Murphy’s War, 1971.
Directed by Peter Yates.
Starring Peter O’Toole, Siân Phillips, Philippe Noiret, and Horst Janson.
SYNOPSIS:
Arrow Video has issued Peter Yates’ 1971 film Murphy’s War, based on the novel by Max Catto, on Blu-ray with a new restoration of the print, a new bonus feature, three archival extras, and a booklet with an essay. It’s a worthwhile pick-up if you’re a fan.
I don’t know if Hollywood will ever exhaust the potential well of stories coming out of World War II. It was such an extensive conflagration that there are always nooks and crannies ready to be explored, whether through true stories or made-up ones.
In the case of Murphy’s War, a 1971 film based on the novel of the same name by Max Catto, we have a personal conflict between the Irishman Murphy (Peter O’Toole) and the crew of a German U-boat. Murphy survived the sinking of a merchant marine ship by that U-boat, and after he’s nursed back to health by Dr. Hayden (Siân Phillips), a missionary at a nearby settlement, he sets his sights on revenge.
He’s aided in his quest by Louis Brezon (Philippe Noiret), a Frenchman who has spent the war maintaining oil rigs in the area and developing a friendship with Dr. Hayden, who has enmeshed herself into the local Venezuelan community. It’s not clear why the Germans would have bothered sending a U-boat after a merchant marine ship during the waning days of World War II, especially in South America, of all places.
I was able to suspend my disbelief regarding that, although I had a harder time understanding Murphy’s increasingly obsessive desire to destroy the U-boat. It makes sense that he wanted to exact revenge, especially since the U-boat captain ordered the murder of all the merchant marine crew members as they struggled in the water, but he brings death and destruction to the settlement and nearly gets Louis killed.
In addition, the war ends as he carries out his final plan, and that information doesn’t deter him. Honestly, my issue is with the fact that I don’t fully understand his maniacal drive. Is there some trauma in his past that the incident has triggered, or some other reason why he wouldn’t just count himself lucky and welcome peace?
In the end, that question doesn’t completely ruin the movie for me, as evidenced by the rating I gave it, but an answer to that conundrum may be found in a new audio essay by film critic David Cairns that was commissioned for this new Blu-ray from Arrow.
During his discussion, Cairns notes that at the time, O’Toole had a desire to play a character who’s an enigma to the audience. I can appreciate that urge, but I don’t think Murphy’s War was the right movie to carry through that idea.
Cairns’ piece is called Running Out of War and runs nearly 20 minutes. It covers the making of the film as well as what brought together the major players. Another interesting tidbit is the fact that the movie was part of a slate developed by Robert Evans when he took over running Paramount. Obviously, it ended up overshadowed by his other hits of that era.
The rest of the extras are of the archival variety, including a half-hour interview with John Glen, who was co-editor and second unit director, a 17-minute chat with focus puller Robin Vidgeon, and a 17-minute discussion with film critic Sheldon Hall. All of the bonus features are worth your time, and hats off to whoever decided to interview a focus puller; I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on a disc.
The theatrical trailer and an image gallery round out the platter. Arrow also included a booklet with a new essay by film critic Philip Kemp.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Brad Cook
Originally published February 4, 2024. Updated April 22, 2024.
