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

All the President's Men

Year of Release:  1976
Director:  Alan J. Pakula
Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the book All the President's Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
Starring:  Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Hal Holbrook, Jason Robards
Running Time:  138 minutes
Genre:  Political thriller, drama

This film tells the story of the investigation into the infamous Watergate scandal, in which five men burgled the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington DC, and the subsequent cover-up by then President Richard Nixon.  The film focuses on the investigation into the scandal by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward (Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Hoffman), and is based on the non-fiction book they subsequently wrote.

The film is one of the classic films about journalism.  The film contrasts the brightly lit, open plan offices of the Washington Post where characters are constantly in motion, followed by a constantly roving camera, with shadowy with shadowy, dimly lit homes, offices, and the underground garages where Woodward meets his mysterious informant (Holbrook).  This is about the day to day business of journalism, days spent on the phone and knocking on doors, desperately searching for anyone who will talk to them, pouring over reams of documents for scraps of information or verification.  This all could seem quite dry, and confusing, but as scripted by William Goldman, and directed by Alan Pakula, who made several political thrillers during the 1970s, it is quite gripping and fairly easy to follow, even if you are not particularly familiar with the case.  The story keeps moving along, with committed performances from the cast and a wealth of background detail.  In the scenes in the Post offices, both the foreground and the background are kept in focus. 
The film was released just a couple of years after the Watergate scandal concluded and so most of the original audience would probably have been aware of the case, but now it is kind of a historical case, even though it was one of the major American political scandals and one of the key events of the 1970s, although by today's standards it all seems rather quaint.

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford in All the President's Men

The Princess Bride

Year of Release:  1987
Director:  Rob Reiner
Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the book The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Starring:  Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Peter Falk
Running Time:  94 minutes
Genre:  Fantasy, adventure, comedy

In the magical land of Florin, young farmhand Westley (Elwes) must battle villains and magic to rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup (Wright), from the evil Prince Humperdink (Guest).

This is a genuinely magical film, which works as a fairy-tale and as a spoof of fairy tales.  It's funny throughout and full of endlessly quotable dialogue ("Hello.  My name is Inigo Montaya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die.").  It features great action, particularly the impressive dueling sequences.  It also has great, funny performances, including cameos from a number of well-known comedians (such as Mel Smith, Peter Cook, Billy Crystal and Carol Kane).  The film also has a fun post-modern element with the story being framed as a fairy-tale that a grandfather (Falk) is reading to his ill grandson (Savage) who would rather be playing videogames.  The movie balances it's various elements perfectly with the comedy working along with the romance and the fantasy adventure, and none of them drowning out the others.   Even for people who don't like fairy-tales, like the grandson, it's almost impossible not to get swept up in this hilarious magical adventure that is just as much fin for adults as it is for children.

Robin Wright and Cary Elwes in The Princess Bride

Misery

Year of Release:  1990
Director:  Rob Reiner
Screenplay:  William Goldman, based on the novel Misery by Stephen King
Starring:  James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall
Running Time:  107 minutes
Genre:  Thriller, horror

Paul Sheldon (Caan) is the writer of a best-selling series of historical romance novels featuring heroine Misery Chastain.  However he is sick of the series and in his latest novel concludes the series by finally killing off Misery, so he can begin work on more "serious" literary fiction.  However, driving through the mountain roads of Colorado on his way to deliver the manuscript he is badly injured in a serious car accident.  Luckily he is saved by nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates) and taken to her remote farmhouse.  Even better, Annie is his Number One Fan!  However she is not happy about his new artistic direction, and she is even less happy when she reads the final Misery novel.  Now Paul has to write one special Misery novel, just for her.  Because when Annie  gets upset, people get hurt. Very badly hurt.

This is a gripping thriller, based on a 1987 Stephen King novel.  The novel was very personal to King, and he was reluctant to sell the film rights, although he was happy to let Rob Reiner make the film, because Reiner had made Stand By Me (1986), one of King's favourite adaptations of his work.  The book was inspired partly due to the very negative reaction many of his fans had to King's non-horror fantasy novel The Eyes of the Dragon.  King felt that the horror genre was imprisoning him, and he wanted to branch out.  King was also in the grip of a serious drug addiction at the time he was writing the novel, and later claimed that the character of Annie Wilkes was a metaphor for drugs.

The film is about the "contract" between creators and their audience.  The fans pay their money for what the creator produces, but in return they want the creator to keep on producing the material they like.  However, what happens when the creator wants to do something different?  When they do not want to produce what the fans demand.  Of course there is no contract.  You pay for the individual book, comic, film, whatever, and have no right to tell the creator what to do in the future.  There are of course the people who would strongly disagree with this.  The Annie Wilkes of the world who would say "Oh no, you're ours.  You'll do what we say."

Essentially this is a two-hander between James Caan and Kathy Bates, both of whom turn in fantastic performances.  In the unpredictable Annie Wilkes, who can turn from kindly, caring nurse to violent maniac in an instant, Kathy Bates creates one of the screen's greatest and most memorable monsters, and walks away with the entire film.  James Caan is affecting as the tortured writer.  Caan is a big, physically imposing actor, best known for tough guy roles such as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather and it's interesting to see him almost completely de-powered.   Richard Fansworth and Frances Sternhagen provide comic relief, and a break from the claustrophobic tension in the farmhouse,  as the kindly local Sheriff and his sarcastic wife.

The film mostly concerns itself with the psychological duel between Annie and Paul, however it does have one teeth-clenchingly shocking moment with the "hobbling" scene involving Annie, Paul's feet and a large sledgehammer.

Tense, exciting and sometimes very funny, surprisingly so, this is one of the best Stephen King adaptations, and a truly fantastic thriller.

    Bedside manner:  Kathy Bates and James Caan in Misery