Rating: 
Summary: A QUINTESSENTIAL 70's CLASSIC
Review: Great 70's gritty film with some of the most memorable scenes in film history. Don't miss the scenes where Christian Czell brazenly travels to the W 47th St. diamond district for an "appraisal".What great 70's movie would be complete w/o Roy Scheider? Good performance by Marthe Keller(what happened to her? )Olivier is simply outstanding as Czell, as is Dustin Hoffman. Don't miss an evil and hyper William Devane.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Safe At All
Review: Having watched this movie back in the 70s as an uncomprehending kid and then a couple of times on TV in the interval, I FINALLY GOT IT! The whole appeal of this movie is in the subtle way it plays to our fascist inclinations. Fascism, by the way is just the way some people have reacted or possibly overreacted to the confusion of the modern world. Most of us immediately feel sympathy for Hoffman's 'Marathon Man' character -- a decent type trying to live positively in a negative environment ... by jogging! This keep-fit activity forces him (and us) to confront the ugliness of the urnban environment. We see the defaced building, the grafitti, the crime, and, most noticeably, we are aware of the sense of alienation he feels because the neighbourhood he lives in is dominated by non-whites, in this case Hispanics who apprently don't work and who regularly mock him as he goes out on these jogging jaunts. Imperceptibly we start to feel a little like Charles Bronson in Death Wish or Dirty Harry -- it's time to clean up these streets (a form of Fascism). Then, as these emotions are set going, we encounter what is supposed to be REAL EVIL -- in the form of Laurence Olivier's nasty Nazi dentist. Because the earlier part of the movie has made up subconsciously sympathetic to 'Nazi' solutions, we now feel this evil all the more poignantly because we are ourselves partially implicated in it. This was how the majority of the German people felt when they were made aware of the full extent of Nazi atrocities. These deep moral and psychological currents are what make an otherwise undistinguished thriller so compelling and memorable. Is it safe? No, far from it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Flick!
Review: I caught this movie late one night by accident about 10 years ago. Totally kept me up all night. Great story, great plot, great suspense, and a lot of surprises
Rating: 
Summary: Some great scenes and performances....but IMHO overated.
Review: I know I'm not going to get a good response, but I'm afraid I agree with one previous reviewer. I too have heard alot about this movie, and I was somewhat disappointed. The infamous "dental scene" after all the build up was really disappointing. I suppose I could be dishonest to myself, join the band wagon and say that this is a great film. Don't get me wrong, there are some individual great performances and scenes. However the plots seem really disjointed. For the first half of the film, one sits wondering where everything is leading to. In one short scene almost EVERYTHING is revealed in one go. There is no clever "unfolding" of a story. Instead a character abruptly "expains" to the Dustin Hoffman character what is really going on. The film however does demonstrate Laurence Olivier, no doubt is a master at his craft. I suppose the film was good in it's time (70's).
Rating:
Summary: They sure don't make them like this anymore
Review: I'll spare you a long talk about the movie, except that it's one of the best thrillers ever made. Enough said. Now for this new DVD. Finally we get this classic in widescreen, that alone should please many fans. (-The opening credit scene has a different letterboxing than the rest of the movie, for some reason.) The extras will make you drool !. A new documentary with most of the people involved with the movie, except Olivier, of course. Sadly, neither William Devane, Fritz Weaver, Richard Bright or the director take part. Still, it's great to hear the stories surrounding this excellent suspense movie, like why it was decided to give Olivier's character that last infamous meal !. -But it makes sense, considering what Hoffman's character went through. At one point when talking about Olivier, Hoffman is almost in tears. Touching. Strangely enough, I found the full-screen clips shown during the documentary to be sharper than the movie itself presented on this DVD. Stll, you must get this release, even if the price is a little high. There's also a very good 70s making-of featurette with interviews. Take ANY thriller made today, compare it to "Marathon Man", and "Marathon Man" will win on ALL levels. It's as simple as that.
Rating:
Summary: Is It Safe?
