I remember watching Marathon Man as a kid way (way) back in the late 70's. The Nazi-Dentist torture scene stuck with me for a long time - I was 7 or 8 back then. And you're right again, Night Moves (1975) is another fucking great movie.
The constant gut tightening tension in this movie and of course the dental scenes makes this thriller a rare occasional revisit even knowing the final outcome. I can recall only one other time in the theater of unending tension watching a movie and that was the first time seeing the original "Alien" in a movie house filled with an audience undergoing the same fear of what's going to happen next.
William Goldman attended a screening of Marathon Man. Most of the audience knew in advance about the dental torture scene. They got up when this was about to start and went out to the lobby for drinks, then came back afterwards. Goldman said that dentists reported a slump in business for several months after the movie's release. When even a movie tough guy like Marc Lawrence has to look away during the scene.......
@@tonybush555 you know what Tony, just for you I'm gonna check it out today and by sometime today or tomorrow I'll give you my thoughts on it, then I'll promptly finish this review, your taste has been proven time and time again to be more refined than a bundle of diamonds beneath a waterfall. :)
I remember seeing this film on HBO in the 70's, I had to read the book. The movie is great Lawrence Olivier scared the crap out of me. Roy Schieder was great as the brother. William Devane played a great creepy villian. The other two thugs were scary too. The plot and action was great it is still wonderful to watch.
Yeah, he's creepy as hell. Love the scene where Hoffman 'hires' the local black dudes so he can be sneaked out of the building. Devine points his gun at Hoffman and a load of pistols spring up in response from the gang. 'Blow it out your a*se, MF!'
A welcome review of an undoubted classic. Thank you. Fair Play to you for pointing out the ludicrous claims made by Critics in an attempt to undermine the film. My only suggestion would have been for Gold and not worthless Rocks. Still, I wasn't the writer.
I've read the novelization by Goldman himself. That book ends differently- with Szell being shot down while being preached at- thus closer to being a Jewish revenge fantasy. It's really good. It also had a bit more of Roy's character. Showing how jaded he is with his work.
John Schlesinger, early in his career, was an assistant director on episodes of Danger Man. It featured an agent in thrilling circumstances staring Patrick McGoohan. So it's not surprising he was able to handle this film. Another successful assistant director from Danger Man was Peter Yates. He did a thriller The House on Carrol Street. His most well known film may be Bullit because of the terrific car chase.
What a beautiful review of certainly one of Hoffman's/Schlesingers greatest hollywood days -although I think Schlesinger took perverse pleasure in biting the hand that fed him making the wonderfully oddball Honky-tonk freeway again with Devane. MMis such a superbly enigeered movie and it's influence is still present (the back story and some of dialogue straight out of MM IN Indiana Jones 5). As you mentioned a cast all excellent with schieder taking a early dive -which shocked me the first time I saw it. And Hoffman's Utterly believable central performance coupled with Olivier giving a burn the screen believable Nazi ideology, rather than moustache twirling kraut. It's a phenomenal movie that still has power , in part to it rarety on TV and THAT scene but other scenes are as horrific -szells ease with killing anyone he deems a threat. Truly unique and Unforgettable. As to Jewish revenge cinema this isn't anymore than the boys from Brazil or raid on enterbee . Which during the seventys early early eighties labeled as such . Brilliant review
Now this is a classic! Admittedly Hoffmans age never was a problem when watching this back in the 90’s when I first saw it, but watching it recently he does seem a touch too old to playing the character, but it’s a minor quibble. I’ve always been a fan of William Devane, and was overjoyed last year when his Vietnam veteran revenge film Rolling Thunder was finally released on Blu Ray in the UK, Schlesinger would direct the not as good but still effective occult thriller The Believers about 10 years after with Martin Sheen, that’s worth checking out. Thanks for another great review Tony!
After watching your review made me want rewatch MM. Its a almost perfect thriller none of the actors give bad performances, the score although minimal is striking. Schlesinger always a certain director given the right material and actors really could deliver. Some scene subvert others-scheiders "It isn't safe" to Olivier's "is it safe?" Devanes good guy and bad guy simultaneously. Far superior to 99% of the trash that classed as thrilling these days. Great review
Thanks for another fascinating review, Tony. Lots of evocative stills, as always. MM is such a beautifully-shot movie. And William Devane has a distinctive dark charisma, doesn't he? BEST, D.
