IMDb plot summary: A lone survivor from a British naval ship is obsessed with getting revenge on a German U-boat crew that massacred his shipmates in the water.
Directed by Peter Yates. Starring Peter O'Toole, Sian Phillips, and Philippe Noiret.
Murphy's War stars Peter O'Toole as the sole survivor of a German submarine attack on his ship in World War II, and he makes it his personal mission to single-handedly take down the submarine that killed the rest of his shipmates. I have commented before on how Peter Yates' filmography is a constant yo-yo between different genres, and this is yet another example to add to the list. This strikes an interesting tonal balance between the enthusiasm of an underdog heist film and the cynicism of an anti-war picture. Murphy is a pretty uninteresting character and we never really get the sense of why he's so determined to bring this sub down by himself, but O'Toole does his best to bring him to some form of life. The most interesting piece is probably watching the side characters get hurt along the way and seeing how little that does to sway Murphy's decision. The final twenty minutes or so are the most engaging as Murphy's quest finally reaches its culmination, but it's not one that I think will stick in my mind for very long.
How it entered my Flickchart:
Murphy's War < Forever Young
Murphy's War > Bounce
Murphy's War < The Apostle
Murphy's War > Amen.
Murphy's War > Spinning Into Butter
Murphy's War < The Kid Who Would Be King
Murphy's War < Blade Runner
Murphy's War < Runaway Jury
Murphy's War > Captain Fantastic
Murphy's War > Touch of Evil
Murphy's War > Serial Killer 1
Final spot: #2441 out of 3737, or 35%.
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