Review: If 'Marathon Man' were being filmed today, it would feature a plot with Swiss cheese-like holes in it, mindless dialogue, and an explosion every 10 minutes. Thankfully, the 'Marathon Man' that came out in 1976 suffered from none of these weaknesses. Rather, it belongs in the same classification as 'Day of the Jackal' and 'Three Days of the Condor' when great thrillers of the 70's are mentioned. Hoffman plays a graduate student who is still looking for answers to his father's apparent suicide years earlier. His brother (played by Roy Schieder) appears to be a businessman who has put his father's suicide behind him. What in the world can these two men have to do with a deadly Nazi war criminal on the loose? Ahh, all is not as it appears.... It's amazing to see such a stellar cast: Hoffman, Schieder, Olivier! Wow! This incredible cast and great script elevate the film way beyond the level of a typical thriller. The DVD extras are very good also. If you enjoy a good thriller and are tired of ridiculous offerings such as 'Double Jeopardy,' 'What Lies Beneath' and the like, 'Marathon Man' is like a breath of fresh air.
Rating: 
Summary: Marathon Man Mockery
Review: If you're a fan of this film - don't buy this DVD (the Paramount "Widescreen collection" 120mins as sold in the UK). It has been clumsily edited to the point that key sequences no longer make sense. The renowned drilling scene, for instance IS NOT IN THIS DVD despite the fact that it appears in on the back cover and the inlay. Check imdb - the film is supposed to be 125 minutes long - not 119. A disappointing experience for me after much anticipation, and a sad end for what in its true form is an outstanding piece of film.
Rating:
Summary: You will never look at a dentist the same way ever again
Review: In order for me to really like a movie I need to feel some sort of empathy with a character...a, yes...I can understand that, sense of what is going on...frankly I have never had thugs break my arms, beat me senseless, put me on a rack or applied electrodes to various parts of my body...however, I have been to the Dentist. When Dustin Hofmann has his front tooth drilled through in an effort to extract information, it literally made my spine shiver...now that is pain I understand...then when his torturer leers over him and says..."we need to find a fresh nerve", I knew I would be telling him everything I knew...killed Kennedy? sure I was there...Hoffa? I'm your man...Gold? no problem, I know where the pirates hid it...just put the drill away... For me this movie has the most horrific torture seen ever filmed (perhaps because I have been in the chair). If memorability is a criteria for a great movie then this is great because I bet you will remember this movie every time you go to the dentist...for the rest of your life.
Rating:
Summary: A '70s Classic - on DVD
Review: John Schlesinger's Marathon Man is a well-made, cryptic thriller from the '70s, rekindling the old murder / intrigue / government paranoia style of the '60s (see also Charade and The Manchurian Candidate). Dustin Hoffman plays an introverted graduate student from Columbia Univ. who is thrust into a plot involving an old Nazi escapee (Lawrence Olivier) and diamond smuggling. Kind of a cryptic synopsis, but part of the allure of this film is the methodical way in which the enigmatic plot threads fit together. Oh, and you may want to reschedule that dentist appointment... Regarding the DVD transfer - keep in mind that despite the fact that it has a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, the original sound was recorded in mono, so much of the sound is coming through the center channel. The score by Michael Small well-utilizes the remaining channels, but don't expect to be blown away. At least the dialogue is more understandable than the VHS version.
Besides the fact that Marathon Man is a great film, there are 2 good reasons to buy this DVD. First, there are 2 documentaries plus some really neat rehearsal footage. Second, the picture quality is great, and the film preserves its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio.
Rating:
Summary: A classic Hoffman Thriller
Review: Many movies like "Marathon Man" is a rare find nowdays in Hollywood. Dustin Hoffman is caught in web of trying to find out the real truth about his father suicide. Roy Scheider plays his older brother and the great Laurence Olivier saying to Hoffman with the unforgettable tag line, "Is It Safe.." ahhhhh!!!! That just give me the heebies just thinking about it. Basically Hoffman has to survive from a lot of very VERY bad men. The scence where Hoffman takes a bath and feels that hes not alone is sooo creepy that im suprised that Hitchcock was not involved in the input set up for the scene. Did He?
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