On the Waterfront - 4K Blu-ray Review

Movie
Out of the entire Columbia Classics: Volume 5 collection, THIS is the crown jewel. 1954’s On The Waterfront is legendary for a reason, with over 8 academy award wins, some amazing acting, and the film that REALLY put him on the map as a leading man. Maybe I’m slightly biased as this was THE film that I really remember from my intro to film study back in my freshman year of college, but this is by far the very definition of a perfect movie. Elia Kazan’s stunning film of blue collar work, conviction, and early 20th century life with organized crime hits home just as much today as it did 70 years ago. Couple that with a stunning 4K remaster and this is the ONE film out of all six movies in this box set that I hold especially dear to my film loving heart.

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) is an ex prize fighter sort of just meandering through life as a low level flunky for the local mob boss on the waterfront. He gets nicer treatment than normal due to his brother being a high level member of the organization, which means Terry can sort of drift around making easy money keeping an eye on the dock workers. However, after setting up a local worker for murder due to said worker intending to testify against the boss (Lee J. Cobb), Terry starts to think that maybe the life he’s chosen isn't for him.

However, he’s got an uphill battle, as all Terry has ever known is the dock workers union and their rules. He’s got a little external conscience in the form of well meaning Father Barry (Karl Malden), but it’s not until he becomes friends with the sister of the man he set up for murder that Terry’s convictions fully realize themselves. Now he’s just one man fighting against an entire regime on the docks, with no one to back his play except for his own gumption, and the unquenchable desire to stop being a “bum” (as he’s called in the film) and become a man for once.

On the Waterfront is the very definition of a perfect movie. Marlon Brando knocked this role out of the park, playing a sort of James Dean variation on the tortured hero, effectively solidifying him as a powerhouse actor for the 50s through the 1970s. At the same time, the film was initially met with some controversy, as director Elia Kazan was infamously an ex member of the American Communist Party and went on record as a witness against several other members of the film writing community, only for On the Waterfront to come out a year later and win 8 academy awards. Still, the film itself is a masterpiece, with Marlon Brando taking front and center as the cocky drifter without a care, who finally finds something (and someone) to actually care about.

If I had to levy any criticism against the movie at all, it’s that it is steeped heavily in that 1950s tough New Yorker type of character (which was way overdone back then) and sort of softened the true power and cruelty of the organized crime syndicates that had their hands in all of the unions back then. That being said, I sort of understand WHY it wasn’t any darker than it was due to the fact that 1950s was the last years where cinema was generally always family friendly for the most part. So all of that to say, I kinda have to look through a few minor cultural lenses to put a few quirks out of my critical head and enjoy the movie for the incredible drama that it is.




Rating:

Not Rated by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

To date the only Blu-ray in the North American domestic market is the 2013 Criterion Collection set, one which I sadly never picked up (weirdly half of the films in this set were released on Criterion, and I don’t think I actually owned ANY of them in those releases. DVD only) so I can’t compare the two discs, but I can confirm that this is a STELLAR 4K remaster by Sony Pictures in this set. Spread across 4 discs (three 4K UHD discs, each sporting the 3 different aspect ratios that the film was released in over the years, and a 4th Blu-ray disc) the various encodes look absolutely fantastic, sporting a rich HEAVY layer of film grain that is almost obtrusively heavy in the opening scene where Terry sets up his friend, only to be dialed back a good bit as the film continues. Image clarity is superb, with fantastic close ups, incredible use of contrast and blacks with the Dolby Vision, and literally ZERO flaws that I could ascertain. I couldn’t even get a glimpse of crush or banding anywhere on the 3 discs, and the end result had me biting my knuckles in excitement.

Nerd moment, while some people may have a preference for which aspect ratio they want to watch, the 1.85:1 is notoriously famous for being the ratio that “normies” watch to get rid of black bars, with the 1.66:1 version being the popular theatrical aspect ratio that I feel is “best” in terms of framing and visualization on screen. But you can’t go wrong and each version is impeccable, so choose which disc you want to view.





Audio:

While I’ve said in the other reviews for these classic films that I really wondered WHY Atmos was used and how much it would benefit the films, On the Waterfront really takes the cake for “why would this be necessary?”. The film is a 70 year old film captured in single channel mono, and then slowly upmixed to a front heavy 5.1 track over the years. Now it gets expanded even MORE to a Dolby Atmos track? When will it stop!? All joking aside, I am partially correct. On the Waterfront is only marginally better than the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track, still keeping the front heavy dialog centric mix that it is known for, and adding some subtle directional cues throughout the film. Overhead use is strictly limited to score based activity, and the surround channels only get moderate activity. That being said, it is very delicately done, and still sounds fantastic. Luckily for us, the original theatrical Mono mix is on each disc, as well as the older 5.1 mix from the last few decades. Much like the 4 different discs with 3 different aspect ratios, fans have a plethora of choices to choose from, and one of them are inherently “wrong”.






Extras:

• Audio Commentary
• Martin Scorsese & Kent Jones
• Contender: Mastering the Method
• Interview with Director Elia Kazan
• Budd Schulberg: A Righteous Indignation
• Boris Kaufman: A Vision Beyond Borders
• Eva Marie Saint Interview (
• Thomas Hanley Interview
• On the Aspect Ratio
• Photo Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer










I hold On the Waterfront to the highest standards that I possibly can, and agree that it is probably one of the best movies of all time. It’s been taught in film classes for over 40 years, and to this day manages to elicit powerful emotions from the viewer. It also marks the starting point of Marlon Brando’s illustrious career, and catapulted him to the super star that he’s remembered as being (outside of The Island of Dr. Moreau of course). The 4K UHD set is quite stunning, with all 3 aspect ratios the film was released in, with a solid Atmos track combined with the original mono and the 5.1 mix, to enjoy as well. Whether you buy the entire box set for this one film, or wait for a stand alone release, be warned that this is simply superb and worth every penny. My only complaint in the entire package is that this set is missing some of the extras from the Criterion release, otherwise this set is virtually flawless. Must Own in my opinion.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Leif Erickson
Directed by: Elia Kazan
Written by: Budd Schulberg, Malcolm Johnson, Robert Siodmak
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 / 1.66:1 / 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English DTS-HD MA 5.1, English, Frenchk, German, Italian, Spanish (Latin), Spanish (Castilian) DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Korean, Norwegian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rated: NR
Runtime: 108 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: October 22nd, 2024