I'm in total agreement with you Tony. Marathon Man is one of the very best thrillers I have ever seen. Superb performances by all involved and a sense of spine tingling dread running through the entire film. Modern thrillers just don't compare. As always a great review Tony.
You do t see movies like this anymore every part was a draw me in and waiting for next line so well done I often wish it would pop up on utube it's so good you won't stop till it ends a realistic movie that draws you in like a magnot😊
I need to revisit this film because it's been to long. Hollyweird has apparently run out of new ideas will likely butcher this one before long. The Exorcist has already been handed to David Gordon Green after butchering (see how I did that) Halloween 3 times.
When i first watched this as a kid the torture scene put me off Dentists for years. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie though, still do. Great choice to review. Cheers.
Marathon Man should be released every ten years or so, to show film makers how its done. There is nothing wrong with this thriller...PERIOD, the critics of the day would write anything to fill their columns, they did not have a clue then, and they are still the same. When you come out of the cinema, or switch off your DVD player after watching a film, and you say, " What a f*****g great film. " Let's go to the chippy. That's all you need. Take care Tony.
I saw the movie when it came out, but as a huge fan of the book (which I consider one of the greatest thrillers ever written), I was a little disappointed. Well written, acted and directed, but just not as great as the book. My appreciation of the film has grown after re-watching it multiple times over the years. As for the Snickers bar, it was only ever called the Marathon bar in the UK. It has always been Snickers everywhere else.
Which would explain why there was no film-product tie in when Marathon Man came out. There's so much they could have done, especially considering the relationship between confectionery and tooth decay. And an ad featuring Olivier and Hoffman with a dentistry angle to it would have been a blast. I wonder why my career in advertising never took off? T.
Very Good Movie indeed...stars Somewhat promising, very erie and i like that...and to its credit , its necessary for a mystery plot at the time the plot twist, you get the same grade of revelation as the protagonists which makes more tense and paranoid...
Probably my favourite thriller of all time. Hoffman is brilliant, Scheider gives Bourne a run for his money but it is Olivier who steals the show. Pure charming malevolence, who has a sickening care to his craft, not to mention the utter greed he has for the diamonds that almost manifests almost to hunger is sensational, add to that his conversation with Janeaway where the latter says with pure cynicism “I believe in my country” And Szell replies “So did we all” A masterclass in acting IMO.
Forgotten to say Schlesingers very funny almost chamber piece An Englishman Abroad about guy Burgess and coral Browne's meeting in Moscow on BBC iPlayer at moment. It an excellent little movie (0nly 60minutes)
In fairness to that critic, giving the Nazi villain the Christian name Christian was a just a bit heavy handed. I always found it a touch amusing that the hired killer sent to off Doc was a middle-aged, paunchy Chinese man. Couldn't Szell have fashioned more of a disguise than just shaving his head? All in all, a film I like but don't love.
Critics are the worst. Critics blasted John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining & Vertigo among others & now they're considered classics same as Marathon Man. Olivier should've won Best Supporting Actor for Marathon Man.
Professional Film Critic seems a funny old job. Doesn't seem to require any specific qualifications or experience. Way open to temptation and corruption by external influences. Hard to take seriously when you think about it. Thank you for commenting, Steve. Appreciated. T.
"John Carpenter's The Thing" was the actual title of the film by which it is widely known. Many commonly truncate it to just "The Thing." I don't think the person posting the comment was suggesting he directed The Shining and Vertigo. T.
@-Trauma. John Carpenter puts his name in as part of the title on many of his movies. You may not know that. Another movie you could add to this list is the remake of Scarface with Al Pacino & directed by Brian De Palma.
Good point. Reasoned assumption, most likely, based on what else could he possibly want? Why else would her kill Szell's two goons rather than Babe?Then why decide to try and stop Babe with a bullet if not concerned about him killing Szell and either taking the diamonds for himself or turning them over? I don't believe his main concern at this point was Babe killing Szell - as an asset the Nazi was finished and he was a liability. I'm the first to agree that certain elements in Marathon Man don't make sense, but the same could be said of a lot of great films, The Big Sleep, for example. I'm open to other theories and suggestions regarding Janeway's motives in the film. His earlier cynical and flippant claim "I love my country" was intentionally hollow, I think, so patriotism doesn't ring true to me. Thanks for commenting, appreciated, T.
