I’m not a purist when it comes to thrillers, and with “Marathon Man,” that’s just as well. If a movie like this is going to work, it has to work moment by moment and scene by scene — and “Marathon Man” does. There are all sorts of unanswered questions when the film’s over, but I’m not inclined to hold that against it. I enjoy thrillers for the people and predicaments in them, not for their clockwork plots.
“Marathon Man” is almost all people and predicaments — or, more exactly, one person and his unending series of predicaments. We meet him during his ritual morning long-distance run: A graduate student named Babe (Dustin Hoffman) who has all sorts of frustrations bottled up inside.
Babe’s brother (Roy Scheider) works for the government, for some sort of shadowy agency that handles the dirty jobs the CIA and the FBI won’t touch. (Isn’t it a touching fantasy that there ARE jobs like that?) One day he gets killed. A man claiming to be one of the brother’s fellow operatives comes to Babe and says he needs help in setting a trap. And before Babe quite knows what happens, he’s involved in an intrigue so labyrinthine that neither he nor the movie ever quite figures it out. The intrigue involves a former Nazi named Szell, played by Laurence Olivier with a certain urbane composure that makes him seem all the more ominous. Szell lives in hiding in South America (naturally) and has millions of dollars worth of diamonds in a New York safe-deposit box. When Szell’s brother is killed in what can only be described as a quintessentially New York auto crash, Szell has to come out of hiding to collect the diamonds.
The movie’s based on a best seller by William Goldman that was, I’m told, much tidier with its loose ends. What director John Schlesinger has done, wisely, is to forget about the loose ends and concentrate on a series of scenes that hold us so firmly while we’re watching them, that questions don’t enter our minds. There’s the opening car crash, which builds inexorably from an exchange of insults. There’s the already famous scene in which Olivier, a former dentist, tortures Hoffman by drilling holes in his teeth. There’s a walk through the New York diamond district in which Olivier is recognized by his former victims. There’s a chase down a deserted highway interchange.
Release dateOctober 8, 1976 (USA)
Daniel Day-Lewis on Laurence Oliver & Dustin Hoffman Marathon Man story
Key Themes and Elements
1. The Shadow of History
The film explores the lingering trauma of the mid-20th century, specifically the Holocaust and the McCarthy-era witch hunts. Babe’s academic pursuit (history) and his personal history (his father's disgrace) parallel the global history Szell represents.
2. Physical and Mental Endurance
Running is used as a powerful metaphor throughout the film. For Babe, it is initially an escape and a way to build stamina, but it eventually becomes his primary means of survival. The film contrasts Babe's innocent athleticism with Szell's clinical, predatory endurance.
3. Paranoia and Urban Decay
Shot on location in New York City, the film captures the gritty, uneasy atmosphere of the mid-70s. The sense that no one can be trusted—not even family—is a core tenet of the thriller genre from this period.
The Legendary Dental Interrogation
The scene in which Szell tortures Babe using dental instruments is one of the most famous sequences in film history. It is a masterclass in psychological tension, utilizing close-ups and the universal fear of dental pain to create an almost unbearable sense of vulnerability.
Behind the Scenes: Method vs. Technique
The film is also famous for a legendary anecdote regarding acting styles. Dustin Hoffman, a practitioner of Method acting, reportedly stayed awake for two days to look as exhausted as his character. When he told Laurence Olivier (a classically trained stage actor) what he had done, Olivier famously replied:
"My dear boy, why don't you just try acting? It's so much easier."
Legacy and Impact
Awards: Laurence Olivier received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his terrifying portrayal of Szell.
Cultural Footprint: The line "Is it safe?" is ranked as one of the greatest movie quotes of all time by the American Film Institute.
Thriller Archetype: The film helped define the "everyman in over his head" trope that would become a staple of modern action-thrillers.
Marathon Man stands as a tight, intelligently crafted thriller that manages to be both a pulse-pounding chase movie and a somber reflection on the weight of the past.
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