“It is still possible to feel the power of the film and of Brando and Kazan, who changed American movie acting forever.”
– Roger Ebert
“It is one of the most powerful American movies of the 50s, and few movies caused so much talk, excitement, and dissension – largely because of Marlon Brando's performance as the inarticulate, instinctively alienated bum, Terry Malloy.”
– Pauline Kael, 5001 Nights at the Movies
“On the Waterfront brought together a combination of extraordinary talents and this is undoubtedly one of the reasons why it is so contradictory and so powerful. The film exudes an energy in which raw realism, theatricality and a distant, dream-like atmosphere pull in different directions. At the same time, it is also a hard-hitting film of the outside world in which the power of the real New York waterfronts upsets any trace of a theatrical structure.”
– Peter von Bagh, Il Cinema Ritrovato
“Indisputably one of the great American films, its power undiminished.”
– Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
“Marlon Brando's performance in On the Waterfront is arguably the most influential acting performance of all time. Generations of actors would be inspired by his performance /…/.”
– Al Weisel, Defining Moments in Movies: The Greatest Films, Stars, Scenes, and Events that Made Movie Magic.