On the Waterfront

Overall I thought that the movie On The Waterfront was pretty good. The characters were very well played by the actors and actresses. The scene where Terry sees his brother dead was especially well done. Terry's emotion and anger was so real, it really gave the viewers a sense of what he was feeling. Also, I really enjoyed the scene at the end, when Terry walks into the work place after being brutally beat up by Johnny friendly's mobsters. It was a very powerful scene and I thought it rappe up the movie very nicely: finally the workers win. The best was seeing Johnny Friendly's face when he realized he'd been beat. He could no longer bully the workers around, for they were building self-confidence. Camera angles were also very well done. I felt that the scene directly after Doogan's death, where the priest is speaking in front of the workers with the mob listening in overhead, had very appropriate camera angles. Low shots looking up at the mobsters revealed their power and control over the workers, who were always shot from above. The particular low shot with the priest riding the lift up (after his conversation with the workers) symbolizes how he, by standing up for what he believes in, is doing the right thing and will therefore be "raised up" after death. In conclusion I thought this film was much much much better than The 400 Blows, which was dull and pointless.