Murphy (Peter O’Toole) isn’t trying to take out a sub because he believes in the war effort. Murphy wants revenge. A German U-Boat killed all of the men on the ship he was serving aboard; Murphy was the lone survivor. Now, against the advice of his doctor (Siân Phillips) and rescuer (Philippe Noiret), he is determined to go after the sub using a seaplane that’s in need of repairs.
Peter Yates’s Murphy’s War is an excellent character study that gives its three leads (plus Captain Kronos’ Horst Janson, as the U-boat commander) plenty of material without ever having to stoop to cliches, like having Dr. Hayden fall in love with Murphy (especially since O’Toole and Phillips were then married in real life). O’Toole, in particular, is in top form as an Irishman with none of his edges smoothed off.
Initially, the film plays around with keeping the existence of the U-boat uncertain. Nobody but Murphy saw the thing, but ultimately this would’ve interfered with the action, so the “Boy Who Cried Sub” element doesn’t last. Instead, Murphy’s War deals with the consequences of revenge in a pragmatic way that does not glamorize Murphy’s actions.
My favorite bonus feature on Indicator’s Blu-Ray is an interview with film historian Stuart Hall, who breaks down the difference of opinion between Yates and screenwriter Stirling Silliphant and what they wanted the film to be versus what the producer, Michael Deeley, envisioned. Hall also brings up John Barry’s score and how there isn’t a lot of music in the movie (which is one of the reasons why I feel some of the flying sequences drag).
That being said, there’s no shortage of goodies on this disc. John Glen (who was co-editor and 2nd unit director on Murphy’s War) and Robin Vidgeon (who was the focus puller) both show up with stories to tell in their interviews.
“Michael Deeley in Conversation” is an audio recording of an interview the producer did with Matthew Field in September 2008 to promote his memoir, Blade Runners, Deer Hunters, and Blowing the Bloody Doors Off: My Life in Cult Movies. Unfortunately, Murphy’s War doesn’t come up but that’s not really surprising considering Deeley also helped produce and/or distribute such titles as The Italian Job and Don’t Look Now. It’s a comprehensive interview at over 40 minutes long, but Indicator have it playing over a black screen. Some photos would’ve made all the difference.
There’s also a short archival interview with Noiret in French, a short documentary on Douglas Slocombe — who was the cinematographer on Murphy’s War, and whose lengthy career saw him work with everyone from Joseph Losey (The Servant) to Steven Spielberg (Raiders of the Lost Ark) — and a Super 8 version of the film, which answers this intriguing question? how do you take a film that’s almost two hours long and bring it down to 20 minutes? (One answer: remove the seaplane.)
The alternate US ending credits are, visually, the same as the British ones but instead of instrumental music playing in the background, the much more jaunty “My Hat’s on the Side of My Head,” plays again. Instead of your typical, downbeat 1970’s ending it completely changes the tone to black comedy.
Finally, the booklet includes an essay by Julian Wheeler, who writes about the film’s effective use of real locations and “working boats and planes,” Murphy as an anti-hero, and mentions The African Queen, which is a comparison I hadn’t thought to make. Rather, the first film I thought of while watching Murphy’s War was Action in the North Atlantic. There’s also an article that fact checks the press kit and an article that looks at two interviews Peter O’Toole did at the time for Photoplay Film Monthly and Sumter Daily Item.
Murphy’s War is available on Region 2 Blu-Ray from Indicator.
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