Marathon Man

Marathon Man (1976)

Timing: 2:5 (125 min)

7.216/10
1025

All about film

Video 3

Photo 27

Actors and characters

Release date

1976-10-08

Country

United States

Production

Paramount

Genre

Thriller

Budget

$6 500 000

Revenue

$21 709 020

Website

Director

John Schlesinger

Actors

Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller, Fritz Weaver, Richard Bright, Marc Lawrence, Allen Joseph, Tito Goya
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Robert Evans, Sidney Beckerman

Operator

Conrad L. Hall

Composer

Michael Small

Artist

Audition

Jane Feinberg, Mike Fenton

Editing

Jim Clark
All team (24)

• To some extent, Sir Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) agreed to the role in this film in order to leave money for his family, as he knew he was ill with cancer and wouldn't live long. The actor continued treatment during filming, which involved taking a large amount of painkillers. The painkillers negatively affected his memory, and Olivier sometimes had difficulty remembering his lines. For his work in "Marathon Man," Olivier was nominated for an "Oscar." The actor died only 13 years after the film's release.
• Producer Robert Evans only saw Laurence Olivier in the role of Dr. Schell. However, the actor was undergoing cancer treatment at the time, no one would insure him, and Paramount Pictures refused to work with him. In desperation, Evans contacted close friends of actress Merle Oberon (1911-1979) and actor David Niven (1910-1983), and they organized a special session of the House of Lords (the upper house of the British Parliament), where Evans personally appealed to parliamentarians to put pressure on Lloyd's to insure Olivier. His plan was successful.
• To prepare for the role, Dustin Hoffman lost about 7 kg of weight. The actor ran 6 km every day.
• The torture scene had to be cut after some viewers felt unwell during a preview screening.