The Razor's Edge (1984)

He had everything and wanted nothing. He learned that he had nothing and wanted everything. He saved the world and then it shattered. The path to enlightenment is as sharp and narrow as a razor's edge.

Director:

John Byrum

Writers:

W. Somerset Maugham (novel), John Byrum (screenplay)

Stars:

Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, Denholm Elliott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bill Murray	...	Larry Darrell
Theresa Russell	...	Sophie MacDonald
Catherine Hicks	...	Isabel Bradley
Denholm Elliott	...	Elliott Templeton
James Keach	...	Gray Maturin
Peter Vaughan	...	Mackenzie
Brian Doyle-Murray	...	Piedmont
Stephen Davies	...	Malcolm
Saeed Jaffrey	...	Raaz
Faith Brook	...	Louisa Bradley (Isabel's mother)
André Maranne	...	Joseph, the Butler (as Andre Maranne)
Bruce Boa	...	Henry Maturin
Serge Feuillard	...	Coco
Joris Stuyck	...	Bob MacDonald
Helen Horton	...	Red Cross lady

Storyline

Larry Darrell returns from the battlefields of World War I to America a different person. His fiance (Isabel) resigns herself to a delay in the wedding plans when Larry heads off to Paris. There he finds he prefers a simpler existence and begins to read. One book inspires him to visit India and on to Nepal where he finds spiritual help from a lama. On returning to Paris he finds Isabel and some old friends. Everyone has changed.

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Plot Keywords:

wedding | lama | india | buddhist | wounded soldier | 

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Taglines:

The story of one man's search for himself.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 October 1984 (USA)

Also Known As:

Auf Messers Schneide

Filming Locations:

Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,411,311, 21 October 1984, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$6,551,987

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Colgems Productions Ltd., Marcucci-Cohen-Benn Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming in India, the entire crew became sick with food poisoning from eating chicken. John Byrum lost 25 pounds and directed much of the film with an IV in his arm.

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Quotes

Larry Darrell: Squaw, fix dinner... nice job on canoe.

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Connections

Remake of The Razor's Edge (1946)

User Reviews

A truly epic film - that flopped at the box office

This is one of my favorite films of all-time. Bill Murray is excellent as the lead in a dramatic movie, much to my surprise. I think his performance in this film is every bit as good as his work in "Lost in Translation." Murray is far more flexible as an actor than he usually demonstrates or is given credit for. He is more than just a comedian.

The failure of this movie at the box office rests squarely on the shoulders of Paramount. They gave this movie so little support or advertising money that it was almost doomed to fail. To be honest, if the internet and IMDb had existed back then, the coast to coast word of mouth that could have been generated might have made this movie a winner at the box office.

There is a story about this movie that I once heard. Murrary had read the book and the script by Byrum, who also directed. Murrary approached the studio and told them he wanted to make this movie. The story goes that they respond with, "Sure, Bill, we'll make The Razor's Edge for you if you will make this little movie called Ghostbusters for us." He agreed and Paramount technically stuck to the deal, but they put no money into its promotion and it dead an untimely death.

This is one of the great films of all-time and it is just a shame that more people have not seen it.