Editing On the Waterfront (section)

==Reception==
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.<ref>'The Top Box-Office Hits of 1954', ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' (January 5, 1955)</ref> In his July 29, 1954, review, ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' critic A. H. Weiler called the film "an uncommonly powerful, exciting, and imaginative use of the screen by gifted professionals".<ref>Weiler, A. H. [https://www.nytimes.com/1954/07/29/movies/19540729waterfront.html?_r=0 "Movie Review: On the Waterfront"] ''[[New York Times]]'' (July 29, 1954)</ref>

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".<ref name="RT">{{cite web |title=On the Waterfront |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/on_the_waterfront/ |access-date=August 13, 2023 |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]]}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film holds a weighted average score of 91 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".<ref>{{Cite web |title=On the Waterfront Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/on-the-waterfront |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[Fandom, Inc.]]}}</ref>

Gaining the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] and being named the greatest and second-greatest film performance of all time by Aaron West of [[The Criterion Collection|Criterion]] and by ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'' respectively,<ref>{{cite news|last=Pryor |first=Thomas M. |title='Waterfront,' Brando, Grace Kelly Win 'Oscars' |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/specials/oscars/flashback-1954.html |access-date=August 1, 2020 |work=The New York Times |location=Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States |date=March 31, 1955}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=West |first=Aaron |title=On the Waterfront: The Great Performances |url=https://criterioncloseup.com/2015/05/15/on-the-waterfront-the-great-performances/ |access-date=August 24, 2020 |work=Criterion Close-Up |date=May 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=100 Greatest Movie Performances of All Time by Premiere Magazine § Part 4 |url=https://www.filmsite.org/100greatperformances4.html |access-date=August 1, 2020 |website=[[Filmsite.org]] }}</ref> Brando's performance is regarded as one of the watershed moments in the history of movies.<ref>Khairy, Wael. [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-on-the-waterfront-1954 "Review: On the Waterfront'(1954)."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314131915/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-on-the-waterfront-1954 |date=March 14, 2014 }} ''Roger Ebert.com'', March 21, 1999. Retrieved April 5, 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Khairy |first=Wael |title=He coulda been a contender |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/he-coulda-been-a-contender |access-date=August 18, 2020 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]] |date=September 21, 2011}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web|agency=[[Associated Press]] |title=Marlon Brando redefined acting |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/marlon-brando-redefined-acting-wbna5354214 |access-date=July 20, 2020 |work=Official website of The Today Show |date=July 3, 2004}}</ref> 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."{{sfn|Girgus|1998|p=175}}

[[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."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hunter|first=Allan|url=https://archive.list.co.uk/the-list/1994-07-29/71/|title=Wild at heart|date=July 29, 1994|issue=232|work=[[The List (magazine)|The List]]|page=69|access-date=August 18, 2020}}</ref> [[Anthony Hopkins]] said, "When you see Brando in the famous cab scene in ''On the Waterfront'', it's still breathtaking."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/altoona-mirror-apr-09-1998-p-23/|title=NEA Crossword|date=April 9, 1998|work=[[Altoona Mirror]]|page=23|access-date=August 18, 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Nicholson |first=Jack |author-link=Jack Nicholson |title=Remembering Marlon Brando, by Jack Nicholson |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/remembering-marlon-brando-by-jack-nicholson-187366/ |access-date=August 1, 2020 |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 19, 2004}}</ref>

===Awards and nominations===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="12"| [[27th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Motion Picture]]
| [[Sam Spiegel]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="12"| <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1955 |title=The 27th Academy Awards (1955) Nominees and Winners |access-date=August 20, 2011 |publisher=Oscars.org ([[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]])}}</ref> <br /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36311/On-the-Waterfront/awards |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090429083620/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/36311/On-the-Waterfront/awards |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 29, 2009 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2009 |title=On the Waterfront |access-date=December 21, 2008}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Elia Kazan]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| [[Marlon Brando]]
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]]
| [[Lee J. Cobb]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Karl Malden]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Rod Steiger]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Eva Marie Saint]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Story and Screenplay]]
| [[Budd Schulberg]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Production Design|Best Art Direction – Black-and-White]]
| [[Richard Day (art director)|Richard Day]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography – Black-and-White]]
| [[Boris Kaufman]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Gene Milford]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture]]
| [[Leonard Bernstein]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[Bambi Award]]s
| colspan="2"| Best Film – International
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| 
|-
| Best Actor – International
| Marlon Brando
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Bodil Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Bodil Award for Best American Film|Best American Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |title=1955 |website=Bodilprisen |date=October 19, 2015 |url=http://www.bodilprisen.dk/aar-for-aar/1955-2/ |language=Danish |access-date=June 29, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[8th British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film|Best Film from any Source]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1955/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1955 |website=[[BAFTA]] |year=1955 |access-date=September 16, 2016 |ref={{harvid|BAFTA|1955}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Foreign Actor]]
| Marlon Brando
| {{won}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|Most Promising Newcomer to Film]]
| Eva Marie Saint
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[7th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1950s/1954.aspx?value=1954 |title=7th DGA Awards |website=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[12th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/waterfront |title=On the Waterfront – Golden Globes |website=[[HFPA]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |ref={{harvid|HFPA|1955}}}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Marlon Brando
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
|-
| Best Cinematography – Black and White
| Boris Kaufman
| {{won}}
|-
| [[International Film Music Critics Association|International Film Music Critics Association Awards]]
| [[International Film Music Critics Association Award for Best New Archival Release of an Existing Score – Re-Release or Re-Recording|Best Archival Release of an Existing Score – <br /> Re-Release or Re-Recording]]
| Leonard Bernstein, Douglass Fake, <br /> Frank K. DeWald, and Joe Sikoryak
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmmusiccritics.org/awards-archive/ifmca-awards-2014/ |title=2014 IFMCA Awards |author=[[International Film Music Critics Association|IFMCA]] |date= 2015 | website= IFMCA |accessdate= May 1, 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[Nastro d'Argento]]
| Best Foreign Film
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Awards 1954|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1954/ |title=1954 Award Winners |website=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[National Film Preservation Board]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Film Registry]]
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |website=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=December 16, 2015}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[1954 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyfcc.com/awards/?awardyear=1954 |title=1954 New York Film Critics Circle Awards |website=[[New York Film Critics Circle]] |access-date=July 5, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| Elia Kazan
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Marlon Brando
| {{won}}
|-
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| Eva Marie Saint
| {{nom}}
|-
| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Hall of Fame – Motion Picture
| {{won|Inducted}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oftaawards.com/film-hall-of-fame/film-hall-of-fame-productions/ |title=Film Hall of Fame Inductees: Productions |website=Online Film & Television Association |access-date=August 15, 2021}}</ref>
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[15th Venice International Film Festival|Venice International Film Festival]]
| [[Golden Lion]]
| rowspan="4"| Elia Kazan
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| 
|-
| [[Silver Lion]]
| {{won}}
|-
| OCIC Award
| {{won}}
|-
| Pasinetti Award
| {{won}}
|-
| [[7th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written Drama|Best Written American Drama]]
| Budd Schulberg
| {{won}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |work=wga.org |publisher=Writers Guild of America |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|}

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 films|Vatican's list of 45 important films]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archive.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |title=Vatican Best Films List |publisher=USCCB |access-date=March 7, 2010 |archive-date=April 18, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070418125227/http://www.usccb.org/movies/vaticanfilms.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref>

'''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