Marathon Man (R, 1976)

Adapted from a best-selling novel by William Goldman, MARATHON MAN follows the story of a Columbia University graduate student who suddenly finds himself pursued by thugs and killers. Babe Levy (Dustin Hoffman) is still troubled by his father's suicide, when his brother Doc (Roy Scheider) comes to visit him. Shortly after arriving, Doc is stabbed to death by his paranoid employer, a hidden Nazi war criminal named Christian Szell (Laurence Olivier). Fearing that Doc may have told Babe about his precious stash of diamonds, Szell and his henchmen go after Babe using various tactics to get any information out of him. Soon Babe finds himself having to use aggressive tactics himself in order to protect himself and avenge his brother's death.

Marathon Man has held up remarkably well in its ability to create suspense. Dustin Hoffman turns in a great performance, making his character's change from sheepish to gutsy seem quite plausible. Other performances are good, most notably Laurence Olivier's turn as Szell, (possibly one of the most despicable screen villains of all time).

Legend has it that the dental torture scenes were too much for some audiences to handle. With that said, this is not a film for the squeamish, but for those who enjoy great thrillers, this is a rare treat.

Studio: Paramount Pictures
Director: John Schlesinger
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider
Genre: Thriller
Run time: 125 minutes
Theatrical release: October 6, 1976
DVD release: March 7, 2002
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: Restricted