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Murphy's War

Murphy's War

Drama · War · 1971

Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the administrator of the local oil company.

Movie details

Murphy's War

“World War Two was just ending. World War Murphy is about to begin.”

1971 Drama · War 1h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.1 / 10

Community rating

Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the administrator of the local oil company.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Murphy's War?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Peter Yates

Written by

Stirling Silliphant

Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole

Murphy

Siân Phillips

Siân Phillips

Hayden

Philippe Noiret

Philippe Noiret

Brezan

Horst Janson

Horst Janson

Lauchs

John Hallam

John Hallam

Ellis

Ingo Mogendorf

Ingo Mogendorf

Voght

J

John Clifford

German Submarine Crewman (uncredited)

Court is in session

Put Murphy's War on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.