Episode 76: MARATHON MAN

[AlexChristianLovendahl 34]

This movie's okay. I probably slot it about my 50% mark. It's just not canon. At all.

[Marsellus_H 118]

I give this one a yes. It's fun to watch. It's got a bit of a slow start, but the last 40 minutes are bonkers. There's also kind of a fan theory to it, in which Babe didn't survive the "Is it safe?" scene and everything else is a fever dream in his mind. That's just good enough for the canon. Also, I do agree that 3 great scenes make a at least a discussion-worthy episode, so I totally look forward for Amy to suggest shitty films with three kinda great sequences.

[KickMuncher3 46]

I disagreed with most of Amy's criticisms, but I still voted no. It's a really good film and i'm thankful that this podcast gave me an excuse to watch it, but it just didn't cut the mustard as far as the canon goes. I don't think every movie in the canon needs to be a flawless all-time great, but i think it should have something significant to set it apart and i just don't think Marathon Man has enough to do so.

 

(p.s. i'd never encountered the "is it safe" line in my life before watching this film last week)

[EricScott 12]

Sometimes I don't get Amy's rationale AT ALL, but this is just a very good thriller, not a Canon movie. It looks better now because Hollywood has forgotten how to make adult-oriented thrillers (i.e., no superheroes, wizards or over-the-top CGI), but that doesn't mean that THE MARATHON MAN is even one of the 20 best thrillers of all time--because it's not.

[Kreiter 15]

Soft no. It's a decent movie, but it's in that mid-tier of 70's paranoia thrillers and it's not even the best Dustin Hoffman paranoia thriller from 1976.

[SXSTexas 2]

I voted yes.

 

Just to correct the record, William Goldman did not write the screenplay for Good Will Hunting, as Amy suggested in the podcast. He is credited as consultant. Affleck & Damon took the Oscar for their original screenplay, a fact I never thought I'd be bringing up in this forum.

[sjmills 0]

Who would no for this? People who don't know film, that's who. This movie has everything going for it.

[chaplinatemyshoe 46]

I voted yes.

 

Just to correct the record, William Goldman did not write the screenplay for Good Will Hunting, as Amy suggested in the podcast. He is credited as consultant. Affleck & Damon took the Oscar for their original screenplay, a fact I never thought I'd be bringing up in this forum.

 

To piggyback your point, Goldman's major contribution was supposedly telling them to cut out a spy plot storyline that apparently dominated the movie's second half and refocus the script on the romance.

[MorganPeterBrown 0]

A bit torn here. Love Hoffman, Olivier and Scheider, but I love them all more in other things. And I agree with Devin about the film's great scenes, but overall I'm afraid this one doesn't quite add up to a "must watch" for me. Really good, but not Canon.

[JeffreyMcDonald 65]

I've been with Amy quite a lot lately. Very soft "no". A pillowy marshmallow "no" because while I enjoyed bits and aspects of the film, it simply did not come together as a whole for me. I guess the "three really good scenes" rule did not quite convince me.

 

For next week: So in the car ride to the desert, I can't keep my eyes off Somerset, who barely says anything. After all the nihilistic voice overs and his conversations with Mills, how is he reacting to what John Doe is saying? Is he slightly in agreement? Disagreement? Conflicted? Really interesting acting from Freeman going on there there. It seems almost like he doesn't really snap out of his disconnectedness until after his realization of "what's in the box". I haven't watched the movie in at least 10 years though, so I'm interested to see it again. It's just that bit always stuck with me. I'm wondering if I'm remembering it properly.

[MichaelSoderberg 4]

New listener to the show, only worked my way through some of the biggest movies so far (I could not BELIEVE the treatment of Forrest Gump!).

This was the first episode I listened to in "real time", that is the week it aired, and thus voted on. One scene does not Canon make, IMO, and the "is it safe?" scene, while great, is the only thing this movie is (and should be) remembered for. So I voted no just now... bringing it to 33 no vs 34 yes!

 

Great podcast. Looking forward to going through both the backlog and the new episodes!

[c-wallz 1]

Don't mean to be THAT guy but there is more no votes on the poll and in the SE7EN episode, Marathon Man is announced as being inducted into The Canon. Did the poll close before the episode aired? Just bringing it up in case Amy or Devin didn't notice. It also bothers me Marathon Man (mediocre film, never heard of "Is it safe?" before this movie but i am young) is in The Canon and Close Encounters still isn't.

 

Great podcast! Keep up the good work!

[sjmills 0]

BTW, jogging was rapidly becoming a popular fad in the '70s. It was totally a thing in 1976.

[devincf 102]

Don't mean to be THAT guy but there is more no votes on the poll and in the SE7EN episode, Marathon Man is announced as being inducted into The Canon. Did the poll close before the episode aired? Just bringing it up in case Amy or Devin didn't notice. It also bothers me Marathon Man (mediocre film, never heard of "Is it safe?" before this movie but i am young) is in The Canon and Close Encounters still isn't.

 

Great podcast! Keep up the good work!

 

At the time when the podcast went up the yes votes were winning. We will close the polls in the future, as it seems that people keep voting after the winner is announced.