@@RideAcrossTheRiver That ship had sailed. Szell had broken cover, was too much of a liability, too visible, causing chaos, hence Janeway's shooting of his two henchmen. Szell was a spent force. And Janeway had a mecenary mindset.
Directed beautifully, scored wonderfully, really gets that grotty isolated New York of the 1970s across and mostly really well cast... ...but personally I hate the movie. The problem is I read the book first and Hoffman basically ruined the film for me. Not just due to him being cast as Babe (too old and annoyingly hysterical), but for all the changes Hoffman himself made to the plot. This was at the peak of his stardom and apparently he wasn't pleased with certain actions his character takes- he still wanted to emerge the likeable good guy at the end of the film as he thought anything else would damage his star power. It basically misses a huge part of the what made the book great. In the book, Babe is put through the ringer and psychologically destroyed by the end: the banality of evil, the long shadow of antisemitism and anticommunism and hatred and violence he studied so hard from a safe distance consumes him and he becomes a killer as merciless as those he once studied. He gets confidence and steel, but at the expense of a lot of his humanity. Don't get me wrong, it's still a pulpy thriller book at the end of the day, but it did have some meat to it and was an interesting take of violence begats violence. Hoffman didn't like this too much, so requested that the baddies all kill themselves in nonsensical and increasingly slapstick ways and Babe jogs away a hero. Didn't wash for me and I was thoroughly disappointed, especially as the rest of the cast and production was so good. One of those few films I think would actually benefit from a more faithful remake.
Whilst I don't share your perspective on the film, John, I can certainly understand it from the way you express it. If I hadn't seen the film in isolation, having not read the novel beforehand, I might feel somewhat the same way. To some extent I try not to compare novels and films as they're two different media experienced in different ways but the reading of a novel beforehand and absorption of it's themes does automatically induce certain expectations. It's always been a source of annoyance and regret to me that Richard Matheson's I Am Legend has never been faithfully represented on screen. He wrote a script for Hammer based closely on his novel that the censors of the time literally stopped in its tracks and it never got made. Back then, screenplays could be submitted to the BBFC to get a heads up on how they might react to a finished product. It was made abundantly clear that if Hammer stuck to the screenplay a certificate of any sort would be refused. The separation of a movie and the literary version isn't always as easy as I sometimes like to think, so I do get and understand your viewpoint. Thanks for posting an interesting and honest comment. Appreciated. T.
@@tonybush555My opinion of Marathon man book-vs-film is really born of frustration in that that rest of the film is SO good- Schneider and Olivier are top of their game and the forever underused and underappreciated Devane is absolutely stellar. I understand why it's lauded so much. If it was an out-and-out bad film I wouldn't be so personally annoyed with it Hoffman's ego-driven meddling. And yeah, I agree with I Am Legend: like Marathon Man one of the first 'grown up' stories I read when I was just a young nipper and like you I've been frustrated ever since that there's never been an adaptation that 'gets it' and does justice to the book's ending (see also: Thomas Harris's Red Dragon, which has a gutwrenching ending both adaptations chickened out on). Interesting to hear about Matheson writing an adaptation for Hammer. Would have loved to have seen that.
@@johntaylorson7769Like I said, I do get and understand where you're coming from with this, John. Sometimes it's not easy separating the two media when expectations and ideas of potential are frustrated. Works the other way sometimes. I much prefer Kubrick's take on The Shining to that of the Stephen King novel and always found it difficult to swallow King's chagrin over the film. After all he sold it, took the money, just like any other author does - after which, all bets are off. Talking of King, he was greatly influenced by I Am Legend. Before which, most horror fantasy media was set in the long ago time in countries and locations far away. Matheson brought the horror closer to home in terms of place and time, planted it in suburbia and modern cities, even though it was set in what was then the future - the 1970s. He shifted the perspective and opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Always felt John Carpenter would be an ideal choice to make a similarly themed film or TV version, focusing on the gradual role reversal and blurring of the lines between hero and monster that resonates quite chillingly. Something he explored in The Thing. Sorry, I'm rambling now. Many thanks. T.
