To quote an appropriate cliché, On the Waterfront hasn’t lost one bit of its punch. There is an immediacy to it, from the authentic New Jersey settings to the no-frills, often documentary-style direction by Elia Kazan to the powerful and honest performances throughout. The screenplay by Budd Schulberg, based on his own story, seems particularly relevant today, due to a recent rise in anti-union sentiment and a blind eye turned willfully away from “organized corruption.” It’s all too clear that not everyone looks out for the little guy, regardless of presumption or appearance. This film makes an interesting companion piece to John Ford’s How Green Was My Valley, which took home top honors in 1941. It’s another union-themed tale from a different century and culture that depicts the abuse of power waged against the common man.

Watching each Oscar-winning film in chronological order provides a unique overview, revealing the Academy’s shifting tastes, with occasional welcome breaks in the norm, like An American in Paris, but I can also see when the art of filmmaking takes a leap forward. This is one of those times. Starting with technical advancements, it’s the first Best Picture released in widescreen, although there is a debate regarding the “correct” way to present it. The answer is it was shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Boris Kaufman, who understood his work would be exhibited by theatres throughout the country that weren’t yet capable of projecting anything but the standard ratio (1.33:1), or at most a more modest 1.66:1 widescreen format. The movie premiered in 1.85:1 with few cities equipped to show it that way. I’m watching the Criterion release on Blu-ray. It offers all three ratios but leads with the 1.66:1 matted format, considered the preferred way to experience it today. In addition, this Criterion Blu-ray has the soundtrack remixed in 5.1 surround, which serves to enhance Leonard Bernstein’s brilliant, agitated film score. The result? The movie feels more modern than all of its predecessors, despite the black-and-white film stock. Add these technical aspects of image and sound to the natural acting, dialogue, and locations, and it’s a work that helped usher the art form into a new era.

Oscar-winners Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint.

Not enough praise can be heaped on the performances, starting with Brando’s Oscar-winning turn as Terry Malloy, a dockworker and former up-and-coming prize fighter who threw a key boxing match to help his older brother Charley fix the fight for his boss Johnny Friendly. Terry is damaged goods, with limited intelligence and a conscience that plagues him but ultimately propels this story forward. He utters one of the most memorable lines in film history when he says to his brother: “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.” Three first-rate actors deliver indelible, Oscar-nominated performances for Best Supporting Actor: Rod Steiger as Terry’s brother Charley “the Gent,” Lee J. Cobb as corrupt boss-man Johnny Friendly, and Karl Malden as Father Barry, who struggles with how to help these longshoreman and relieve them of their plight. There’s also the Oscar-winning film debut of Eva Marie Saint as Edie, who is the sister of a fallen victim to Friendly’s machine. Her opening moments are electrifying, with all the raw rage and pain on display as she faces the death of her brother.

Even smaller roles are memorable, with up-and-coming talent that would endure for decades—Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, and Pat Hingle among them—but ultimately this is Kazan at his finest. He knows just where to place the camera, actors, and edits to build tension or make us ill at ease or feel like voyeurs, peeping at personal conversations as if they were happening in front of our eyes on the street. Ironically, it’s the intimacy that makes this film so big.

Marlon Brando and Karl Malden.

On the Waterfront was an artistic and commercial success when it was released. “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies” placed it at #8 in 1998. It’s easy to see why, and it’s a no-brainer as the Best Picture of 1954.

On the Waterfront