Peter O’Toole (The Ruling Class) gives one of his most spirited and memorable performances in Murphy’s War, a blood-and-thunder adventure film directed with grit by Peter Yates (The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Deep).
O’Toole is the titular Irish merchant seaman, whose ship is attacked by a German U-boat on the Orinoco river in Venezuela during the dying days of World War II. The sole survivor, Murphy is picked up by a French oil engineer (Philippe Noiret, Cinema Paradiso) and taken to a native village hospital where he is treated by the pacifist Quaker Dr Hayden (Siân Phillips, Becket, Dune). During his convalescence, Murphy plots his one man war on the enemy U-boat that callously slaughtered his shipmates…
Filmed on location in infamously uncompromising conditions, Murphy’s War combines impressively staged action with harsh realism and good humour. Presented on Blu-ray for the first time, and accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras, along with a booklet containing new writing on the film.
Release Information:
Technical Specifications
Supplements
- Michael Deeley in Conversation (2008, 42 mins): archival audio recording of the Murphy’s War producer in an onstage discussion with Matt Field, recorded at London’s BFI Southbank
- Philippe Noiret on ‘Murphy’s War’ (1971, 6 mins): extract from the French television programme Bulletin d’information
- A Great Adventure (2022, 31 mins): in-depth account of the film’s production with editor and assistant director John Glen
- Dougie, Chic and Me (2022, 18 mins): focus puller Robin Vidgeon recalls working with director of photography Douglas Slocombe and camera operator Chic Waterson
- One Man Army (2022, 18 mins): appreciation by academic and film historian Sheldon Hall
- Behind the Camera: Douglas Slocombe (1999, 13 mins): archival documentary by Richard Blanshard on the great cinematographer, featuring interviews with Richard Attenborough, Frank Marshall, Alan Parker and Ken Russell
- Super 8 version: original cut-down home-cinema presentation
- Alternative US ending credits
- Textless theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with a new essay by Julian Wheeler, a look at the production of the film, an archival interview with Peter O’Toole, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits