"But what about the very end of the movie?" you ask. "Surely all those happy dockworkers buy Terry a drink/a cheeseburger/ a Groupon for a discounted mani-pedi?"

Still no. Terry's ultimate reward is the foreman yelling, "Let's go to work!"

This ain't a movie for those of you who hear Bob Marley's lyrics and think "Oh yeah. I'll stand up for my rights and then I'll get to bask in glory." This is a movie for the idealistic realist in you, that sober, sensible-shoes wearing inner voice that knows that one good turn is often followed by…a punch in the face.

And then another punch in the face.

And then maybe—just maybe—a sense of having done some good and having your conscience feel as a clear as a newly-Roomba'ed carpet.

On the Waterfront says you need to follow your principles, even if everyone turns against you. Mahatma Gandhi called this satyagraha or "firmness in the truth"—and if Gandhi adheres to it, it's a safe bet it's a pretty sound idea. (Source)

There are other, artistic reasons you should care about On the Waterfront. It features Marlon Brando—considered by many to be the greatest film actor who ever lived—at the top of his game. Watching him play Terry is a triple-shot of realness. He almost mumbles lines sometimes, but it feels so totally real. (Eva Marie Saint and Karl Malden deliver some top-form realness as well.)

So, whether you watch because you love intense moral dilemmas or because you want to see top-shelf premium acting, On the Waterfront will make you feel as free as one of Joey Doyle's pet pigeons.

Well, as free as the ones who don't get killed, anyway.