B+

A good and at moments great film, but not really near one of the best. I feel there were some flaws, Eva Marie Saint's character being one of them. She was decent and the role and god knows she looked gorgeous, but for me I would've liked a bit more depth out, throughout the film as typical in female leads back in the day, she's the typical helpless girl who needs Terry to protect her and court her, yada yada yada. Lee J. Cobb as the mob boss was also the typical over the top and screaming villain, though I did like the structure of his mob that Kazan made. The idea of fear of being whacked keeping everyone's mouth shut when cops ask for testimonies, is a very good one and some excellent tension and suspense is used in showing it.

The other problem I had was a somewhat plothole, I didn't feel it made sense for the mobsters to kill Terry's brother the night before the testimony, it's locking up his decision to rat them out, pissing him off like that.

Brando is quite strong as the lead, as I expected, I wouldn't say it's an all time great for me, but I think he most likely deserved the Oscar. He did have a stocky likability factor to him, and in moments, particularily in everything from the contender scene on, brilliance is shown, in particular when he kicks down the door, sees his brother dead, and most of all when he gives the monologue before the fight at the end. I feel he was subtle for a lot of the movie, not that that's a bad thing at all, but in the movie when he did go to those emotional and angry places he was so on, I wished he went more. I don't know how Saint won her Oscar, she was good but not any more than the female heroine typically is in these movies... I guess lack of competition in a movie that dominated the awards did it, probably.

Cinematography is very good, scenes like the alley chase are shot very well. Score is also excellent.

Is it one of the best? Nah. But it's worth a watch, I'd say.

Yeah, Eva Marie Saint is the weak link in this otherwise great movie. Brando is, well, Brando and Karl Malden is always solid. A-.

B+


I feel similar to Shack on this one. It is good, but not great. What elevated the movie to me from solid to really good was Brando's great performance and the powerful ending. Other than that, it was just a decent film about a man's transformation from bad-to-good. What I couldn't agree more about with Shack is Eva Marie Saint's rather weak performance. I would go as far as saying that she was not only undeserving of her Oscar, but generally not even close to deserving a nom. A very average, at times weak, performance.

Eva Marie Saint may not have knocked it out of the park, but god she's gorgeous.

Anyways I for one completely feel that it's a classic, and one that stands the test of time, particularly after the first act.

Safe ending aside, a completely enthralling film that stands beyond its controversial political background thanks to a tight script (Sans ending) and masterful performances. There's a reason that cab scene is so well remembered.

****.5

I kind of prefer Streetcar in just about every way, though that's more a compliment to that film than an insult to this one

I just saw this last night, so it's kind of weird that this popped up around the same time.

But I liked it...didn't love it as most do, but it was enjoyable. Brando was of course fantastic, but I will agree that Eva Marie was not fantastic. I am kind of surprised to see she won, actually. On other accounts, the screenplay was excellent and I can see why this is so loved, but it still didn't impress me as much I as I thought it would.

B+

As great as Brando is, I think Malden and Steiger get overlooked a lot of the time; they're just as fantastic. The cab scene is so memorable because of the interaction between Brando and Steiger, not just the former's famous monologue.

The political message didn't really bother me, mostly because I don't think it's that prevalent.

one of the most overrated classics of this period I've seen.
**or2.5/5orCor54%

It learneth.

First 30 minutes and last 30 minutes are great. I wasn't buying the romance though, and the middle section dragged because of it. Cinematography, score and acting still put this at a B+/A-.

It's a decent watch, nothing that amazing but way better than Streetcar and just like that film actually it's mainly Brando worth seeing this for, he just adds character to the screen. It's quite the slow paced, not that eventful film though, but the rest of the cast is quite pleasant too and it makes it feel like a proper drama.

B-

I don’t remember ever watching this movie. Yet here is my review. Weird.

Use to live right by the church they filmed at. The museum is pretty fun. Hoboken is not like this anymore.