The Razor's Edge

This movie is the reason why we have Ghostbusters. Murray wanted to make this film, the studios wanted him to be in Ghostbusters. Now we have both!In one of his more serious roles, Murray plays a returning war veteran as he struggles to return to normal life. It's a good reminder to appreciate the world around you when you can.

The video quality is not the best but it does have CC for us oldsters with poor hearing. My wife and I loved this film and the bottom line at the end. It is a lesson we must all learn.

What a journey. I felt like I went on it with him.

Handsome period drama is worth checking out for its great production values, location shooting, and exquisite cinematography (sub-HD streaming doesn't do it justice). Oh, and a couple of curious casting decisions, one of which turns out to be the film's undoing and the other a dark horse success.But yeah, this movie was always going to live or die on whether early-80s Bill Murray could pull off such a straight-faced drama, and while you're rooting for him the whole way, he is indeed the weak link of the film. Ironically, I think he might've been better off going for a more melodramatic role where he could get all emotional and cry and shout; here he seems to be banking on re-appropriating his deadpan mannerisms to serve a serious role. This works for the early scenes where he's aloof and disillusioned, but he becomes too much of a cypher in the second half. We presume he must have gone through some profound changes, but it's tough to gauge this from Murray's performance; he's still just a slightly different flavor of aloof and disillusioned.The movie's other inspired casting decision does end up paying dividends, though, and that's Catherine Hicks as the movie's stealth antagonist. I don't believe Hicks was a known quantity back in 1984 (before 'Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home,' 'Child's Play,' and TV's 'Seventh Heaven'), but she's still such an obvious sweety-pie that I have to imagine it felt like playing against type regardless. Hicks' sensitive persona makes her character believable and understandable, even when she turns out to be something of a monster at the end. I think if this movie had come along later in her career it would've gotten a lot more attention for her, because as far as I'm concerned this is up there with Mary Tyler Moore in 'Ordinary People' as far as finding unexpected darkness in such a seemingly friendly package.The movie overall can't be said to be a success (there's a rather important scene where Murray burns pages of his books while camped out on a mountain whose significance isn't well communicated at all) but as an object of fascination it's worth a watch. One to file under "Interesting Failure."

If you are an intelligent viewer who is looking for a significant and possibly mind expanding movie event then "The Razor's Edge" is for you. It has remained one of my favorite films for fifteen years, and I have owned it and replayed it many times. If you look at the viewer feedback for this film you will find that the vast majority of people rate is as "Excellent" (76% of imdb raters give it a 10/10 rating) those who fail to see it's qualities can be divided fairly equally into the "don't get it" camp (Unlike the typical Hollywood lowest denominator flick, the minimum IQ for viewing is Razor's Edge is probably 100, and that leaves ½ the population out) and the "disappointed" crowd, who have so typecast the star (Bill Murray) that they wanted "Caddyshack" and just can't allow him to be a serious actor. You must set aside you prejudices and give the man a chance-Bill Murray is a Harvard grad, he co-wrote the screen play-this was a labor of love for him. Just because he has a sense of humor does NOT make him a lightweight, as this film demonstrates for anyone with the eyes to see it. Based upon the 1942 W. Somerset Maugham novel, it follows the evolution of a spoiled upper class boy from Illinois (Larry, Bill Murray), who volunteers to be an ambulance driver in WW I for a little "fun and adventure" and instead gets a dose of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder). His world was forever changed by the events he experienced. He literally could not go home again after the war. He tried, and found the lives of those around him to be shallow and meaningless, and their pursuits and interests just trivial. There had to be a reason why he was here, and this sets the stage for the real point of the movie, which is an exploration of the meaning of life. (I told you it wasn't Caddyshack!) Obsessed with these existential issues, and finding that alcohol did not make the need go away, Larry travels to Paris, and starts to read, serious books on philosophy and religion, supporting himself as a laborer. He does not care much for his surroundings-his lack of materialism is in marked contrast to his peers and friends from before, whose dreams are to grow wealthy in the stock market. An early Bohemian. I found this particularly poignant: to watch this movie that foreshadowed the tech boom and bust, and realize a whole new crass materialistic generation's world was just as rocked by a stock market crash AFTER this movie was made! His fiancée could not deal with this, and left him, to marry someone she did not love but who had money. Another contrast to the shallow and materialistic, which is a recurring theme throughout the film-what brings happiness to a man? Larry's journey took him to India, and Hindu religion, and then on to Tibet to discover Buddha-the scenes filmed there are absolutely breathtaking, so I hope you can find a letterbox laserdisc or they finally bring this out on DVD-it is worth it to see the whole screen. There is romance, and love, and loss. I won't reveal the ending, which is truly bittersweet, and a bit nihilistic. This is truly the best thing this fine actor ever accomplished, and I rate it a strong "10". This should have won many awards, and should also be considered a true classic; I am disappointed in my fellow man that they so typecast the star that they could not see what a great contribution he made with this effort here. Not light fare, and a long film, but one worth seeing.

