Murphy's War

1971
PG-13
1h 47m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

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.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.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.

Director
- Peter Yates
Writers
- Max Catto
- Stirling Silliphant
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.7/10

4.1K

YOUR RATING

Director
- Peter Yates
Writers
- Max Catto
- Stirling Silliphant
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos146

+ 139

Top cast10

Edit

Peter O'Toole

Murphy

Siân Phillips

Hayden
(as Sian Phillips)

Philippe Noiret

Brezan

Horst Janson

Lauchs

John Hallam

Ellis

Ingo Mogendorf

Voght

John Clifford

Submarine Crewman
(uncredited)

Harry Fielder

German Sub Crewman
(uncredited)

George Roubicek

U-Boat Crewman
(uncredited)

Bob Simmons

member of German sub crew
(uncredited)

Director
- Peter Yates
Writers
- Max Catto
- Stirling Silliphant
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
The part of the U-Boat was played by a Venezuelan submarine, the former USS Tilefish (SS-307). The floating crane was, itself, a former WW2 tank landing craft.

Goofs
(at around 1h 17 mins) There is modern-day traffic on the far right of the screen crossing a high bridge just above the tree-line.

Quotes
Brezan: Man is only truly alive when he confronts death.
Murphy: He can also be truly dead.

Alternate versions
The original UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC to remove 2 uses of the word 'fuck' and to edit shots of bloody shootings and dead bodies for an 'A' (PG) certificate. The 12-rated UK DVD release restores the gunshot scenes but also has the swear words blanked out, and an inferior 4:3 transfer.

Connections
Featured in Entertainment This Week Salutes Paramount's 75th Anniversary (1987)

Soundtracks
My Hat's on the Side of My Head
(uncredited)
Written by Harry M. Woods and Claude Hulbert
Performed by Roy Fox
Played on the gramophone

User reviews60

Review

Featured review

9/10

An old favorite of mine

In scanning through these reviews, I'm very pleased to see that this movie is well liked by many people.

I saw it first around the time it came out and even though I was only eleven or twelve, many things about this movie left an impression on me: the sunny, tropical locations, the excellent cast and the impeccable performances.

The very last scene where Murphy is literally consumed by his own revenge is at least as memorable and disturbing as the last scene in The Planet of the Apes (60's version) and drives home the whole point of the movie as perfectly as I've ever seen it done.

See it! You won't be disappointed.