Marathon Man

Released in 1976, I'd class Marathon Man as one of those well regarded films that sits quietly on the shelf and not a lot of people tend to talk about it. I found it among a list of highly rated films and noticed it starred Dustin Hoffman, Rob Scheider and the great thespian, Sir Laurence Olivier; a true mix of the emerging new Hollywood at the tie with the stars of the Golden Era. I started this blog to talk about films you might have missed, and while I enjoy looking into what's popular, this seemed like the perfect chance to review whether Marathon Man is worth your time.

Adapted from a novel of the same name, Hoffman stars as a New York City student who becomes entangled with his brother's (Scheider) mysterious business that involves Olivier's South American-residing Nazi officer, and a safety deposit box filled with diamonds. The 'Marathon' in the title refers to Hoffman's character being a keen runner and appropriately he has to go on the run for his life. 

Not having a seen trailer or knowing a great deal about this, Marathon Man gets off to a strange start between an old German and a jewish New York resident driving recklessly through the city. It's rather bizarre and then when that ends, we're in Paris with Scheider's spy starring in a Mission: Impossible film that never was. I did wonder if I had the right film as director John Schlesinger sets the scene but once I adjusted my expectations (a cliched, one-eyed, asian assassin through me off), the film gets good fast.

Similar in tone to Three Days of the Condor, Marathon Man is tense, exciting and genuinely very well paced. Hoffman is great in the lead role but is arguably upstaged by Olivier's villain who is just incredible to watch. Taking on the role to leave money for his family as he was severely ill at the time (but thankfully recovered), Olivier is fascinating to watch and Schlesinger makes full use of him, particularly in one brilliant scene towards the latter stages of the film. 

There are those exciting films, like Condor, which I enjoy but would not chose to watch again. Here on the other hand, there's something about the story, Schlesinger's direction, Conrad Hall's cinematography and its cast that make me want to watch this again. I'd say the film only faults towards the very end in a scene that I understand is different from the books, which the author hates, and I can't help but wonder if the original ending would have been better. 

Marathon Man is a very entertaining dark thriller and if you don't mind the older films, it's one I can easily recommend. The change in ending is unfortunate but doesn't undo an otherwise solid film, packed with memorable scenes, that will stay with you afterwards.