Marathon Man (1976)

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:

War Criminal | Nazi | Dentist | New York | Diamond

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Der Marathon-Mann (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Anthropokynigito (Greece) [el]
Der Marathon Mann (West Germany) [de]
Il maratoneta (Italy) [it]
Ish Ha-Maraton (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
La maratón de la muerte (Venezuela) [es]
Le coureur de marathon (Canada: French title) [fr]
Marathon Man (Spain) [es]
Marathon Man (France) [fr]
Marathonmanden (Denmark) [da]
Maraton életre-halálra (Hungary) [hu]
Maratona da Morte (Brazil) [pt]
Maratonac (Serbia) [sr]
Maratonczyk (Poland) [pl]
Maratonmannen (Sweden) [sv]
Maratoonari (Finland) [fi]
O Homem da Maratona (Portugal) [pt]
Vahsi kosu (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Spanish | Yiddish

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:X (original rating) | Brazil:14 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:18 | New Zealand:R16 | 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:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

A story circulated for a long time that Dustin Hoffman (being a "method actor") stayed up all night to play a character who has stayed up all night. Arriving on the set, Laurence Olivier asked him why he looked the way he did. Hoffman told him, to which Olivier replied in jest, "Why not try acting? It's much easier." Dustin Hoffman repeatedly denied the story, and finally cleared up the story in 2004. The torture scene was filmed early in the morning, Hoffman was going through a divorce from his first wife and was depressed, and had spend the previous two nights partying hard. Hoffman told Olivier this and his comment related to his lifestyle and not his "method" style of acting.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Chen is attempting to garrote Doc in his Paris hotel room, the blood pack attached the back of Roy Scheider's hand is clearly visible.

Quotes:

Babe: Listen, I want you to rob my apartment.
Melendez: [laughs] Why?
Babe: There are some guys out there after me, I got a gun in my desk drawer, and I want you to get me some clothes.
Melendez: What's in there for me, man?
Babe: I got a TV set, I got a hi-fi, you can take it all. Do it.
Melendez: What's the catch?
Babe: The catch is it's dangerous. Please do it.
Melendez: That ain't the catch. It's the fun.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dai-Rantô Smash Brothers Deluxe (2001) (VG)

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!