RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Features
  • | Columns
  • | Guides
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
News
It's 'safe' to say that Marathon Man is a terrific movie.
by John Ulmer | March 15, 2004
Discuss Article
MARATHON MAN (1976)

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Date of Review: March 13th, 2004

REVIEW BY JOHN ULMER (Copyright, 2004)

Have you ever gone to a dentist before? Of course you have. (Unless
you're British!) And that's why the torture scene in "Marathon Man" is
arguably the most famous of all mainstream torture scenes. Even the
infamous ear segment in "Reservoir Dogs" fails to relate to people
around the world the same way as this does. Not everyone has had his
or her ear chopped off.

Anyone who has gone to a dentist before can relate to the fear and
excruciating pain that Babe (Dustin Hoffman) experiences when he is
asked, "Is it safe?" and has no idea what his interrogator is talking
about, then finds himself being given a root canal without any
Novocain.

The interrogator is Szell (Laurence Olivier), a dreaded German
murderer who carried out awful deeds during World War II and offered
Jews a free ticket out--for a hefty price.

Szell's question ("Is it safe?") exists because he needs to know
whether or not it is safe to withdraw diamonds he stole from Jews
during World War II from a safety deposit box. As the film opens,
Szell's brother dies in a car crash, which sets up this entire aspect
of the plot, since his brother had the key to the vault.

Babe's brother, Doc (Roy Scheider, "JAWS"), comes to visit him in New
York City, but turns up at his apartment with stab wounds. Babe soon
finds out that Doc was part of a secret "Division" (CIA black-ops
stuff) that was on Svell's trail. Believing that Doc may have spilled
the beans to Babe, Svell kidnaps the college graduate and this is
where the famous torture scene starts. "Is it safe? Is it safe?
Is...it...safe...?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Marathon Man" is often considered a classic of the thriller genre,
and it certainly is. It has its flaws, and sometimes it seems a bit
average from a technical viewpoint, but it set the stage for many
gritty, coarse thrillers that would follow in later years. It is still
arguably one of the greatest of them all.

The title comes from the fact that Hoffman's character, Babe, is a
marathon jogger. He runs every single day, and so when he finally
manages to escape from Szell's grasp, you can imagine what a hard time
they have chasing after him. In retrospect, the title takes on two
different (and ironic) indications.

The well-known story about Olivier's advice to Hoffman on the set of
the film has been referenced many times (even by Steve Martin in
"Saturday Night Live"), so it almost seems pointless to divulge into
it. Basically, in the words of Steve Martin, "Hoffman came to the set
one day looking absolutely wretched, and Sir Larry said, 'Dusty, you
look absolutely wretched!', and it turns out that he had been awake
for twenty-four hours, because at this point in the movie, his
character had been, so Larry replied, 'Oh, Dusty, why don't you just
try acting?', and the American retorted, 'Act on this, you British
***,' and Larry replied, 'I asked for a meal, not a snack!'"

So perhaps Steve Martin made up the end of that story, but the
beginning is true. Dustin was a true "method actor," and by the end of
the film, it's clearly evident that Dustin is indeed quite tired, both
mentally and physically. I doubt whether acting could unleash the same
sort of deadness that shines through in Babe had Hoffman simply tried
"acting."

Another arguable fact is that this is Laurence Olivier's most famous
role. It's certainly his most villainous. It's a career highlight; in
a role that many critics called Olivier's finest hour, and I think
should certainly be remembered as his most devilish. "Is it safe? Is
it safe?" Every time it's spoken it sends a shiver down my spine.

Two very important films of Dustin Hoffman's career came out in 1976:
"All the President's Men" and, of course, "Marathon Man." They are
both universally regarded as some of his best work, and it's not a
surprising fact, really, since it's true that they really *are* some
of his best work. (Quite incidentally, the renowned William Goldman
wrote both screenplays, and the latter of the two titles was based on
his own novel.)

Thrillers of such striking power and ferocity are rarely made nowadays
in Hollywood. "Marathon Man" is cold, hard, gritty and dirty, and one
of the best of the genre. It's a modern-day masterpiece, perhaps
barely short of greatness, but a masterpiece nonetheless. You may
never want to go to the dentist again.

It's "safe" to say that "Marathon Man" is a terrific movie.

- John Ulmer
Bookmark and Share
Comments Reply
Read More Comments
Post Your Comment
You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register.

Related Links

Marathon Man
  • Pictures
  • Posters
  • News
  • Forum

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Tom Cruise Accepts Another Mission: Impossible Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
34
  • Chris Nolan on Board for Dark Knight Sequel -- and Superman Reboot? Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
258
  • Tim Robbins Joins Green Lantern Source: Hollywood Reporter
58
  • Fox Moves Forward with 24 Movie Source: HitFix
8
  • Bill Murray Talks Ghostbusters III Source: Sunday Mail [UK]
56
  • Captain America News, News, and More News Source: Collider.com
20
  • Taylor Lautner Is Stretch Armstrong Source: MTV
78
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
288
  • Percy Jackson Star (Briefly) Rumored for Spider-Man Reboot Source: Hollywood Reporter
35
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland
140
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Jeff Bridges' Best Movies
114
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Finally Toppled by Dear John
104
  • Weekly Ketchup: Sci-Fi at the Oscars, Raimi eyes The Shadow
96
  • Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe
35
  • Friday Harvest: The Last Airbender, The A-Team, and more!
27
  • Critics Consensus: From Paris With Love Is Not Bon
22
  • Total Recall: Anthony Hopkins' Best Movies
19
  • Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose
17
  • Awards Tour: Pixar and Disney Rule The Annies
15
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: A Serious Man, Couples Retreat, and More
10
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Oscar Nominee Gabby Sidibe Talks Precious
20
  • One Man's Quest To Find The Worst Movie Ever
7
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
77
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
3
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
13
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
 
 

Related Articles

  • EW Lists 16 Classic "Dare You to Look" Scenes Opens in new window (23)
  • Total Recall: Malice and Medicine (2)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Kevin Smith Goes On Offensive, Heath Ledger as the Joker, Simpsons Movie Scenes, And More! (3)
  • "Saw 3" Poster Has Bite! (5)

Latest Features

  • Five Favorite Films With Precious' Gabby Sidibe (35)
  • Five Favourite Films with Anika Noni Rose (17)
  • Five Facts About Alice in Wonderland (70)
  • 25 Movies So Bad They're Unmissable (113)
  • The Future is Now! 10 Years of Movie Predictions (47)
  • Meet the Universal Monsters Starting Lineup! (52)
  • The 10 Most Unlikely Kids Movie Stars (34)
  • 10 High Altitude Performances (20)
  • Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009 (280)
  • RT's Best of the Decade! (202)

What’s Hot On RT

Runaways Pictures

Runaways Pictures

Run away with Kristen and Dakota!

Fresh Links

Featured
5 Nicholas Sparks Cliches
5 Nicholas Sparks Cliches External Link

BuzzSugar points out the author's commonly used story conventions.

The Avatar-District 9 Brawl
The Avatar-District 9 Brawl External Link

Techland anticipates a feud between fans of the two acclaimed Sci-Fi films.

Promos
Get the RT Newsletter!
Get the RT Newsletter! External Link

Sign up to receive our newsletter and stay up to date on all the latest Tomatometers and movie news!

Sponsored Links

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.