Upon its release, the film received positive reviews from critics, and was a commercial success, earning an estimated $4.2 million at the North American box office in 1954.[10] In his July 29, 1954, review, New York Times critic A. H. Weiler called the film "an uncommonly powerful, exciting, and imaginative use of the screen by gifted professionals".[11]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 99% from 111 reviews, with an average rating of 9.2/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "With his electrifying performance in Elia Kazan's thought-provoking, expertly constructed melodrama, Marlon Brando redefined the possibilities of acting for film and helped permanently alter the cinematic landscape".[12] On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[13]
Gaining the Academy Award for Best Actor and being named the greatest and second-greatest film performance of all time by Aaron West of Criterion and by Premiere respectively,[14][15][16] Brando's performance is regarded as one of the watershed moments in the history of movies.[17][18] Through his portrayal of Terry Malloy, Brando popularized method acting and conclusively exemplified the power of Stanislavski-based approach in cinema. Praising Brando in 2004, director Martin Scorsese noted: "Everything that we know about the power of great screen acting relates back to him: when you watch his work in On the Waterfront ... you're watching the purest poetry imaginable, in dynamic motion".[19] Kazan, the director of the film, would later write in his book, "If there is a better performance by a man in the history of film in America, I don't know what it is."[20]
Al Pacino, recounting his own memories on first seeing On the Waterfront, told Playboy in a 1979 interview that he concentrated more on the lead actor than the film itself, "I couldn't move. I couldn't leave the theatre. I'd never seen the like of it."[21] Anthony Hopkins said, "When you see Brando in the famous cab scene in On the Waterfront, it's still breathtaking."[22] In a eulogy for Brando, Jack Nicholson described his display "probably the height of any age", and added that, "You just couldn't take your eyes off the guy. He was spellbinding."[23]
Awards and nominations
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Motion Picture | Sam Spiegel | Won | [24] [25] |
| Best Director | Elia Kazan | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Marlon Brando | Won | ||
| Best Supporting Actor | Lee J. Cobb | Nominated | ||
| Karl Malden | Nominated | |||
| Rod Steiger | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Eva Marie Saint | Won | ||
| Best Story and Screenplay | Budd Schulberg | Won | ||
| Best Art Direction – Black-and-White | Richard Day | Won | ||
| Best Cinematography – Black-and-White | Boris Kaufman | Won | ||
| Best Film Editing | Gene Milford | Won | ||
| Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture | Leonard Bernstein | Nominated | ||
| Bambi Awards | Best Film – International | Won | ||
| Best Actor – International | Marlon Brando | Nominated | ||
| Bodil Awards | Best American Film | Won | [26] | |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Film from any Source | Nominated | [27] | |
| Best Foreign Actor | Marlon Brando | Won | ||
| Most Promising Newcomer to Film | Eva Marie Saint | Nominated | ||
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | Elia Kazan | Won | [28] |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Won | [29] | |
| Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama | Marlon Brando | Won | ||
| Best Director – Motion Picture | Elia Kazan | Won | ||
| Best Cinematography – Black and White | Boris Kaufman | Won | ||
| International Film Music Critics Association Awards | Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording | Leonard Bernstein, Douglass Fake, Frank K. DeWald, and Joe Sikoryak | Won | [30] |
| Nastro d'Argento | Best Foreign Film | Elia Kazan | Won | |
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | Won | [31] | |
| Best Film | Won | |||
| National Film Preservation Board | National Film Registry | Inducted | [32] | |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Film | Won | [33] | |
| Best Director | Elia Kazan | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Marlon Brando | Won | ||
| Best Actress | Eva Marie Saint | Nominated | ||
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Inducted | [34] | |
| Venice International Film Festival | Golden Lion | Elia Kazan | Nominated | |
| Silver Lion | Won | |||
| OCIC Award | Won | |||
| Pasinetti Award | Won | |||
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written American Drama | Budd Schulberg | Won | [35] |
In 1989, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
In 1995, it made it on the Vatican's list of 45 greatest films.[36]
American Film Institute recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies – #8
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains:
- Terry Malloy – #23 Hero
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes:
- "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody instead of a bum, which is what I am." – #3
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #22
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Cheers – #36
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #19
