Marathon Man

Marathon Man (1976)

Runtime: 125 minutes

Directed by: John Schlesinger

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller

From: Paramount

This seemed like the sort of paranoid 70’s thriller that should have been viewed long ago by me… it was. Turner Classic Movies played the film last night-it seemed the right time to finally pull the trigger-or perhaps I should say, “Start the dentist’s drill.” Through cultural osmosis and being a movie fan, I did know the movie’s most (in)famous scene-it involves a horrifying version of dentistry. Well, it was two scenes but Marathon Man should be remembered for more than those moments.

Dustin Hoffman is a marathon runner who is on the immature side, especially compared to his older “He has a secret job with the federal government” brother Roy Scheider. I won’t reveal how an old Jewish man having a road rage incident in New York City resulting in a fiery crash relates to the brothers or why Nazi war criminal Laurence Olivier (hiding in Uruguay for decades) left the country for America. I will say that it’s after Watergate-you probably shouldn’t be surprised at the movie’s characterization of the government or who works for them.

What enticed me was my affinity for such films and the cast-there’s also William Devane, Fritz Weaver for a few scenes, Richard Bright, & this movie included, the rare occasions I’ve seen Marthe Keller, she’s done a fine job.

What won me over is the thought-provoking plot where the brothers deal with the grief of losing their father young due to McCarthyism and false accusations of Communism, the explanation of why Hoffman’s “Babe” became a long-distance runner (which naturally is useful for him in a scene), the period cinematography & score, the intensity throughout-whether an undercurrent or boiling over-the views of New York City & Paris in the 70’s, the maturation of Babe throughout the picture. There are also some grand moments I was impressed by which I dare not spoil.

Hoffman’s performance is quality-but so is Olivier, and Sir Laurence had to deal with serious health problems at the time—you couldn’t tell on screen. Famously, there are rumors that the two leads argued with each other over acting techniques, Dustin famous for method acting. Hoffman allegedly stayed up for a few days because his character did so… Olivier allegedly retorted, “Why don’t you try acting?” Evidently, Laurence was just ribbing because Ol’ Dustin had a hard night of partying.

In any case, if you dig the thrillers from this decade and are intrigued by the Jewish angle, Marathon Man is well worth checking out.