Marathon Man
- The Disc:5.0
Paramount Home Entertainment. Available to buy and rent on April 11. SRP: $24.95The Film: John...
Paramount Home Entertainment. Available to buy and rent on April 11. SRP: $24.95
The Film: John Schlesinger's 1976 classic thriller pits innocent college student Dustin Hoffman against ice cold but wholly maniacal Nazi Laurence Olivier.
The Sight & Sound: The film has never looked or sounded so good with its spruced up 16:9 enhanced picture and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix.
The Extras: One of the most famous stories in Hollywood emanates from Marathon Man. In preparation for a scene where he's to be exhausted after spending three nights on the run, Dustin Hoffman actually didn't sleep for three days. On seeing his messed up co-star, famed British thesp Laurence Olivier muttered, "Why didn't you just act it, boy?" This has come to define the difference between Method and theatre acting. But in the absorbing doco Remembering Marathon Man, Hoffman says it's been taken out of context, stating that Olivier himself had been guilty of such Method excesses, and that the real reason he'd been up for three days was because he was partying at Studio 54. All the major players (co-star Roy Scheider, director Schlesinger, writer William Goldman and Hollywood icon and producer Robert Evans) are on board for the doco, and they paint a loving picture of Olivier as a surprisingly funny and endearing man; Hoffman even borders on tears at one stage. There's also a "making of" doco from 1976, and a surprisingly rich stash of rehearsal footage.
The Worth: A true classic gets its due on DVD.
