Marathon Man (1976)
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The story
Thomas Babington "Babe" Levy, a history student and distance runner at Columbia University in New York City, becomes unwittingly entangled in a dangerous conspiracy. After his brother, Doc, is involved in a plot by Nazi war criminal Christian Szell to retrieve a cache of stolen diamonds, Babe finds himself caught in the crossfire. When Doc is mortally wounded by Szell, Babe is kidnapped and subjected to a terrifying ordeal. He must rely on his physical endurance and wits to survive the clutches of the ruthless Szell and navigate a world of espionage and hidden agendas in the heart of New York City.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Babe Levy, a student at Columbia University, is caught in a conspiracy involving his brother Doc, who is secretly working for a government agency. After Doc is mortally wounded by the Nazi war criminal Christian Szell while trying to protect a cache of diamonds, Babe is kidnapped and tortured by Szell. He is eventually rescued by Peter Janeway, a double agent who reveals the truth about Szell's wealth. After escaping, Babe enlists his neighbors to help him reclaim his belongings and arms himself. He eventually confronts Szell at a pump house in the Central Park reservoir. In a final confrontation, Babe forces Szell to face the reality of his crimes, and Szell dies after falling onto his own blade while trying to seize the diamonds. The film concludes with Babe discarding his weapon in the reservoir.
- First release year
- 1976
- Runtime (minutes)
- 125
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- John Schlesinger
- Writers
- William Goldman · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Dustin Hoffman · Babe Levy; Laurence Olivier · Christian Szell; Roy Scheider · Doc; William Devane · none; Marthe Keller · Elsa Opel
- Genres
- suspense thriller; crime thriller; political thriller
- Themes
- endurance; pursuit of Nazi war criminals; survival
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- thriller; espionage; historical fiction; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1974 novel of the same title
- Reception
- The film was a financial and critical success.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 82% · scale: percentage · review count: 49
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Globe Award · Best Supporting Actor · win; Academy Award · Best Supporting Actor · nomination; Golden Globe Award · Best Director · nomination; Golden Globe Award · Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama · nomination; Golden Globe Award · Best Actress · nomination; BAFTA Award · Best Actor in a Leading Role · nomination; BAFTA Award · Best Editing · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was the first feature to use the Steadicam for its theatrical release.; The character 'The White Angel' was inspired by Josef Mengele.; The film features a scene at the Paris Opera using music from Hérodiade.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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