Marathon Man

Year:  1975

Director:  John Schlesinger

Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the novel Marathon Man by William Goldman

Starring:  Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider, William Devane, Marthe Keller

Running Time:  125 minutes

Genre:  Thriller

In New York City, history student Thomas "Babe" Levy (Hoffman), who is also training to run a marathon, becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving sadistic Nazi Christian Szell (Olivier) and his attempt to obtain a cache of stolen diamonds.

Based on the 1974 novel by William Goldman, who also wrote the film's screenplay, this is not the film to watch just before your next visit to the dentist, as the film's most memorable scene involves Szell torturing Thomas by drilling into his teeth while intoning over and over again "Is it safe?... is it safe?... is it safe?..."  However it may be seen by the good people of the dental profession, this is an effective thriller, as with many films of the seventies there is a chilling air of paranoia that hangs over proceedings.  It does take a long time to get going, and several of the narrative threads don't really hang together, but for the most part it works really well, and has some genuinely exciting scenes.  Dustin Hoffman gives a great performance as the fresh-faced, wide-eyed marathon runner, who becomes increasingly haunted and hollow-eyed, as he is used to the limits by his torments.  Laurence Olivier is memorably chilling as the Nazi, with his collection of dental instruments and retractable knife hidden in his shirtsleeve.  One of the most famous behind the scenes anecdotes about the film is method actor Hoffman informing Olivier that he stayed up for three days to look tired on screen, to which Olivier replied "Why don't you just try acting?  It's much easier."  Roy Scheider is also good as Hoffman's older brother who is leading a double life.    

Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman in Marathon Man

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Year:  1988

Director:  Terry Gilliam

Screenplay:  Terry Gilliam and Charles McKeown

Starring:  John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce, Robin Williams, Valentina Cortese

Running Time:  126 minutes

Genre:  Fantasy, adventure, comedy

 

The 18th Century, "The Age of Reason":  A European city is under siege.  As battle rages, the flamboyant, eccentric Baron Munchausen (Neville) offers to rescue the city, but first has to reunite his disparate group of superpowered assistants.  The Baron sets off, along with young stowaway Sally (Polley), on a surreal adventure.

Inspired by a real-life figure from the 18th century, who became something of a celebrity for spinning outlandish tall tales about his various exploits, Baron Munchausen has appeared in books, plays, radio and television shows as well as several other films.  It's easy to imagine that director Terry Gilliam probably saw more than a little of himself in the figure of the outlandish Baron, who refuses to accept reality for what it is.  Best known for his part of the Monty Python comedy troupe, Gilliam had already made a name for himself with bizarre, outlandish fantasy films, and for his refusal to compromise his vision.  Gilliam's epic struggle with Universal over the final cut of Brazil (1985) had already become the stuff of Hollywood legend.  With it's intricate puzzle box structure, tales within tales within tales, and audacious visuals and freewheeling plot, as well as the constant feeling of barely suppressed anarchy, this is a kind of Hollywood filmmaking that we are unlikely to see again, a big budget epic in service to one person's vision and imagination.  Terry Gilliam was a director who really put everything at the service of his film, regardless of the cost and it is unlikely that in modern Hollywood he would be given this much freedom again.  This may not entirely be a bad thing.  Sarah Polley, who was nine years old at the time of filming, has written that she was terrified and exhausted the whole time she worked on the film.  Although she did give her blessing for people to still watch and enjoy the film, and commented that it was still "a great film".  Even Gilliam's fellow Python Eric Idle commented that, in regard to Terry Gilliam films, "you don't want to be in them".  The film itself is a fantastic epic.  It doesn't always work, there are slow passages, and it doesn't always hang together, but there are also indelible images and delightfully bizarre moments, as well as plenty of offbeat cameos, including Robin Williams as the King of the Moon, with a detachable flying head; Oliver Reed at his most satanic as the Roman god Vulcan, depicted here as an arms manufacturer dwelling in a volcano and building a prototype of nuclear bomb; and Uma Thurman making her film debut as Venus. Right from the start where the Baron bursts in upon a theatrical depiction of his story where the cardboard sets become a lavish Sultan's palace, the film is unexpected, and sometimes disturbingly eccentric.   Gilliam saw the film as the third part of a loose "Trilogy of Imagination" beginning with Time Bandits (1981) and continuing with Brazil (1985).  

John Neville and Sarah Polley in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen