CinefanR Although I'm not a big fan of war movies, I found this one very good, which comes as no surprise since Peter O'Toole is in it. Here you'll see him in a rather unexpected "macho" role, and he's as convincing as Lawrence, general Tanz or any other characters he's ever played. This is pretty much a one-man-show, and what a show! While his vengeance is of course reminiscent of Ahab's personal vendetta, "Murphy's war" is all about O'Toole's intensity and his unmatched ability to capture madness, pain, obsession, self-absorption.As I understood, O'Toole did most of the stunts himself, so the horrified look on his face, in the breath taking plane sequence, was actually the real deal. Well, I guess that explains the feel of authenticity. Either way, that must be one of the most memorable moments of the genre.It was a pleasant surprise to see that Germans actually speak German, which is unusual for that particular era of movie-making. (Remember "Where Eagles Dare", where Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood wanted to pass as Germans officers while speaking in English, or "The Night of the Generals" where French generals where talking to each other in English). It's a detail of no major importance by any means, but it ads to the overall impression of realism.This drama about the devastating effects of war, with great acting, a most realistic flight sequence and a surprising conclusion that fits perfectly – is not to be missed.I'm still hoping for a better DVD transfer in Region 2.

writers_reign As newspaper freebies go this isn't bad but over and above any entertainment value is the fascination with the rip-off and crude attempts at movie subtlety; they producers seem to think that by changing the war from the 1st to the second, changing the Continent from Africa to South America and changing a cockney to an Irishman and a missionary to a doctor no one is going to spot that we're talking African Queen here with a soupcon of Moby Dick for good measure. There are, of course, other minor differences; in The African Queen it is the missionary Katie Hepburn who wants to destroy the German ship and has to convince Bogie's Charlie Allnut to go along with it whilst here it is Murphy (Peter O'Toole) as single minded as Ahab in his quest for the White whale, who is obsessed with destroying the German ship and Sian Phillips doctor who is against it from the first. Another modification is to meld the Missionary of The African Queen into Sian Phillip's doctor and Philippe Noiret's general factotum and to throw us off the scent by having O'Toole initially attempt to bomb the submarine from a seaplane he has found, rebuilt and learned to fly. Only when this fails does he resort to ramming it a la African Queen style. For all that it's a gripping enough tale in the best tradition of Boy's Own Paper and both O'Toole and Noiret turn in fine performances. I haven't read the novel by Max Catto, a third-rate writer who successfully sold several of his novels to Hollywood - Fire Down Below, Trapeze, The Devil At Four O'Clock etc and it may well have been him who ripped off C.S. Forrester's superior work but that aside this remains a decent enough divertissement.

nosirrahg I first saw this film in the mid-to-late 1970's when it aired on television. Before the VCR made movies readily available, my older brother and I always made a point to catch this movie whenever it aired - such a great combination of scenery, machinery, revenge; all with very realistic acting, sets, and dialog. Everything in this film has a great patina to it. As submarine-related movies go, I'd put this one right up there with "Das Boot" for realism in terms of the sub footage, and as someone else posted here, the sound on the flying sequences is great! There's one scene in the movie involving a machine shop, a Victrola, and a big band-era song played over and over. A few years ago I became obsessed with trying to find a copy of this song (which I learned was titled "My Hat's on the Side of my Head"). I managed to find a copy, and actually enjoy playing it over and over when I'm out in my garage working on my car, lawn mower, etc. Having grown up on a farm doing repairs on equipment for years, I have to say this may be the only film I can think of that has any memorable scenes dealing with mechanic-type work.

stewardia 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.