"on-the-waterfront"

How long since you’ve seen “On the Waterfront”? I just had the privilege of screening it again on the big screen at The Bedford Playhouse, and after nearly seven decades this brilliant film holds up extraordinarily well. It is, in fact, a masterpiece- a term I rarely invoke.

In his final years, Marlon Brando was not a beloved figure. After his death in 2004, the prevailing sentiment was that Brando was selfish and arrogant, that he squandered his talent for money. Some critics sounded downright miffed, as if a good kick in Brando’s increasingly ample rear-end might have shocked him back to a full appreciation of what he owed his audience.   Though you can’t deny the prevailing sense of waste in Brando’s career, the simple fact remains: no other actor can touch the best of his work. After he exploded onto the Hollywood scene with 1951's "A Streetcar Named Desire," he cemented his status as a cinema legend by painfully mourning "I coulda had class, I coulda been a contender!" in "On the Waterfront" (1954), and despite later missteps, has remained an icon ever since.  It’s Marlon Brando’s 90th birthday today. Here are three ways to celebrate like the big man himself.