
Movies that feel like On the Waterfront (1954)
If you loved On the Waterfront, the closest films we have are Splendor in the Grass (1961), Pierrot le Fou (1965) and West Side Story (1961). All three share On the Waterfront's contemplative and romantic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Criterion Channel and IndieFlix and others, checked against today's data.
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If On the Waterfront hit the spot, these will too

Elia Kazan directing both, with the same fingerprints on each
The difference: None of the grit On the Waterfront is built on

The same preoccupation in both: dock

Gritty where it counts, contemplative underneath

Elia Kazan working the same nerve twice

Both land romance and tenderness at once

Both are built on the same subject: black and white

Common ground: murder

Both keep coming back to the same thing: black and white

Both lean on grit more than on crime
The difference: 20 years apart, and the 1970s show

Contemplative drama in both cases

Romance built on romance, twice over

Tender drama, and it commits to that
In the mood for more gritty?
all gritty movies βThe best-reviewed films that share On the Waterfrontβs defining feeling.









