Marlon Brando gives the performance of his career as the tough prizefighter-turned-longshoreman Terry Malloy in this masterpiece of urban poetry. A raggedly emotional tale of individual failure and social corruption, On the Waterfront follows Terry’s deepening moral crisis as he must decide whether to remain loyal to the mob-connected union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) and Johnny’s right-hand man, Terry’s brother, Charley (Rod Steiger), as the authorities close in on them. Driven by the vivid, naturalistic direction of Elia Kazan and savory, streetwise dialogue by Budd Schulberg, On the Waterfront was an instant sensation, winning eight Oscars®, including for best picture, director, actor, supporting actress (Eva Marie Saint), and screenplay.

TWO BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Alternate presentations of the restoration in two additional aspect ratios: 1.85:1 (widescreen) and 1.33:1 (full-screen)
Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio
Audio commentary by authors Richard Schickel and Jeff Young
New conversation between filmmaker Martin Scorsese and critic Kent Jones
Elia Kazan: Outsider (1982), an hour-long documentary
New documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with scholar Leo Braudy, critic David Thomson, and others
New interview with actor Eva Marie Saint
Interview with director Elia Kazan from 2001
Contender: Mastering the Method, a 2001 documentary on the film’s most famous scene
New interview with longshoreman Thomas Hanley, an actor in the film
New interview with author James T. Fisher about the real-life people and places behind the film
Visual essay on Leonard Bernstein’s score
Visual essay on the aspect ratio
Trailer
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
PLUS: An essay by filmmaker Michael Almereyda, Kazan’s 1952 defense of his House Un-American Activities Committee testimony, one of the 1948 Malcolm Johnson articles that inspired the film, and a 1953 piece by screenwriter Budd Schulberg

Best Films of All Time (Vatican List)