@@tonybush555 Ha, no worries mate, I've been known to ramble myself (if that's not evident already). I really should look up more works by Matheson: again, I read Duel as a nipper and loved that- and as with your experience with The Shining, I felt the film was more affecting than that source material (but then it's still my favourite work by Senor Spielbergo and you can't quite recreate the predatory growl of a homicidal Peterbilt in the pages of a book). Anyway, I definitely need to read more Matheson- you've given me a kick up the arse to track some down...
I remember watching Marathon Man as a kid way (way) back in the late 70's. The Nazi-Dentist torture scene stuck with me for a long time - I was 7 or 8 back then. And you're right again, Night Moves (1975) is another fucking great movie.
Grateful thanks for your comment, Ricardo. Appreciated. T.
Dustin Hoffman character screaming in pain is so real It goes right through you. The 70's were Hollywood's 2nd Golden Age.
And sadly its last, Fred. Thank you for commenting. Appreciated. T.
The constant gut tightening tension in this movie and of course the dental scenes makes this thriller a rare occasional revisit even knowing the final outcome. I can recall only one other time in the theater of unending tension watching a movie and that was the first time seeing the original "Alien" in a movie house filled with an audience undergoing the same fear of what's going to happen next.
William Goldman attended a screening of Marathon Man. Most of the audience knew in advance about the dental torture scene. They got up when this was about to start and went out to the lobby for drinks, then came back afterwards. Goldman said that dentists reported a slump in business for several months after the movie's release. When even a movie tough guy like Marc Lawrence has to look away during the scene.......
Cheers, Keith. Thanks for commenting. T.
I've got nothing to add on this one, it's simply a stone freaking classic. Love your take as always.
You put it wonderfully succinctly and accurately, Larry. Thanks for commenting. T.
now this sounds like a film I'll unequivocally love! you've sold me Tony!
It is one of the best, Streed. If you check it out, let me know what you think. T
@@tonybush555 you know what Tony, just for you I'm gonna check it out today and by sometime today or tomorrow I'll give you my thoughts on it, then I'll promptly finish this review, your taste has been proven time and time again to be more refined than a bundle of diamonds beneath a waterfall. :)
@@AbrasiousProductions Thanks, Streed, look forward to your response.
I remember seeing this film on HBO in the 70's, I had to read the book. The movie is great Lawrence Olivier scared the crap out of me. Roy Schieder was great as the brother. William Devane played a great creepy villian. The other two thugs were scary too. The plot and action was great it is still wonderful to watch.
Thank you, Stanley, Appreciated. T.
Yeah, he's creepy as hell. Love the scene where Hoffman 'hires' the local black dudes so he can be sneaked out of the building. Devine points his gun at Hoffman and a load of pistols spring up in response from the gang. 'Blow it out your a*se, MF!'
@@PaIaeoCIive1684 That's a great scene, and one of the rare flashes of humour in the film. Might be the only one now I think of it. Many thanks. T.
Thank you vey much Tony Bush ,this is a classic!Michael Small's soundtrack is mindblowing so is the one he composed for The Driver.Stellar cast !
Thank you for commenting, yann.
@@tonybush555 you're welcome your reviews are excellent and funny .I love your dedication to movies.I guess I'm a film buff
A welcome review of an undoubted classic. Thank you. Fair Play to you for pointing out the ludicrous claims made by Critics in an attempt to undermine the film. My only suggestion would have been for Gold and not worthless Rocks. Still, I wasn't the writer.
And thank you, Tom, for commenting. Appreciated. T.
I had my wisdom teeth out at that dentist last week, cost an arm and a leg
I've read the novelization by Goldman himself. That book ends differently- with Szell being shot down while being preached at- thus closer to being a Jewish revenge fantasy. It's really good. It also had a bit more of Roy's character. Showing how jaded he is with his work.
He's also known Scylla in book and his relationship with janeaway is much less ambiguous
John Schlesinger, early in his career, was an assistant director on episodes of Danger Man. It featured an agent in thrilling circumstances staring Patrick McGoohan. So it's not surprising he was able to handle this film. Another successful assistant director from Danger Man was Peter Yates. He did a thriller The House on Carrol Street. His most well known film may be Bullit because of the terrific car chase.
Thanks for commenting, barbaras2669. Appreciated. T.
completely accurate and thoroughly entertaining!
Thank you, Steven. T.
