The Razor's Edge is the second film version of W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel. The film was released in 1984 and stars Bill Murray, Theresa Russell, Catherine Hicks, Denholm Elliott and James Keach. It was directed by John Byrum. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... John Byrum is an American film director known for The Razors Edge and Inserts. ... Director Rob Cohen on the set of Stealth Rob Cohen (born March 12, 1949 in Cornwall, New York, USA) is an American film director, producer and writer. ... William James Bill Murray (b. ... W. Somerset Maugham as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten. ... For other uses, see The Razors Edge (disambiguation). ... Russell in 2005 interview for the Criterion Collection DVD Bad Timing Theresa Russell (born Theresa Paup on 20 March 1957 in San Diego, California) is an American actress. ... Elliott in The Signal-Man Denholm Mitchell Elliott (May 31, 1922 – October 6, 1992) was a distinguished British actor, well known for his appearances on stage, film and television. ... Catherine Hicks, Annie Camden on 7th Heaven Catherine Mary Hicks (born August 6, 1951 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is an American actress. ... Bernard Alfred (Jack) Nitzsche (Chicago, April 22, 1937 – Hollywood, August 25, 2000) was an integral presence in the history of popular music in the 20th century. ... Peter Hannan (January 14, 1952 – September 12, 2006) was a television producer, writer, singer-songwriter. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... is the 292nd day of the year (293rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... W. Somerset Maugham as photographed in 1934 by Carl Van Vechten. ... For other uses, see The Razors Edge (disambiguation). ... Year 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar). ... William James Bill Murray (b. ... Russell in 2005 interview for the Criterion Collection DVD Bad Timing Theresa Russell (born Theresa Paup on 20 March 1957 in San Diego, California) is an American actress. ... Catherine Hicks, Annie Camden on 7th Heaven Catherine Mary Hicks (born August 6, 1951 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is an American actress. ... Elliott in The Signal-Man Denholm Mitchell Elliott (May 31, 1922 – October 6, 1992) was a distinguished British actor, well known for his appearances on stage, film and television. ... James Keach born (December 7, 1947 in Savannah, Georgia) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... John Byrum is an American film director known for The Razors Edge and Inserts. ...

Plot

The film opens at a Fourth of July celebration in 1916 in Chicago, where Larry Darrell (Murray) and his friend Gray (Keach) are setting off to volunteer as ambulance drivers in war-torn France (even though the United States in not officially in the war yet). Larry can't wait to return back to marry his fiance Isabel. However, problems arise as Larry views death up close. First when two fellow ambulance drivers from Harvard are killed by a land mine and more seriously when his commander Piedmont (Brian Doyle-Murray) gives his life to save Larry (resulting in a haunting speech that Murray wrote into the script as a way of saying goodbye to his late friend John Belushi). When Larry returns, he has a different view of his life and decides to put off his wedding (much to Isabel's disappointment) and go off to Paris. Isabel's Uncle Elliott Templeton (Elliott) ensures Isabel that it will give Larry time to "tend the itches that tend to rise" and promises to arrange his passage. A short time later, when Isabel and her mother visit Elliott at his mansion in Paris, Isabel is worried when Larry spends more time in Paris that expected, but is especially shocked when Larry tells her that he intends not to return to the US and be a stockbroker (as Gray's father has trained both Gray and Larry in). He tells Isabel that he was given a second chance at life and is not going to waste it on buying new cars and big houses. He asks Isabel to marry him and join him in Paris, and she reluctantly agrees, but after a first night at Larry's apartment, infested with rats and dirty conditions, she leaves Larry and returns to America. She is then seen marrying Gray in a lavish wedding. In the United States, Independence Day (commonly known as the “Fourth of July,” “July Fourth”, the “Glorious Fourth”, or simply the “Fourth”) is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Nickname: Motto: “Urbs in Horto” (Latin: “City in a Garden”), “I Will” Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Brian Doyle-Murray (born October 31, 1945) is an American comedian, screenwriter and character actor from Chicago. ... John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an Emmy Award-winning American actor, comedian and musician, notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoons Animal House and The Blues Brothers. ...

A short time later, Larry is working as a coal miner. When a cart is rolling down towards his boss.

Production

According to a recent interview with director John Byrum in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, he had wanted to film an adaptation of Maugham's book in the early 1980s. The director brought a copy of the book to his friend Margaret "Mickey" Kelley who was in the hospital after giving birth. Byrum remembers getting a call the next night at four in the morning, "and it was Mickey's husband, Bill [Murray]. All he said was, 'This is Larry, Larry Darrell.'" // The San Francisco Bay Guardian (also known as the SF Bay Guardian, Bay Guardian, and the Guardian) is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. ...

Byrum and Murray proceeded to drive across America while writing the screenplay. When they returned, what they had written did not resemble the previous film version with a farewell speech to John Belushi included in the script. Even though Murray was attached to the project, Byrum still had trouble finding a studio to finance it. Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an Emmy Award-winning American actor, comedian and musician, notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoons Animal House and The Blues Brothers. ...

Dan Aykroyd suggested that Murray could star in Ghostbusters for Columbia Pictures in exchange for the studio greenlighting The Razor's Edge. Murray agreed and a deal was made with Columbia. For the next year and half, cast and crew shot on location in France, Switzerland and India with a $12 million budget. After the last day of principal photography, Murray left to make Ghostbusters. Daniel Edward Aykroyd CM (born July 1, 1952) is an Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning Canadian/American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and musician. ... Ghostbusters is a 1984 sci-fi comedy film about three eccentric New York City parapsychologists. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... To greenlight a project, in the context of the movie business, is to formally approve production finance, thereby allowing the project to move forward from the development phase to pre-production and, barring disasters, principal photography. ...

This marked Murray's first starring role in a dramatic film, though Murray did manage to inject some of his dry wit into the script. The film grossed a mere $6.6 million at the box office ,[1] Murray's disappointment at the film's failure inspired him to take four years off from show business. In this version, the book's epigraph is dramatized as advice given to Darrell by a Tibetan monk: "The path to salvation is narrow and is difficult to walk as a razor's edge." A drama film is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ... In literature, an epigraph is a quotation that is placed at the start of a work or section that expresses in some succinct way an aspect or theme of what is to follow. ... Tibetan Buddhism is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet, the Himalayan region (including northern Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Ladakh), Mongolia, Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia (Russia), and northeastern China (Manchuria: Heilongjiang, Jilin). ... St. ...

Cast

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
Faith Brook - Louisa Bradley
Saeed Jaffrey - Raaz William James Bill Murray (b. ... Russell in 2005 interview for the Criterion Collection DVD Bad Timing Theresa Russell (born Theresa Paup on 20 March 1957 in San Diego, California) is an American actress. ... Catherine Hicks, Annie Camden on 7th Heaven Catherine Mary Hicks (born August 6, 1951 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is an American actress. ... Elliott in The Signal-Man Denholm Mitchell Elliott (May 31, 1922 – October 6, 1992) was a distinguished British actor, well known for his appearances on stage, film and television. ... James Keach born (December 7, 1947 in Savannah, Georgia) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... Peter Vaughan (born April 4, 1923 in Shropshire, England) is a British character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. ... Brian Doyle-Murray (born October 31, 1945) is an American comedian, screenwriter and character actor from Chicago. ... Faith Brook is an actress who has appeared on stage, in films and on television. ... Saeed Jaffrey (born 8 January 1929) is an Indian actor. ...

External links

• The Razor's Edge at the Internet Movie Database
• The unofficial The Razor's Edge film site