Mark your calendars! “On the Waterfront”, one of the most esteemed of American films, will be playing free to viewers next week at The Center for the Arts.
One of the rewarding pleasures of movies is seeing a film with friends and then chatting about it when the lights come up. That’s just what Piedmont’s Flix Fest, which meets on the second Thursday of each month, offers: a great movie in a comfortable setting, and then a lively discussion of it afterward.
This month’s offering from 1954 was helmed by Elia Kazan, for whom it won a best director Academy Award. Its compelling story centers on a New Jersey dockworker, Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando), who was an up-and-coming boxer until a vicious local mob boss, Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb), forced him to throw a fight. When a longshoreman is murdered to prevent him from testifying about Friendly’s control of the waterfront, Terry teams up with the dead man’s sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), and a streetwise priest, Father Barry (Karl Malden), to testify himself.
The scene in which Terry’s older brother Charley (Rod Steiger), tries to dissuade him from speaking up is one the the most famous in movie history. It’s the “I coulda been a contender” scene, containing, many have said, the finest example of acting in any American film. It’s heartbreaking.
“On the Waterfront” won numerous awards, including best picture, best actor for Marlon Brando, and best supporting actress for Eva Marie Saint. Leonard Bernstein’s edgy musical score deserved an award, too.
“On the Waterfront” will be screened on March 13, at 1:00 p.m. Sponsored by the Rec Department, the event takes place in the Center for the Arts at 801 Magnolia Avenue on the second Thursday of each month. Doors will open at 12:45 p.m. The event is free and available to anyone over 18 years of age. Participants are invited on a drop-in basis, though registration with the PRD is encouraged and can be done at https://bit.ly/3PJyxkP. Everyone is welcome to bring snacks or lunch.
The next movie in the Piedmont series is the charming French comedy “Amelie”, to be screened on April 10.