Non utilisable pour des lecteurs dvd français

This is not a film to watch if you have a frivolous mind. Or perhaps I should say “this IS a film to watch if you have a frivolous mind”. I can only review the film as I have not read the book. However I often watch a film as a story. So let us ask the question “what is this story trying to communicate”.I am saddened to read some of the reviews regarding this dvd of the film, of the story. When I read people say I had to stop watching the film as it was so awful. Or the film was so slow, or the film was so “this or that”. Basically I would suggest that people have completely missed the point. SO - the first challenge or suggestion I make to everyone is to watch the first 35 minutes before making a negative judgement. Now I am aware that what I have written so far sound pompous. However, like the film please give me a chance to build the point that I am trying to make.Firstly the DVD itself. Remember that this film was made in 1984, 36 years before I am writing this review. It was released onto DVD in 2007 and looks like it had a pretty basic transfer. On a smallerTV / Monitor it is probably passable but on my 77 inch UHDTV the picture is pore compared to modern picture quality, but what should I expect. The cost was also quite ridiculous with one provider trying to charge just short of £80 and the only other provider charging just short of £30. Sadly the new sealed disc I purchased at £30 came with a scratch and I am still deciding weather I am going to send it back. The point is that this film is a hidden gem and having the opportunity to buy a new dvd is like finding a chicken with teeth. It will probably never be re-released as a dvd and will almost certain never find its way onto Bluray let alone 4K. As such it is a simply question - how much do I want to own this disc ?To review the film itself:-As mentioned early you must first promise yourself to commit to the first 35 - 40 minutes as this will at least give you the chance of finding out what this story is really trying to communicate. The last half of the film then blossoms into the true spiritual beauty and human sadness of the story. I also think that the story will give blinkered Christians or other God believers a real challenge. ( I guess I just lost 3/4 of all those readers of this review, who are god believers - shame). If god believers are still reading this review and are still considering watching this film, well good for you. So I guess I don’t want to say too much more as it will spoil the story for those who do not already know about it.What I will add is that this is a story of self exploration. A story of understanding what love, probably is really about and a story to emphasise that actions have consequences at all times and in all places. This film never ceases to move me emotionally, stretch me intellectually and spiritually (and despite its age) I fully recommend that you watch this film and the acting out of the characters if you have the opportunity.Brian. UK.

Una pelicula entretenida sobre la busqueda de un joven a si mismo y una transformacion radical que creo todos nos podemos identificar.

I'd already seen the Tyrone Power version of this book, and Bill Murray's version tells essentially the same story, but with a different point-of-view, and selecting different scenes to include. Together, the two films tell the Razor's Edge in a virtual 3-D. It's a good way to experience this thought-provoking story.

Great story, great performances, fabulous cinematography...a winning movie which should be seen by everyone who thinks about their own place in the Universe.