Rating: 
Summary: Just another Dustin Hoffman running man movie!!!
Review: MARATHON MAN is just another Dustin Hoffman running man movie!!!
Hoffman plays a student who finds himself right in the middle of a convoluted Nazi plot, and he's basically Ben from THE GRADUATE all over again, only this time instead of running after Katherine Ross he's running from Laurence Olivier, William Devane, and some thugs. But Hoffman is good at running scenes--he makes them any average jogger can relate to--and Olivier is as sensational as a Nazi as he was in the 1980s as a Nazi hunter in the BOYS FROM BRAZIL.There's lots of interesting footage of 1970s New York City, but the best scenes belong to Olivier, particularly one in Manhattan's jewelry district where he is recognized by a former concentration camp victim. But William Devane is as bad as always, and the rest of the movie is ridiculous, and often boring. MARATHON MAN IS JUST ANOTHER DUSTIN HOFFMAN RUNNING MAN MOVIE!!! Chari Krishnan RESEARCHKING
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Summary: IS WHAT SAFE?
Review: No question has ever been more puzzling in a film than "Is it safe?" After two viewings of this classic film, I am still not sure what Olivier was referring to? Safe to go to the bank? The diamonds? Just as Dustin Hoffman, I still find myself wondering is what safe?
This is undoubtedly a well made movie, acted with impeccable perfection by Hoffman, Olivier, Roy Scheider and William Devane. But some things still baffle me: the band-aid box with diamonds in it is given by Zell's brother to someone on the street, just prior to his untimely death in the road rage scene. Later, we see Scheider put the box in a box of candy and gives it to some clerk, who then gets murdered at the opera. The next time we see the band aid box, it's in the safety deposit box in New York. How did it get there? And why is William Devane so bent on killing Hoffman too? I must have missed something in both viewings; but, I admit I was mesmerized with the plot, and the chilling climax between Hoffman and Olivier is simply devastating.
Maybe someday I'll know what I just watched?
Rating:
Summary: See this one AFTER your 6 month dental checkup
Review: Olivier and Hoffman are great, in that order. Olivier captures the essence of every crotchety old kraut you ever met. Hoffman shows you your worst dental appointment. An old lady demonstrates that you always remember some people. But the overall story could have been better and more filled out. Nazis stealing treasure and hiding it for years...nahhhh.
Rating: 
Summary: Is it Safe?
Review: One of the best thrillers ever made. Period. The Marathon Man, The Godfather 1 & 2, The Deer Hunter, Close Encounters of the third Kind, Star Wars, Animal House, French Connection, Apocolypse Now, etc, etc. Filmed during the time when filmakers were known as artists and filmaking was called an art. That has all changed now in conservative Hollywood, where filmakers are now known as profiteers and filmaking is called a business. These days, the studio honchos know that if you just put a high paying actor/actress in a high budget film with a decent script...it'll work. Who needs a great script or good reviews when the film is grossing over $100 million or more at the box office. Right?
Rating:
Summary: Is It Safe?
Review: One of the great suspense dramas of the 1970s, MARATHON MAN is a somewhat violent buy often stylish and sinister intrigue thriller that remains a high watermark of its genre. Dustin Hoffman portrays the Columbia University graduate student and marathon runner who becomes caught up in a deadly game involving smuggled diamonds belonging to a Nazi fugitive (Laurence Olivier). Hoffman's brother (Roy Scheider) was one of the couriers helping to transport the diamonds, which are now in a safety deposit box in a Manhattan bank; and when Olivier kills Scheider, it is assumed by Olivier and his henchmen that Hoffman knows something about them. He is strapped to a dental chair in an abandoned warehouse, forced to undergo dental torture at the hands of the Nazi, who had been a dentist. Olivier keeps asking him numerous time, "Is It Safe?" (regarding the diamond stash). Hoffman doesn't know a thing, but this doesn't stop Olivier from performing a root canal--one of the most squeamish sequences in cinematic history. Excellently directed by John Schlesinger and scripted by William Goldman (from his own novel), MARATHON MAN features a typically fine performance by Hoffman as the man in the middle, and Olivier, arguably the greatest actor that ever lived, as the very devious Nazi fugitive. Scheider, who was brilliant in JAWS, scores more points here, as do William Devane and Marthe Keller. The opening sequence, a vicious and somewhat hilarious car-to-car argument between an irate Jew and Olivier's brother which ends in a collision with an oil truck, sets the story's machinations off, and is deftly handled by Schlesinger in a manner Hitchcock would have admired. If you have a fear of dentists, of course, you may want to steer clear of MARATHON MAN. But if intense suspense is your game, this is as good a film to start with.
