I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid and I couldn't remember what it was all about but something in the back of my mind told me it was worth watching again. Anyway, one of the sunday papers was given it away free recently so why not.
I'm glad I did. Basically, the story is nonsense but the acting and some of the scenes are just fantastic. Murphy, played by Peter O'Toole, is a merchant seaman who's ship is torpedoed by a U Boat somewhere off Venezuela in WW2. He's rescued and looked after by a British missonary nurse, played by Sian Phillips (who was a friend of my Mum!) and a French oil engineer.
After he regains his health, all he can think about is getting revenge and sinking the U Boat. As it happens, the wounded pilot of the convoy floatplane manages to fly the plane to the missonary but is then murdered by the U Boat Kapitan who's come ashore looking for survivors.
Anyway, Murphy decides he's going to repair the plane , learn how to fly and then bomb the U Boat with home made depth charges! Told you the story is a bit iffy!
But, this is where it gets really good. There is a ten minute sequence when he's trying to get the plane off the water that will leave you in tears of laughter and when he finally does, the flying is quite breathtaking. No CGI here, just unbelievably amazing flying by the stunt pilot. As I was watching it, my memories as a kid came flooding back, this was the part of the film imprinted on my brain forever.
I won't spoil the rest of film by telling you what happens after that but there's quite a few twists and turns and it's really good entertainment.
The acting is top notch, I could watch Peter O'Toole all day and never get bored although I wasn't sure if he was supposed to be Irish in this or Scouser, doesn't matter anyway. I think he's even better in this than he was in Lawrence of Arabia and the rest of the cast are very nearly as good as well.
I'd recommend you get it for your collection, U Boat fans will flinch at the terrible effort of trying to make a 1970's sub look original but try and forget about the authenticity, just enjoy the rest, especially the flying.
Ben
I'm glad I did. Basically, the story is nonsense but the acting and some of the scenes are just fantastic. Murphy, played by Peter O'Toole, is a merchant seaman who's ship is torpedoed by a U Boat somewhere off Venezuela in WW2. He's rescued and looked after by a British missonary nurse, played by Sian Phillips (who was a friend of my Mum!) and a French oil engineer.
After he regains his health, all he can think about is getting revenge and sinking the U Boat. As it happens, the wounded pilot of the convoy floatplane manages to fly the plane to the missonary but is then murdered by the U Boat Kapitan who's come ashore looking for survivors.
Anyway, Murphy decides he's going to repair the plane , learn how to fly and then bomb the U Boat with home made depth charges! Told you the story is a bit iffy!
But, this is where it gets really good. There is a ten minute sequence when he's trying to get the plane off the water that will leave you in tears of laughter and when he finally does, the flying is quite breathtaking. No CGI here, just unbelievably amazing flying by the stunt pilot. As I was watching it, my memories as a kid came flooding back, this was the part of the film imprinted on my brain forever.
I won't spoil the rest of film by telling you what happens after that but there's quite a few twists and turns and it's really good entertainment.
The acting is top notch, I could watch Peter O'Toole all day and never get bored although I wasn't sure if he was supposed to be Irish in this or Scouser, doesn't matter anyway. I think he's even better in this than he was in Lawrence of Arabia and the rest of the cast are very nearly as good as well.
I'd recommend you get it for your collection, U Boat fans will flinch at the terrible effort of trying to make a 1970's sub look original but try and forget about the authenticity, just enjoy the rest, especially the flying.
Ben
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