Load of rubbish!!

It is a performances centric movie

Awesome Movie

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

"Murphy's War" is one of Peter O' Toole's better films. The script isn't always up to standard but his performance easily compensates for this and he is only one of a handful of cast members who is British. The leading lady, Sian Phillips (Mrs. O' Toole) is very effective as the medic of the island which provides the films setting. As the title implies, it becomes a case of Murphy carrying his private revenge upon the German sailors who slaughter his comrades as they are defenceless against a German U boat. Murphy is the sole survivor. A true act of cowardice, it is understandable why Peter O' Toole would harbour feelings of hate and anger. However, he is prepared to go to any lengths in order to avenge his fellow sailors. His plan of revenge borders on obsession until it takes over his every day life. He repairs an old plane that has been abandoned on the island but Murphy realises it will take a heck of a lot more in completing his task of defeating the enemy. The photography certainly adds to the proceedings, as does Peter Yates's direction. He manages to keep "Murphy's War" on an even keel.

Set toward the tail-end of World War Two, "Murphy's War" stars Peter O'Toole as Murphy, an Irish sailor whose ship is sunk by a German U-boat. Seeking revenge, Murphy creates makeshift bombs, straps them to a plane and embarks on a quest to sink Germans. The film was directed by Peter Yates, an English director best known for 1968's "Bullit" and 1970's "The Friends of Eddie Coyle".Like Herman Melville's "Moby Dick", "Murphy's War" is about a monomaniacal sailor's obsessive hunt. The film then ends with some then trendy anti-war pretensions, Murphy's madness extending into post-war peacetime such that he, like Meville's Captain Ahab, loses his own life in slaying the beast. Though a thin, conventional and at times dated film, "Murphy's War" boasts another dazzling performance by O'Toole.7/10- See "Decision before Dawn" and "The African Queen".

I can't make up my mind how I feel about Murphy's War. It is a simple story - Murphy is the sole survivor of a German U-Boat attack where the Germans make a point of making sure there are no survivors. Ending up on the remote Brazilian coast while the U-Boat undertakes repairs up-river, Murphy decides to refurbish a derelict seaplane in order to bomb and sink the U-Boat. His plans continue even after hostilities cease.Peter O'Toole plays the obsessed Murphy in another definitive performance 9 years after his career-establishing Lawrence. His support, all excellent, comprise then-wife Sian Phillips as a doctor servicing the local tribe, Philippe Noiret as a stranded engineer, and Horst Janson as the U-Boat commander. But this is O'Toole's film.There is an odd conflict here between, on the one hand, the gorgeous scenery and exhilarating flying sequences and, on the other hand, the underlying story and the unattractiveness of Murphy's character and obsession. It is a worthwhile film but I was far from sure whether I had actually enjoyed it.

Murphy's War is one of my top 50 most loved films, and I've watched A LOT of films, in all genres. When a film with a straightforward narrative, and a relatively simple plot with very few characters can rivet you to your seat right until the end, you have a hell of a story on your hands! The wide 2.35:1 format and outstanding cinematography by Oscar winner Douglas Slocombe are ideally matched to the location and type of action. And the reviewer who thinks the role of Murphy isn't suited for Peter O'Toole should have his head examined! O'Toole IS Murphy as much as he IS Lawrence of Arabia. Murphy's progression deeper and deeper into a vengeance-clouded mania is masterfully accomplished; he's in good company here, along with Gregory Peck's Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, Spencer Tracy's Old Man in The Old Man and the Sea, and Robert Shaw's Captain Quint in Jaws, O'Toole's tenacious Irishman Murphy is an inspiration easily absorbed and applied to all situations in which one may be considered the underdog by a wide margin. In other words, Murphy isn't an ironic post modern anti-hero. He's the old fashioned everyman, overcoming incredible odds to achieve his ends kind of hero. One could critique the film from sociological or psychological perspectives, and question whether the screenwriter intended for Murphy to symbolize the evil war can bring out in man, or the greatness, or both. But without reading anything into it, Murphy's War is on a primary level simply a terrific action yarn, well worth owning on DVD.