Rating:
Summary: The accomplices of Nazi criminals
Review: One son tries to clear his father's name and he discovers that the Second World War is far from finished. Some highranking Nazi criminals have evaded punishment and they have survived due to the riches they accumulated during the war, riches that have been entrusted to some of the world's largest banks, in this case American banks, in the shape of gold or diamonds. But their survival has only been possible because they managed to get some kind of support from some shady characters in the security forces of our countries, in this case the USA. These accomplices get a good return for their help but it is highly dangerous, especially when someone naive and trustful gets into the picture and tries to understand. The criminal will be punished and all his accomplices will be executed in a way or another. And all the diamonds will be lost. But it is a long distance race when you want to confront those networks of criminals and helpers. One thing is sure you cannot trust anyone no matter how close they are, even your brother or your girlfriend. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating: 
Summary: Paramount Does it (Not) Again
Review: Paramount, despite its marvelous archive, has been most delinquent in letterboxing its VHS tapes. I finally got tired of waiting and just bought Marathon Man on DVD (along with a DVD player) and can say that this is not good enough. The image is widescreen, but the transfer is crummy, with brackish colors and a grainy image all throughout the movie (most noticeably in the night scenes). There are some nice extras, however. No commentary, but two documentaries (one old, one new) and several rehearsal scenes. Notice that, in rehearsal, Marthe Keller's English is very good, which puts the lie to the claim made in the documentaries that she memorized her dialogue phonetically.
Rating: 
Summary: Questions on Video Aspect Switch Cools Rating
Review: Sad to read about the problems with the (I think, Region 2) DVD in the UK that Derek Marriott wrote about earlier, about the 5- minute gap.... It seems like some kind of conspiracy about this film, because the Region 1 version begins and ends in wide screen of at least 2:1 (I would say near letterbox) but noticed that the credit roll only shows the true "letterbox"; following the credits for the director until right after Hoffman throws the gun in the water, the format changes to about 1.85:1. It seems like Paramount is trying to please everyone by trying to compromise with the screen format -- the movie isn't completely pan and scan while its current presentation doesn't yield too much black bar space on the television like a letterboxed film would. I have yet to give the movie a rating but will have made a decision by the end, because I still have to weigh what seems to be happening with the original film aspect ratio. Is Paramount Home Video trying to find a sly way to save money? All they had to do was press a dual- sided DVD to give people a pan & scan on one side and a letterboxed version on the other. Somewhere this makes no sense, because a filmmaker wouldn't change formats like this in 1976 just to accomodate the titles. Would they? Watch what happens immediately following the credit for director John Schlesinger, which is layered over the detail of Hoffman's feet running while at a screen aspect ratio of 2:1 or more -- take the title off and the scene changes to a frontal shot of Hoffman running and the screen size expands to 1.78:1 or 1.85:1. I just don't see any point that a filmmaker would flip-flop on formats while creating a film. The quality of the video transfer looked fine. On my screen (I purchased it yesterday), the colors seemed a bit subdued with the exception of the nighttime fountain scene with Roy Scheider. This could be just what Schlesinger intended. The contrast and blacks seemed fine and dark details didn't seem to exhibit any excessive digital artifacts. I didn't recognize any dust specs or foreign matter one usually would see from a film this old -- it looked like it just came out of the processor. There were some nice additions in the DVDs extras. If there weren't a decent amount of extras, I would have given it a snub.
Rating:
Summary: "Is it safe?" to go to... the... oh, just shoot ME!
Review: Studious fellow runs, meets girl hubba, runs, takes baths, struggles with guilt, runs, blood,Guts'n'GUNS!, runs, Torture!, Fast Cars! runs, from a car. A real Bang-Out Shootem' Up! ACTION! with academic dialogue...and the suspence, The Suspence! it was very, very... nice, the twists will definately irk you in a good way. Press play, enjoy
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best thriller ever made?
Review: Suspenseful, smart, and jolting, the effects of Marathon Man still resonate after more than twenty years. Dustin Hoffman is spectacular as a graduate student running from people that think he knows more than he does. Everything about it is classic. Among the memorable scenes is the "Zell, Zell, Zell" scene in which an ex-concentration camp prisoner confronts the Nazi diamond theif in a crowded street. The torture scene with Dustin Hoffman is also very memorable. The car and running chases will quicken your heart beat. The performances are amazing. Laurence Olivier brilliantly plays the role of a Nazi so greedy and diabolical, that he would eat diamonds rather than give them up to their rightful owners. William Devane is equally as awesome as an agent who isn't what he appears to be. This movie will leave you feeling breathless, and somewhat disturbed. If you want to watch an intelligent,well-directed, well-acted, and well-thought-out movie, GET THIS MOVIE!
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