What a beautiful review of certainly one of Hoffman's/Schlesingers greatest hollywood days -although I think Schlesinger took perverse pleasure in biting the hand that fed him making the wonderfully oddball Honky-tonk freeway again with Devane.
MMis such a superbly enigeered movie and it's influence is still present (the back story and some of dialogue straight out of MM IN Indiana Jones 5). As you mentioned a cast all excellent with schieder taking a early dive -which shocked me the first time I saw it. And Hoffman's Utterly believable central performance coupled with Olivier giving a burn the screen believable Nazi ideology, rather than moustache twirling kraut.
It's a phenomenal movie that still has power , in part to it rarety on TV and THAT scene but other scenes are as horrific -szells ease with killing anyone he deems a threat.
Truly unique and Unforgettable. As to Jewish revenge cinema this isn't anymore than the boys from Brazil or raid on enterbee . Which during the seventys early early eighties labeled as such .
Brilliant review
Many thanks for commenting and your continued interest and support, Graeme. T.
This one is in my top 10. Great review, new sub here sir.
Thank you, Jamie. T.
Now this is a classic! Admittedly Hoffmans age never was a problem when watching this back in the 90’s when I first saw it, but watching it recently he does seem a touch too old to playing the character, but it’s a minor quibble. I’ve always been a fan of William Devane, and was overjoyed last year when his Vietnam veteran revenge film Rolling Thunder was finally released on Blu Ray in the UK, Schlesinger would direct the not as good but still effective occult thriller The Believers about 10 years after with Martin Sheen, that’s worth checking out. Thanks for another great review Tony!
You're more than welcome, jnrazic. Thanks for commenting. T.
After watching your review made me want rewatch MM.
Its a almost perfect thriller none of the actors give bad performances, the score although minimal is striking.
Schlesinger always a certain director given the right material and actors really could deliver. Some scene subvert others-scheiders "It isn't safe" to Olivier's "is it safe?"
Devanes good guy and bad guy simultaneously.
Far superior to 99% of the trash that classed as thrilling these days.
Great review
Thanks as always, Graeme, for your continued interest and support. Appreciated. T.
Thanks for another fascinating review, Tony. Lots of evocative stills, as always. MM is such a beautifully-shot movie. And William Devane has a distinctive dark charisma, doesn't he? BEST, D.
Thanks for commenting, David. Appreciated. T.
I'm in total agreement with you Tony. Marathon Man is one of the very best thrillers I have ever seen. Superb performances by all involved and a sense of spine tingling dread running through the entire film. Modern thrillers just don't compare. As always a great review Tony.
Always good to see a comment from you, The Wickerman. Many thanks. T.
You do t see movies like this anymore every part was a draw me in and waiting for next line so well done I often wish it would pop up on utube it's so good you won't stop till it ends a realistic movie that draws you in like a magnot😊
Thanks cor commenting, daveid6244. Appreciated. T.
Another great review never saw this movie thanks
Hope you get around to watching it some time, Ronald. Thanks for commenting. T.
Love you're fecking review!
Love your fecking comment!
Great Vid yet again! The book is brilliant also. Scylla the rock.
Cheers, John. Thank you for commenting. T.
I need to revisit this film because it's been to long. Hollyweird has apparently run out of new ideas will likely butcher this one before long. The Exorcist has already been handed to David Gordon Green after butchering (see how I did that) Halloween 3 times.
Too true, Peyton. Many thanks. T.
When i first watched this as a kid the torture scene put me off Dentists for years.
I thoroughly enjoyed the movie though, still do.
Great choice to review.
Cheers.
Cheers to you too, JD1978. Thanks for your comments. T.
Marathon Man should be released every ten years or so, to show film makers how its done. There is nothing wrong with this thriller...PERIOD, the critics of the day would write anything to fill their columns, they did not have a clue then, and they are still the same. When you come out of the cinema, or switch off your DVD player after watching a film, and you say, " What a f*****g great film. " Let's go to the chippy. That's all you need. Take care Tony.
Nothing wrong with it? Apart from the fact the plot is laughable and makes zero sense
I saw the movie when it came out, but as a huge fan of the book (which I consider one of the greatest thrillers ever written), I was a little disappointed. Well written, acted and directed, but just not as great as the book. My appreciation of the film has grown after re-watching it multiple times over the years. As for the Snickers bar, it was only ever called the Marathon bar in the UK. It has always been Snickers everywhere else.
