Marathon Man
Directed by	John Schlesinger
Produced by	Sidney Beckerman Robert Evans
Written by	William Goldman (novel and screenplay)
Starring	Dustin Hoffman Laurence Olivier Roy Scheider
Music by	Michael Small
Cinematography	Conrad Hall
Editing by	Jim Clark
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Released	1976 (United States)
Running time	125 mins.
Language	English
IMDb profile

Marathon Man is a 1974 paranoid thriller novel by William Goldman that was made into a 1976 film directed by John Schlesinger. Image File history File links Marathon_Man. ... John Richard Schlesinger (February 16, 1926–July 25, 2003) was a British film director. ... Robert Evans (Born Robert J. Shapera Born June 29, 1930 in New York, New York) is best known as the producer of the films Rosemarys Baby, Love Story, The Godfather and Chinatown. ... William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... Dustin Hoffman Hoffman with Ben Stiller in 2004s Meet the Fockers. ... Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten The Right Honourable Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, KBE (May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989) was an Oscar winning English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... Roy Richard Scheider (born November 10, 1932) is an American actor. ... Conrad L. Hall (June 21, 1926 - January 4, 2003) was a top-billed Hollywood cinematographer. ... The Paramount Pictures logo used since 2003. ... // Events March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas Star Wars science fiction film. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... The conspiracy thriller (or paranoid thriller) is a subgenre of the thriller which flourished in the 1970s in the US (and was echoed in other parts of the world) in the wake of a number of high-profile scandals and controversies (most notably Vietnam, the assassination of President Kennedy, Chappaquiddick... William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... // Events March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas Star Wars science fiction film. ... John Richard Schlesinger (February 16, 1926–July 25, 2003) was a British film director. ...

The story is about a former Nazi SS dentist from Auschwitz, Dr. Christian Szell (presumably modelled, at least in part, on the real-life Josef Mengele), now residing in Uruguay, trying to smuggle a large quantity of diamonds out of the U.S. This involves an ultra-secret intelligence agency called "The Division". The plot revolves around Thomas "Babe" Levy, a graduate student and runner who is haunted by the suicide of his father, which was caused by the witchhunts of McCarthyism decades earlier. Thomas also has a brother, who unbeknownst to him works for this secret governmental body. The term National Socialism has been used in self-description by a number of different political groups and ideologies, some of which have no connection with the Nazis; see National socialism (disambiguation). ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... Auschwitz, in English, commonly refers to the Auschwitz concentration camp complex built near the town of Oświęcim, by Nazi Germany during World War II. Rarely, it may refer to the Polish town of Oświęcim (called by the Germans Auschwitz) itself. ... Josef Mengele Josef Mengele, M.D., Ph. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Man Running - Edward Muybridge Horse Running - Edward Muybridge Running is by definition the fastest means for an animal to move on foot. ... A witch-hunt is a search for suspected witches; it is a type of moral panic. ... McCarthyism took place during a period of intense suspicion in the United States primarily from 1950 to 1954, when the U.S. government was actively countering American Communist Party subversion, its leadership, and others suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers. ...

Film

In 1976, Marathon Man was made into a film starring Dustin Hoffman as Babe and Laurence Olivier as Dr. Szell. Olivier was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and he won a Golden Globe in the same category. The film is nearly identical to the novel due to the fact that William Goldman also wrote the screenplay, although the film and the novel have different endings. 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... Dustin Hoffman Hoffman with Ben Stiller in 2004s Meet the Fockers. ... Laurence Olivier, as photographed in 1939 by Carl Van Vechten The Right Honourable Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM, KBE (May 22, 1907 – July 11, 1989) was an Oscar winning English actor and director, esteemed by many as the greatest actor of the 20th century. ... Academy Awards The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent film awards in the United States. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... William Goldman (born August 12, 1931) is an American novelist, playwright and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ...

Both the novel and the film are known for a graphic scene in which the Nazi dentist tortures Babe by drilling into his teeth without the use of anesthetic, all the while asking, "Is it safe?", referring to getting his diamonds. Babe has no idea what the question refers to or even the identity of the person asking it, making it impossible for him to give the answer his seeks. The dentist offers him oil of cloves as positive inducement to cooperate. Anesthesia (AE), also anaesthesia (BE), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... Oil of cloves is a natural analgaesic used in dentistry. ...

External link

• Marathon Man at The Internet Movie Database

Is it safe?