MovieChat Forums > On the Waterfront (1954) Discussion > First real crime movie?

First real crime movie?

posted 11 years ago by willimakeit
3 replies | jump to latest

I think people do not get the significance of this movie as there are plenty of posts that are insulting this movie.

Nowadays when people think about great crime movies they say Goodfellas, Scarface, Pulp Fiction, The Departed etc. Back before this movie came out crime movies consisted of hard-boiled detectives with a top hat trying to solve a crime while romancing a 'dame'. This movie changed that by showing a completely flawed and vulnerable character in a mob-enforced environment. As a result it changed the flow of crime dramas that came out. Sure the violence and language is tame by today's standards but I still hold this as the yardstick when it comes to this genre.

In fact I would go on to say that this is the greatest American crime-movie ever made. For those of you who didn't like this movie please watch it again. I assure you I started to love it after my third viewing.

[–] joekiddlouischama 11 years ago

This movie changed that by showing a completely flawed and vulnerable character in a mob-enforced environment.

Brando introduced a greater sense of naturalism and thus vulnerability, but I don't think the concept proved that new. In fact, one of the great motifs of the noir genre (which was largely about crime, of course) happened to be the regular guy who proved too susceptible to varying emotions and temptations and thus became trapped in a web of criminality and duplicity. Classic examples would include Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944), starring Fred MacMurray, and Criss Cross (Robert Siodmak, 1949), starring Burt Lancaster.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] hnt_dnl 8 years ago

Brando's natural, method style of acting added to the authenticity. I agree. Films like The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Departed are descendants of this masterpiece.