Which would explain why there was no film-product tie in when Marathon Man came out. There's so much they could have done, especially considering the relationship between confectionery and tooth decay. And an ad featuring Olivier and Hoffman with a dentistry angle to it would have been a blast. I wonder why my career in advertising never took off? T.
Very Good Movie indeed...stars Somewhat promising, very erie and i like that...and to its credit , its necessary for a mystery plot at the time the plot twist, you get the same grade of revelation as the protagonists which makes more tense and paranoid...
Thanks for commenting, Daniel. Appreciated. T.
@tonybush555 Anytime...I recommend you a good 70's Thriller called " Midnight Express " 1978
Probably my favourite thriller of all time. Hoffman is brilliant, Scheider gives Bourne a run for his money but it is Olivier who steals the show. Pure charming malevolence, who has a sickening care to his craft, not to mention the utter greed he has for the diamonds that almost manifests almost to hunger is sensational, add to that his conversation with Janeaway where the latter says with pure cynicism
“I believe in my country”
And Szell replies “So did we all”
A masterclass in acting IMO.
Love this film
A fine sentiment, Android3008. T.
Forgotten to say Schlesingers very funny almost chamber piece An Englishman Abroad about guy Burgess and coral Browne's meeting in Moscow on BBC iPlayer at moment. It an excellent little movie (0nly 60minutes)
American movies of the 70’s … the golden age
Yes, indeed. T.
well done
Thank you for commenting, Richard. Appreciated. T.
A brilliant movie
Marathon Man is a brilliant film
Agreed, John. T.
I what scene is the Biomota SB5?
In fairness to that critic, giving the Nazi villain the Christian name Christian was a just a bit heavy handed.
I always found it a touch amusing that the hired killer sent to off Doc was a middle-aged, paunchy Chinese man.
Couldn't Szell have fashioned more of a disguise than just shaving his head?
All in all, a film I like but don't love.
Thanks for commenting, anrun. Appreciated. T.
Critics are the worst. Critics blasted John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining & Vertigo among others & now they're considered classics same as Marathon Man. Olivier should've won Best Supporting Actor for Marathon Man.
Professional Film Critic seems a funny old job. Doesn't seem to require any specific qualifications or experience. Way open to temptation and corruption by external influences. Hard to take seriously when you think about it. Thank you for commenting, Steve. Appreciated. T.
The Thing. Classic. Lol
What the hell?! John Carpenter didn't direct those other films. 😒
"John Carpenter's The Thing" was the actual title of the film by which it is widely known. Many commonly truncate it to just "The Thing." I don't think the person posting the comment was suggesting he directed The Shining and Vertigo. T.
@-Trauma. John Carpenter puts his name in as part of the title on many of his movies. You may not know that. Another movie you could add to this list is the remake of Scarface with Al Pacino & directed by Brian De Palma.
How do you figure Janeway was after Szell's diamonds? There's no indication of that in the film.
Good point. Reasoned assumption, most likely, based on what else could he possibly want? Why else would her kill Szell's two goons rather than Babe?Then why decide to try and stop Babe with a bullet if not concerned about him killing Szell and either taking the diamonds for himself or turning them over? I don't believe his main concern at this point was Babe killing Szell - as an asset the Nazi was finished and he was a liability. I'm the first to agree that certain elements in Marathon Man don't make sense, but the same could be said of a lot of great films, The Big Sleep, for example. I'm open to other theories and suggestions regarding Janeway's motives in the film. His earlier cynical and flippant claim "I love my country" was intentionally hollow, I think, so patriotism doesn't ring true to me. Thanks for commenting, appreciated, T.
@@tonybush555 Janeway protected Szell to gain info about other Nazis.
@@RideAcrossTheRiver That ship had sailed. Szell had broken cover, was too much of a liability, too visible, causing chaos, hence Janeway's shooting of his two henchmen. Szell was a spent force. And Janeway had a mecenary mindset.
This film is as dumb as a sack of hammers, there's nothing about that makes the slightest bit sense.
I'll tell ya this Tony, I was born too damn late.. everything in my generation is deteriorating faster than Biden's fragile mind
Directed beautifully, scored wonderfully, really gets that grotty isolated New York of the 1970s across and mostly really well cast...
