Member chazgower01 Posted June 24, 2019 Member Share Posted June 24, 2019 Marathon Man (USA, 1976) dvd 4/5 If you want to get me to watch an American movie... 70's, New York, Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider, and what the heck, let's throw in Sir Laurence Olivier... hey, I am there! And this lives up to those expectations. Sure the first 45 minutes you observe a lot of what's going on and think - is anything really going to happen - we see Hoffman as a Grad Student, training to be a Marathon Runner - and his brother (Scheider) as some kind of slick operative in Paris. Hoffman meets a beautiful Swiss woman, and we see a German change his appearance (Olivier) and come to New York. So what IS going on? Well, all of it plays a part in the story and nothing much seems to be what it is on the surface, and that's part of what makes this such an enjoyable film to see. Never dumbed down for the average viewer, once you think you have a bearing on these people, it starts the suspense and tension and it never lets up. This isn't car chases and over machismo fighting, this is suspense and tension and... well of course the torture. "Is it safe?'", is about as memorable a 70's Hollywood catch phrase as it gets and this film lives up to its classic status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Shaolivevil Posted June 24, 2019 Member Share Posted June 24, 2019 Great movie. Sir Laurence Olivier was pure evil as Nazi doctor Christian Szell. This is one of the few movies that I liked better than the original novel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member SamSeed Posted June 26, 2019 Member Share Posted June 26, 2019 Nothing has ever come as close to capturing pure terror onscreen than the 'Is It Safe?" scene. Hoffman can't say anything to get out of it and Olivier's nonchalance as he prepares the drill is horrifying. The most gruesome torture scene in the Hostel films has nothing on this. Scheider has a good fight scene too if I recall correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member NoKUNGFUforYU Posted June 27, 2019 Member Share Posted June 27, 2019 Great flick. They were trying to figure out a sequel for Roy Scheider. They should have made him wounded, you could have gotten a good sequel out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member DragonClaws Posted June 27, 2019 Member Share Posted June 27, 2019 16 hours ago, NoKUNGFUforYU said: Great flick. They were trying to figure out a sequel for Roy Scheider. They should have made him wounded, you could have gotten a good sequel out of it. Ditto, Dustin Hoffman stayd up all night. In order to look extra rough for the torture scene. Stanislasvki's naturalism or method acting as it was re-named in America. Was a popular thing with many of the big name actors of the 1970's. Olivier just shrugged off Hoffman's story, feeling he didnt need to go to such length's in order to be convincing on-screen. That could be menacing, an amazing screen villian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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