Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Btexxamar I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Frances Chung Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

alexanderdavies-99382 "Marathon Man" is surely one of the leading thrillers of the 1970s. Its bleak, harsh and uncompromising narrative never lets up until the end of the film. I have to confess that I am not the biggest fan of Laurence Olivier. I find his acting style to be somewhat over the top and not always very subtle. His approach to his acting might have been better suited to the theatre ( Alec Guinness is easily his equal and is more comfortable with on-screen acting) Even so, Olivier is very good here as the Nazi war criminal who comes out of his hiding place from South America and who travels to New York to meet his fellow members. Dustin Hoffman has racked up another winning performance as the student who feels slightly persecuted by his late father's past. Hoffman is one of the greatest actors to appear on the scene in the 1960s. That criminally under-rated actor Roy Scheider is brilliant as the rogue government agent. He should have had more screen time. The whole film has a distinct air of menace about it as Dustin Hoffman shows natural courage and determination in spite of himself whilst fighting the secret Nazi movement that is hoping to silence him.

stephenw-30180 There are obviously many reviews of this film. This is lent to the fact it was made and released in the mid seventies. The period in which I feel many of the greatest American films ever made were shot.I've read about 10 random reviews on this film. The vast majority is praise and cheers. Of course, there are always the dissenting perspectives, which everyone is entitled to. I have to say, however, if ANYONE among the 170+ reviews of this film gave it anything less then an 8 (of 10) you have no clue as to what makes a great Thriller, great.An early reviewer gave this film a 4! I read it out of sheer curiosity. Clearly this person has a strong command of the English language and good grammatical skills which do not lend credibility to the review. This person makes an attempt at undermining the brilliance of this tremendous thriller born from a great Novel with his rhetoric. The "Star Power" of this film is undeniable. This, however, does not a great film make. The plot and story line is thrilling and tense. The tension is palpable during the last 2/3rd's of the film. The first 1/3, albeit a bit slow, is necessary for story and character building. Each player is portrayed and introduced with meaningful purpose and sets the stage for a harrowing thrill ride till the very end. There are a couple sub plots that get a bit convoluted but nary a one takes away from the film enough to barely mention. Hoffman, Olivier, Scheider and Keller's performances are all brilliant. Growing up and working in the exact area where many scenes are shot (lower Manhattan's financial district, particularly south street seaport) and seeing it now vs. then is interesting as much of Manhattan was in poor shape and disrepair during the time of the shooting of this film. (Wealthy areas excluded) That, for me personally, is one of the things I liked most about this film. My personal familiarity with the set locations. That said, disregarding that fact, I still believe it to be one of the BEST thrillers ever made for the Silver screen. Watch for yourself...there are scenes in Marathon Man that will be burnt into your brain for many decades if not the rest of your life. It's that remarkable.

reid-hawk There isn't much I can say about this movie as a whole that hasn't been said. It has some great moments (the "is it safe" scene comes to mind) and some pretty terrible scenes (the car explosion scene with the obvious dummys in the car, or the scene where the old Jewish lady obviously doesn't get hit by the car but falls over in pain anyways) but overall it's a pretty exceptional thriller. But what I love most about this movie is the score. It starts off very 80s and generic with synthetic rifts, but it slowly evolves into an orchestral choir with string instruments and piano. Eventually the two styles mix, giving the sound something in between both synthetic and orchestral, which adds lots of tension throughout scenes due to the jarring sound. The score also knows when to go away and let the scenes speak for themselves. Overall the score itself helps elevate this movie to near-greatness.

Gideon24 A compelling, if slightly overly complex story, polished and professional direction by John Schlesinger, and a pair of brilliant lead performances combine to make the 1976 film Marathon Man an absolute must-see.The film stars Dustin Hoffman as Babe, a highly intelligent graduate student who finds himself embroiled in the middle of an international conspiracy involving a cache of diamonds and a former Nazi war criminal named Szell (Laurence Olivier).William Goldman's screenplay, based on his own novel, is a bit on the complex side, but the complexity can almost be forgiven because the story unfolds so slowly. We are initially confused as we watch Babe begin a new graduate course and then watch a public argument on a busy street between two men screaming at each other in German which climaxes with one of their vehicles exploding. We are confused as we watch Babe's brother, Doc (Roy Scheider), fend off a murder attempt in a hotel room before showing up on Babe's doorstep. But we then realize that Doc has put Babe in danger by coming to visit him and has gotten Babe involved in a very dangerous international conspiracy where Babe is put in serious danger only because he's related to Doc.Schlesinger has crafted a story that develops slowly, but keeps us interested until we realize exactly what's going on and how much undeserved danger Babe is in. The film is most famous for a torture scene which involves Szell's former occupation as a dentist, but this film provides other nightmarish elements as well, including an absolutely terrifying scene where Babe's apartment is broken into and he is almost drowned in his own bathtub.This was one of the most underrated and compelling films of 1976 with a solid performance by Hoffman and an Oscar-nominated turn from Olivier that should make the hair on the back of your neck stand-up. A winner