Marathon Man

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Marathon Man

R

1976

2h 5m

Mystery & Thriller

Action

Drama

War

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

51 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Thomas "Babe" Levy (Dustin Hoffman) is a Columbia graduate student and long-distance runner who is oblivious to the fact that his older brother, Doc (Roy Scheider), is a government agent chasing down a Nazi war criminal (Laurence Olivier) -- that is, until Doc is murdered and Babe finds himself knee-deep in a tangle of stolen gems and sadistic madmen. Even his girlfriend, Elsa (Marthe Keller), becomes a suspect as everything Babe believed to be true is suddenly turned upside down.

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Critics Consensus

Marathon Man runs the gamut from patient mystery to pulse-pounding thriller, aided by Laurence Oliver's coldly terrifying performance and a brainy script by William Goldman.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

01/25/2024

Yet everything else here — the gritty supporting players, the conspiracy theories and the Central Park finale — marks the pinnacle of 1970s paranoia thrillers, as Hoffman’s Jewish graduate student is sucked into a shadowy world of postwar spooks...

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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

12/02/2023

A project that seemed a leaden cinch to be the kind of visceral thriller that makes audiences almost sich with excitement has fouled up right from the word go, and nothing in it works quite the way it was meant to.

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Edward Porter

The Times (UK)

01/23/2023

... Far-fetched but gripping.

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Michael Clark

Epoch Times

Feb 11

5/5

Adapted by legendary author William Goldman from his 1974 novel of the same name, it was a bridge between the end of World War II and the peak of the Cold War, wrapped up in post-Nixon conspiratorial paranoia.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

06/09/2025

4/5

...Marathon Man is a class act, for the acting, sure, but also for early Steadicam use on the streets of New York, some excellent location work, and John Schlesinger’s eye for detail, which makes the thriller elements all the more powerful...

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Tom Hutchinson

Radio Times

08/22/2024

4/5

Schlesinger's film is not without its flaws, but it's a very classy package, and one particular scene involving dentistry will leave a lasting impression and is definitely not for the faint-hearted.

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Keith B

@Okbullard Jul 30

This was such a compelling film. I first saw it in my late 20s and didn't appreciate it nearly as much as the second go. Dustin Hoffman was amazing as usual. It's absolutely the watch.

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Patrick C

@RT84374237 May 31

Much to be commended here, but ultimately the plot doesn't entirely convince. So many twists which aren't explained satisfactorily and too many characters aren't sufficiently elaborated to make the audience understand their motivations. Not as great as its reputation suggests.

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Christian K

@ckacar Mar 23

Solid paranoid thriller. I'm not really the biggest Hoffman guy, was very upset to see Scheider go out so soon into this, he was cooking.

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Thomas D

@Thom1967 Dec 19

A must-see ! Great actors at their best, compelling story… What else ? You can’t miss that ! One of my favourite movies of the 70’s

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Nov 23

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 20

Eh, not really a fan of this one. For some reason I will always remember "Is it safe? Is it safe? Is it safe?" He just kept on asking over and over, which was really funny.

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John Schlesinger

Director

Dustin Hoffman

Thomas Levy

Laurence Olivier

Dr. Christian Szell

Roy Scheider

Henry Levy

William Devane

Peter Janeway

Marthe Keller

Elsa Opel

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Marathon Man: Official Clip - Swallowing the Diamonds

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Marathon Man: Official Clip - I'll Give You Szell

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Synopsis

Thomas "Babe" Levy (Dustin Hoffman) is a Columbia graduate student and long-distance runner who is oblivious to the fact that his older brother, Doc (Roy Scheider), is a government agent chasing down a Nazi war criminal (Laurence Olivier) -- that is, until Doc is murdered and Babe finds himself knee-deep in a tangle of stolen gems and sadistic madmen. Even his girlfriend, Elsa (Marthe Keller), becomes a suspect as everything Babe believed to be true is suddenly turned upside down.

Director: John Schlesinger
Producer: Sidney Beckerman, Robert Evans
Screenwriter: William Goldman, Robert Towne
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Action, Drama, War
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 6, 1976, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 21, 2010
Runtime: 2h 5m
Sound Mix: Mono

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