Elia Kazan is surely one of the prolific filmmakers of the old Hollywood, his colorful life is no less fascinating. He was a member of the communist party in his early years, and later he turned around, ratted out a number of fellow communists from back then. Perhaps to remove the defector tag beside his name, he made On the Waterfront, a film based on crimes committed by the union of longshoremen, which is a cry in self-defense, a plea to see his reasoning, his righteousness. Whatever the reason was, this was a groundbreaking film.

Someone who's not au fait with the history of cinema might fail to evaluate the merit of On the Waterfront. The plot where one man dares to sing the songs of nonconformism to rise against an institution or a society from within is a quite common one, it has been used in films so many times already and quite possibly being influenced by this very film.

Terry Malloy, the protagonist of the picture, played by another prolific name of the cinema, Marlon Brando, can be a great example of metamorphosis of a character. The film documents his gradual ideological standpoints throughout the film. A point to be noted here, Terry Malloy is not a badass hero who kicks doors down guns blazing, mowing all the villains. Everyone regards him as a dumb brute and to be honest, he is that! In the beginning when the character Zoe is killed, he only protests mildly — as he does not possess the courage or the mental strength to go against the union. To do that, he would require a lot harder push — which ultimately came from the priest and the girl named Edie. He only turns one-eighty when someone close to him gets murdered by the union.

Even then, Kazan is not showing the rebel Malloy fighting the entire union all by himself and taking out everyone — rendering himself hero who saves the day, rather he's supported by the priest. At this point the film could easily turn into an action film, but it stays a drama.

And I would like to mention the a later sequence, when the union bosses are beating Terry to a pulp, none of the observing folks are trying to stop them, even knowing Terry fought for their rights, on their behalf. The reality is harsh, you can only try to save your own hide. They'd not come in his aid, whatever the situation is. Their life force is driven by their mode of livelihood, Terry Malloy, his consciousness or the threats he faces are no concerns to them. They are the good men who let evil rule the world.

Marlon Brando is an epitome of cinema acting, because of his unique expression, movements and method acting. Sure, Stella Adler taught him but considering her other students, Brando surely stands out.

[source](https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b2398e8)

I deem this film as a great one seeing how it tackles the silent, successful revolution without taking an overly dramatic approach. On top of that, the influence it has on cinema as a whole cannot be underestimated. Brando's character is the front runner of such anti-establishment characters to me. And for that scene with the pigeons — it has been permanently imprinted on my memory, I can recall it vividly at any time, any day. Drama, elevated.

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