Popular reviews

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  Review by 🇵🇱 Steve G 🇵🇸 ★★★★½ 12

  There's a 16 page thread on IMDb about why Marathon Man is insulting because it suggests there is a jungle in Uruguay and there isn't.

  As much as IMDb is second only to YouTube comments sections as being the biggest pit of iniquity on the internet, the right to nitpick motion pictures is something that we, as movie fans, can exercise whenever the mood takes us. We've all done it and we've all gotten angry at watching people nitpick our favourite films, only to turn round and do the same at somebody else's favourite films. We can contradict ourselves whenever we please. It is our privilege.

  When it comes to Marathon Man, I don't get angry about it though. I…

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  Review by Lebowskidoo 🇨🇦 🎬 🍿 ★★★★★ 11

  Does for dentistry what Jaws did for estuaries.

  Oddly enough, Roy Scheider is involved in both.

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  Review by ❄️ Cammmalot ❄️ ★★★★ 10

  Things I did today:

  ✅ Watched Marathon Man

  
  Things to do tomorrow:

  ✅ Start getting in better shape

  ✅ Cancel dentist appointment

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  Review by Patrick Willems ★★★★ 2

  Can you believe there was a time when this was a normal movie?! People were just like "hey I'm bored you wanna go see Marathon Man?" if this came out now we'd be throwing ticker tape parades celebrating the return of real movies

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  Review by Lara Pop ★★★★

  Oh, my. I went in knowing nothing about the movie (except that it was made in the 70s so it would be good) and expecting a Midnight Cowboy-like yarn from director John Schlesinger. I didn't get the atmosphere of one of my favorite New Hollywood movies but I did get something else. Something completely else.

  Marathon man was a 'pleasant' surprise with its downright macabre tone and high body count. The pacing was flawless, the scenes dexterously built upon each other, each of them propelled forward by the momentum of the one before, bringing out the uttermost amount of discomfort in the viewer.

  Casting Laurence Olivier as the sadistic dentist sinking into insanity was a brilliant idea. His deranged unpredictability and malicious instability made for a first-class antagonist. Remember those torture scenes of his? Plain crazy.

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  Review by liz71 ★★★★ 2

  Husband's Pick
  
  Rewatch Review

  A 70's crime thriller that definitely doesn't stray away from the nerve wracking, nail biting moments.
  Dustin Hoffman gave a exceptional emotional performance.
  7.9/10

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  Review by liam f ★★★★ 2

  apologies in advance for what I'm about to say, but I definitely did Nazi that coming

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  Review by DNA cinephile🏳️‍🌈 ★★★★

  Marathon Man. 1976. Directed by John Schlesinger.

  John Schlesinger’s Marathon Man (1976) is a complex puzzle that unravels slowly with torture scenes that can barely be rivaled in today’s cinema. Michael Small’s score keeps the tension exactly where it needs to be. Dustin Hoffman (Babe Levy) is mostly running and trying to stay alive while the evil Laurence Olivier (Dr. Szell) is conducting business in his corrupt world. The direction by Schlesinger is adequate to impressive considering the talent he was directing. Despite the fictional content, Marathon Man can hit some raw nerves. This neo-noir is packed with enough tension to set off multiple bombs. The incongruous narrative keeps the audience in a void for a while and it can make one feel like we are being tortured. The ending is truly satisfying as karma can be a bitter and sharp pill to swallow.

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  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★½ 3

  Ahhhh the 70s. That beautiful time when Hollywood was going through a change thanks to a group of filmmakers that drank from the prior French New Wave and where creating these films that were totally opposed to the ways and beings of the Studio system, with much riskier and relevant stories. This was also the decade where Paranoia reign supreme in America, and film didn't shy away from this.

  In the same vein as the Pakula's trilogy and Three Days of the Condor, Marathon Man its a nice example of the prime fear many Americans til this day feel about the high rankings "security" departments that ought to protect us, yet it seems they do the complete opposite. That prime…

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  Review by Steven Sheehan ★★★ 8

  Marathon Man comes with a substantial reputation attached to it, boasting a headline of actors and a director who naturally add gravitas to any production they are part of. It is the classic story of an innocent man caught up in a dangerous saga a world away from his normal, everyday life.

  The gradual evolution of the story takes quite a while to settle into a cohesive narrative as we chop and change between a number of people who become part of the bigger picture late on. A seemingly innocuous car accident (ACME couldn't have positioned a more convenient fuel truck) triggers a series of events that include a Nazi war criminal, Government agents and Hoffman, studying for his PhD.…

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  Review by Travis Lytle ★★★★ 3

  A twisty, dark thriller involving Nazi war criminals, shadowy government agencies, and the attempt to snuff out each, John Schlesinger's "Marathon Man" is an intense and engrossing piece of work. With its compelling story and excellent lead cast, the film is enveloping and effective.

  Starring Dustin Hoffman as man entangled in a plot full of murder and intrigue, the film twists together its narrative threads for a taut and exciting thriller. Hoffman's grad student finds himself quickly in over his head when his brother's mysterious work begins to hit home. Torture, stolen diamonds, and family history color the crackling story.

  Hoffman is dogged and textured as an everyman who gets involved in a dangerous game he should avoid. Laurence Olivier,…

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  Review by YI JIAN ★★★★★ 2

  This is genuinely good? I find it gripping, tense and kind of hardcore, was not aware that I was pinching my hand until it's over. Failed assassination, kidnapping, torture, escape and revenge, it's a wild ride. Laurence Olivier plays a great villain, is it safe? Nope, very dangerous. Glad they didn't show everything, two things you don't fuck with: teeth and fingernails, yeah? Bunch of creepy shots to be found here too, face imprinted on curtain, super close up of a baby doll, figure vanishing in the dark, movement at the corner of the eye, real paranoid shit. Dustin Hoffman humiliates a nazi, no reason not to love this.