The film On the Waterfront tells the story of a longshoreman, Terry Malloy, who intends to start a revolt, expose the crimes of the wharf owner and translate brought to justice the workers, with a student Itty Doyle and the priest Barry. One of the masterpieces that Elia Kazan directed in 1954, with Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint, this film earned him eight Oscars at the 27th Academy Awards.Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay On the Waterfront is a story about consciousness. It is based on a real news article by Malcolm Johnson, which is about a union that attacks dock workers who make their living on the waterfront. In this film based on a true story, we can see a realism extreme that has never been seen in any film before. Compared with the popular "film noir" of that era, the speculative moral color contained in this story seems to have a layer of discussion of group values. “Film noir” often focuses on the dilemma of the hero's individual moral choice, while On the Docks radiates individual confusion – success in fighting the forces of evil should not be attributed to the protagonist's solitary efforts, but to the collective awakening of the dockers. Kazan infuses the temperament of “film noir” into this film with obvious social critical quality. It finds a perfect meeting point between the search for the effect of dramatic expression and the realistic search for the enhancement of true appeal. This story not only tells how these longshoremen overthrow the evil union, Kazan also includes two other storylines, which are the awakening of Terry Malloy's moral conscience and his love affair with Edie, in order to add inner emotional tension in the film. This film applied a strong realistic style, especially in shaping the lower class people who work and live on the dock, the warehouse and the tavern. Allowing the audience to live a life very different from the Hollywood aristocratic luxury life. In terms of details, director Elia Kazan clearly adopts the documentary film style, bringing dirt, roughness and even the smell of sweat into the camera. The film truly reflects the life, awakening and struggle of the longshoremen. The more realistic the film, the more powerful and charming the actor should be on screen. The actor's performance gives people a real and impressive impact. In this way, the seemingly dark tone is offset by a brighter character, and this character is the soul of the film – Marlon Brando. He had a novel face, sensual lips and a pair of stunning eyes that seemed naked. No one could look at his expressive eyes without revealing the truth, because his eyes display all his feelings. Therefore, at the beginning of the film, although he appeared as a thug and eventually became a hero, this process was not brutal at all. By changing our perspective, we could understand how an ordinary worker who acted as an accomplice became a leader who rose up against the enemy. Just like the heroine of the film said that she saw something in his eyes, which was the truth. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay On the Waterfront is considered a work that Kazan created to defend himself. Shortly before filming began, Kazan testified before the committee, citing several colleagues linked to the Communist Party. This title of "informant" becomes a moral burden that cannot be relieved in Kazan's life. Therefore, he intentionally uses Terry's role to clarify.