betty dalton Favorite seventies thriller of Quention Tarantino. "Marathon Man" is known as a "paranoia thriller" and paranoid you will get watching it. The story is about Dusting Hofmann, playing a student in New York, who gets pursued by an ex-nazi doctor with an evil agenda. This classic was made in a now legendary period of American independent cinema, in which directors were truly their own boss and had almost total control over their creativity. Classics like "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola were made in this period. So were other classics like Martin Scorseses "Raging Bull" and Alan J. Pakula's "All the Presidents Men". All these movies were created in an era of the seventies that was known for its independent financing of movies, mostly by one particular producer, which bypassed the usual hollywood monopolies. A documentary about this period has been made featuring interviews with Scorsese and Coppola, describing this golden age of American indepent cinema. This is one heavy mother of a movie. There is a "dentist" scene that makes me more horrified than the "ear" scene did in "Reservoir Dogs". The "dentist" scene is much worse and unfortunately much longer. I must skip that "dentist" scene in "Marathon Man" everytime, because I just get so noxious about the torture by the heinously cruel Laurence Olivier, who truly acts as the most shocking ex-nazi I have ever seen on the screen. What a magnificent performance though! All the actors are acting brilliantly by the way. It would become tedious to start praising all of them. Well one more example of excellence: I just have to praise Dustin Hofmann. "Marathon Man" brings the best out in him. Truly perfect acting! That very same year he also performed in another seventies classic "All the President's Men", which was about the Watergate scandal. The man was at the peak of his carreer in 1976 when this classic was released.I just could go on and on writing about this classic, because the more often I see it, the more I notice the subtle yet dynamic direction that brings out the beauty in this terrifying story. The beauty is found in the true to life portrayal of these desperate characters. And that beauty is sculpted with one of the best photography of the entire seventies. If you are gonna watch it for the first time, you will probably not notice that excellent photograhpy, because the story and acting are so dynamic and overwhelming by itself already. The photography isnt bombastic or in your face. The photography in "Marathon Man" is done very subtle. But EVERY shot is deliberatedly made that specific way. Just a still shot of an empty hallway for example, has got its own beauty as it fades to black into another scene of a river in the jungle. That hallway shot could have been a painting. Just perfect. Every shot, every edit, every movement of the camera is orchestrated so naturally and supsenseful with a beauty and power that few photographers will ever achieve. But again, I must repeat that it is done without being in your face. Only noticeable for the moviegeeks who will wanna see it more often than just once. I have seen it over 20 times by now and still I am mesmirized by it's power.Another highlight is the soundtrack! It is so vivid and scary, that just hearing it out of the blue will bring me right into the spell of this movie. The technical sound quality isnt great, to say the least. Bass sounds basically didnt excist back then. We were already pleased it was stereo sound and not mono. But despite the lesser technical sound quality the music by itself is so powerful and suggestive that it spooks me out everytime I hear it. It sounds shreek and melancholic simultaneously, but gentle harmonies still ring through it. It is beauty combined with pain. That would sum up the best way for me to summarize this movie: a beautiful trip into a world of evil.I dont want to reveal anything more, because the story has so many great twists and turns that it would be a spoiler for all of those who are gonna see this classic for the very first time. I saw it for the first time when I was a young child in the seventies. It was aired on television. I really shouldnt have been allowed to see it back then, because there are some pretty horrific scenes in it, but fortunately my parents didnt know how horrifiying it would get. And anybody who is very young knows that conflicing longing to keep watching those movies that you know will scare you to death. But even now I have to look away when the "dentist" scene arrives. Some things are just too cruel and depressing. But despite the violently, dark story, the movie in itself is of a horrifying beauty that makes me cherish it as one of the greatest classics of the seventies.

rattsbreath "Oh, please don't worry. I'm not going into that cavity. That nerve's already dying. A live, freshly-cut nerve is infinitely more sensitive. So I'll just drill into a healthy tooth until I reach the pulp... unless of course you can tell me that it's safe."

zkonedog After seeing the infamous "is it safe?" dental torture scene over and over on "Best Of..." lists throughout the years, I finally decided to rent the entire film and give it a watch. Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed in what many critics consider to be one of the greatest suspense films of all time.Basically, the plot centers on Babe (played by a very young Dustin Hoffman), who finds himself, after the death of his friend (Roy Schieder) suddenly and unwillingly caught up in a plot to liberate a former Nazi commandant (Laurence Olivier).As usual, the scene in which Babe is orthodontically tortured by the former Nazi stands out among all others and truly is as chilling as they come. However, the entire first half of the film is so confusing as to make viewers begin to lose interest. Then, once you do start to get an understanding of the events that have transpired, it isn't until the final 20 minutes or so that the threads really come together in an emotional, exciting manner.About the only thing that saves the experience from being a complete waste is the fine acting from Hoffman, Olivier, and Schieder, as well as a great performance from William Devane, one of the greatest character-actors of all-time. Just watching the interactions between those four (and others) is enough to at least keep you from clicking the "Stop" button altogether.Thus, I would recommend skipping this film and just appreciate it's "magnum opus" scene for what it is worth. Based on the kind of rave reviews I had read about Marathon Man before viewing, it seems blown out of proportion to the reality of the on-screen action. Unless you are from the 1970s and can get a thrill from the time period itself, be warned that this one may not hook you like the hype may say it will.

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.