Marlon Brando (The Godfather) gives the performance of his career as the tough prizefighter-turnedlongshoreman Terry Malloy in this masterpiece of urban poetry, a raggedly emotional tale of individual failure and institutional corruption.
On the Waterfrontcharts Terry’s deepening moral crisis as he must choose whether to remain loyal to the mob-connected union boss Johnny Friendly (12 Angry Men’s Lee J. Cobb) and Johnny’s right-hand man, Terry’s brother, Charley (In the Heat of the Night’s Rod Steiger), as the authorities close in on them.
Driven by the vivid, naturalistic direction of Elia Kazan (Gentlemen’s Agreement) and savory, streetwise dialogue by Budd S. Chulberg (A Face in the Crowd), On the Waterfront was an instant sensation, winning eight Oscars, including for best picture, director, actor, supporting actress (North by Northwest’s Eva Marie Saint), and screenplay.
Extras
New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
Alternate presentations of the feature restoration in two additional aspect ratios: 1.85:1 (widescreen) and 1.33:1 (full-screen)
Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS -HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
Commentary featuring authors Richard Schickel and Jeff Young
New conversation between filmmaker Martin Scorsese and critic Kent Jones
Elia Kazan: Outsider (1982), an hour-long documentary
New documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with scholar Leo Braudy, critic David Thomson, and others
New interview with actress Eva Marie Saint
Interview with director Elia Kazan from 2001
Contender, a 2001 documentary on the film’s most famous scene
New interview with longshoreman Thomas Hanley, an actor in the film
New interview with author James T. Fisher (On the Irish Waterfront) about the real-life people and places behind the film
Visual essay on Leonard Bernstein’s score
Trailer
PLUS : A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Almereyda and reprints of Kazan’s 1952 ad in the New York Times defending his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, one of the 1948 New York Sun articles by Malcolm Johnson on which the film was based, and a 1953 Commonweal piece by screenwriter Budd Schulberg