...but personally I hate the movie. The problem is I read the book first and Hoffman basically ruined the film for me. Not just due to him being cast as Babe (too old and annoyingly hysterical), but for all the changes Hoffman himself made to the plot. This was at the peak of his stardom and apparently he wasn't pleased with certain actions his character takes- he still wanted to emerge the likeable good guy at the end of the film as he thought anything else would damage his star power. It basically misses a huge part of the what made the book great.
In the book, Babe is put through the ringer and psychologically destroyed by the end: the banality of evil, the long shadow of antisemitism and anticommunism and hatred and violence he studied so hard from a safe distance consumes him and he becomes a killer as merciless as those he once studied. He gets confidence and steel, but at the expense of a lot of his humanity. Don't get me wrong, it's still a pulpy thriller book at the end of the day, but it did have some meat to it and was an interesting take of violence begats violence.
Hoffman didn't like this too much, so requested that the baddies all kill themselves in nonsensical and increasingly slapstick ways and Babe jogs away a hero. Didn't wash for me and I was thoroughly disappointed, especially as the rest of the cast and production was so good. One of those few films I think would actually benefit from a more faithful remake.
Whilst I don't share your perspective on the film, John, I can certainly understand it from the way you express it. If I hadn't seen the film in isolation, having not read the novel beforehand, I might feel somewhat the same way. To some extent I try not to compare novels and films as they're two different media experienced in different ways but the reading of a novel beforehand and absorption of it's themes does automatically induce certain expectations. It's always been a source of annoyance and regret to me that Richard Matheson's I Am Legend has never been faithfully represented on screen. He wrote a script for Hammer based closely on his novel that the censors of the time literally stopped in its tracks and it never got made. Back then, screenplays could be submitted to the BBFC to get a heads up on how they might react to a finished product. It was made abundantly clear that if Hammer stuck to the screenplay a certificate of any sort would be refused. The separation of a movie and the literary version isn't always as easy as I sometimes like to think, so I do get and understand your viewpoint. Thanks for posting an interesting and honest comment. Appreciated. T.
@@tonybush555My opinion of Marathon man book-vs-film is really born of frustration in that that rest of the film is SO good- Schneider and Olivier are top of their game and the forever underused and underappreciated Devane is absolutely stellar. I understand why it's lauded so much. If it was an out-and-out bad film I wouldn't be so personally annoyed with it Hoffman's ego-driven meddling.
And yeah, I agree with I Am Legend: like Marathon Man one of the first 'grown up' stories I read when I was just a young nipper and like you I've been frustrated ever since that there's never been an adaptation that 'gets it' and does justice to the book's ending (see also: Thomas Harris's Red Dragon, which has a gutwrenching ending both adaptations chickened out on). Interesting to hear about Matheson writing an adaptation for Hammer. Would have loved to have seen that.
@@johntaylorson7769Like I said, I do get and understand where you're coming from with this, John. Sometimes it's not easy separating the two media when expectations and ideas of potential are frustrated. Works the other way sometimes. I much prefer Kubrick's take on The Shining to that of the Stephen King novel and always found it difficult to swallow King's chagrin over the film. After all he sold it, took the money, just like any other author does - after which, all bets are off. Talking of King, he was greatly influenced by I Am Legend. Before which, most horror fantasy media was set in the long ago time in countries and locations far away. Matheson brought the horror closer to home in terms of place and time, planted it in suburbia and modern cities, even though it was set in what was then the future - the 1970s. He shifted the perspective and opened up a whole new world of possibilities. Always felt John Carpenter would be an ideal choice to make a similarly themed film or TV version, focusing on the gradual role reversal and blurring of the lines between hero and monster that resonates quite chillingly. Something he explored in The Thing. Sorry, I'm rambling now. Many thanks. T.
@@tonybush555 Ha, no worries mate, I've been known to ramble myself (if that's not evident already). I really should look up more works by Matheson: again, I read Duel as a nipper and loved that- and as with your experience with The Shining, I felt the film was more affecting than that source material (but then it's still my favourite work by Senor Spielbergo and you can't quite recreate the predatory growl of a homicidal Peterbilt in the pages of a book). Anyway, I definitely need to read more Matheson- you've given me a kick up the arse to track some down...