Murphy's War Blu-ray - Peter O'Toole

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Peter Yates
UK 1971

"Peter O’Toole (The Ruling Class) gives one of his most spirited and memorably performances in Murphy’s War, a blood-and-thunder adventure film directed with grit by Peter Yates (The Friends of Eddie Coyle, The Deep).

O’Toole is the titular Irish merchant seaman, whose ship is attacked by a German U-boat on the Orinoco river in Venezuela during the dying days of World War II. The sole survivor, Murphy is picked up by a French oil engineer (Philippe Noiret, Cinema Paradiso) and taken to a native village hospital where he is treated by the pacifist Quaker Dr Hayden (Siân Phillips, Becket, Dune). During his convalescence, Murphy plots his one man war on the enemy U-boat that callously slaughtered his shipmates…

Filmed on location in infamously uncompromising conditions, Murphy’s War combines impressively staged action with harsh realism and good humour. Presented on Blu-ray for the first time, and accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras, along with a booklet containing new writing on the film."

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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.

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Theatrical Release: January 13th, 1971

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Review: Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: or buy directly from, Indicator: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Indicator - Region 'B' - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:46:12.532
Video	2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,698,561,275 bytes Feature: 31,048,910,016 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.90 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 2.35:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 46,698,561,275 bytes Feature: 31,048,910,016 bytes Video Bitrate: 34.90 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Michael Deeley in Conversation (2008): archival audio interview with the Murphy’s War producer, recorded onstage at BFI Southbank (41:38) • Philippe Noiret on Murphy's War (5:59) • Interview with editor and assistant director John Glen (2022) (31:08) • Interview with focus puller Robin Vidgeon (2022) (17:18) • Video appreciation by academic and film historian Sheldon Hall (2022) (17:17) • Behind the Camera: Douglas Slocombe (1999): archival documentary on the great cinematographer, featuring interviews with Richard Attenborough, Alan Parker and Ken Russell (12:46) • Super 8 version: original cut-down home-cinema presentation (20:15) • Alternate US Ending Credits (1:19) • Textless theatrical trailer (3:20) • Image gallery: promotional and publicity material • Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Julian Wheeler, an archival interview with Peter O’Toole, a look at the production of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits Blu-ray Release Date: may 30th, 2022 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (May 2022): Indicator have transferred Peter Yates's Murphy's War to Blu-ray. It is cited as being a "High Definition remaster". It is on a dual-layered disc with a max'ed out bitrate. It looks consistent, clean and the colors - notably the Venezuelan foliage near the Orinoco River - have a natural richness. Contrast looks well-realized in 1080P and the visuals carry depth with instances of pleasing detail in close-ups. The image quality is solid.

NOTE: We have added 60 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use a linear PCM mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. Murphy's War has war-related aggression; planes, machine guns, torpedoes etc. which come through flat but carrying subtle depth. The film's wonderful music is composed by John Barry (Inside Moves, The Whisperers, Boom, Deadfall, Jagged Edge, The Chase, Midnight Cowboy, Dances With Wolves and the Bond themes among his many credits) and Ken Thorne (Juggernaut, Arabian Adventure, Hannie Caulder, Wolf Lake, The Bed Sitting Room, The Outsider) - there is also My Hat's on the Side of My Head performed by Roy Fox played on the gramophone and Onward Christian Soldiers sung by Peter O'Toole. This all sounds clean and consistent with track titles; The Village, Learning To Fly, The Nurse, Murphy Watches, Destroy The Enemy and the Finale - superb in the uncompressed transfer. Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region 'B' Blu-ray.

Supplements on Indicator's Blu-ray offers a 2008 audio interview entitled Michael Deeley in Conversation with Murphy’s War producer, recorded in an onstage discussion with Matt Field at BFI Southbank for over 40-minutes. There is also a short video piece with Philippe Noiret on Murphy's War. It is a 1971 extract from the French television programme 'Bulletin d’information'. We also get a new 1/2 hour interview with editor and assistant director John Glen providing an in-depth account of the film’s production. There is a 17-minute interview with focus puller Robin Vidgeon who recalls working with director of photography Douglas Slocombe and camera operator Chic Waterson. One Man Army is a new 18-minute appreciation by academic and film historian Sheldon Hall. I enjoyed the archival documentary on the great cinematographer, Douglas Slocombe, featuring interviews with Richard Attenborough, Alan Parker and Ken Russell. He is very interesting as Slocombe worked on The Knack... and How to Get It, The Italian Job, The Man Who Fell to Earth, The Deer Hunter, Blade Runner and the first three Indiana Jones films. It runs over a dozen minutes. Indicator include a 20-minute Super 8 version of the film - an original cut-down home-cinema presentation, there are the alternate US ending credits, a textless theatrical trailer and an image gallery of promotional and publicity material. The package has a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Julian Wheeler, an archival interview with Peter O’Toole, a look at the production of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits.

Peter Yates's Murphy's War is an exceptional film with a stellar cast/crew. It has Peter O'Toole as 'Murphy' - the lone survivor of a sunk British naval ship (filmed near the Orinoco River in Venezuela) who is obsessed with exacting revenge on a German U-boat crew that slaughtered his friends - despite the global status of the war's conclusion. There are some significant differences from the Max Catto novel - notably in the conclusion. It evokes The African Queen. Michael Deeley states that he and Peter Yates turned down the opportunity of The Godfather (1972) to make Murphy's War. Siân Phillips was acting opposite her then-husband Peter O'Toole. We can always count on Indicator to produce the best possible Blu-ray packages. This is a fine example - a fabulous film, the best a/v and extensive supplements. This film and package are both strongly recommended!