Marathon Man (1976)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

John Schlesinger

Writers:

William Goldman (screenplay)
William Goldman (novel)

Release Date:

8 October 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A graduate history student is unwittingly caught in the middle of an international conspiracy involving stolen diamonds, an exiled Nazi war criminal, and a rogue government agent.

Plot Keywords:

Jewish Americans | Telephone Booth | Dental Instruments | Sex | Yom Kippur

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Thomas 'Babe' Levy
Laurence Olivier	...	Dr. Christian Szell
Roy Scheider	...	Henry 'Doc' Levy
William Devane	...	Peter Janeway
Marthe Keller	...	Elsa Opel
Fritz Weaver	...	Professor Biesenthal
Richard Bright	...	Karl
Marc Lawrence	...	Erhard
Allen Joseph	...	Babe's Father
Tito Goya	...	Melendez
Ben Dova	...	Klaus Szell
Lou Gilbert	...	Rosenbaum
Jacques Marin	...	LeClerc
James Wing Woo	...	Chen
Nicole Deslauriers	...	Nicole

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Spanish

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo | Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | Brazil:14 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) (2003) (uncut version) | Finland:K-16 (1988) (cut version) | France:-16 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1977) | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

47th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Gelderse Maatschappij N.V.

Trivia:

Outtakes reveal a couple of things. First, Laurence Olivier had trouble using the large switchblade made for his character. Often, he would try to activate it and the blade would not come out. Second, several actors enjoyed imitating the unique speech patterns of producer Robert Evans. Years later, Dustin Hoffman used that imitation for his performance in Wag the Dog (1997).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Doc and Babe first meet Babe is asleep. After he wakes up he asks Doc what time it is and Doc says it is about midnight. The two room windows in the background show bright sunlight.

Quotes:

Christian Szell: Well, what are you going to do now, shoot me?
Babe: No, I don't think so.
Christian Szell: [referring to the diamonds] Then you're going to take these from me? If I could say a word about that...
Babe: No, you can keep them. You can keep as many as you can swallow.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Day in Hell: On the Set of 'Jeepers Creepers II' (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Der Neugierige

Yeeks!

Quite apart from the infamous torture scene, which I found extremely difficult to watch without howling in horror (actually that's a lie, I DID howl) this film is FULL of nervous tension that occasionally boils over - the way it's been done is masterful. The bouncing-ball scene in the darkened building should be utterly prosaic, but it really isn't - the way it's choreographed and shot brings such an air of menace and trepidation you'll be biting your nails off. There's much of a similar vein in 'Marathon Man', and although the storyline is sometimes almost buried through the relentless suffocating tension, it's extremely watchable (with a cushion to hide behind at certain points) and one of the greatest non-Hitchcock thrillers I've ever seen. Don't hesitate!