Michael J Murphy

(25 September 1951-10 April 2015)

 

Mike began making Standard 8mm films, aged 12, with school friends.

By 15 he made his first full length feature (Atlantis,City of Sin, 1966). Other features followed, shot on Super-8. (Theseus and the Minotaur, 1968, Boadicea, 1968.)

At 16 Mike worked as a trainee at ABPC Studios at Elstree and at MGM's Borehamwood studios.

At 17 Mike returned to his home in Portsmouth, frustrated by the "it's just a job attitude" of many he had encountered within the industry and continued to make his own independent low budget films.He worked with a stills photographer in the city, making 16mm films as a hobby. (See Saw (unfinished), 1969, Tristan and Iseult, 1970, Gods and Heroes, 1971, Happy Ever After, 1974, 7th Day (unfinished) 1976, Secrets, 1977, Insight (unfinished), 1978, Almost a Movie,1979, The Cell, 1979-80, Stay, 1980, Death in the Family, 1981)

With the late 1970's and 80's video library boom, Mike began to make more saleable films, with an exploitative element. Some of these features saw official release and distribution, which, for a period, allowed Mike to survive and continue financing his productions. Budgets were low ranging from £500 to £20,000, largely self financed.

(Invitation to Hell, 1982. The Last Night, 1982, Qualen, 1983, Bloodstream, 1985, Tristan, Legend of a Hero, 1986, Death Run, 1987, Avalon, 1988, Moonchild, 1989, Torment, 1989, Atlantis, 1990, Second Sight, 1991, Road to Nowhere, 1993,The Rite of Spring, 1995, Skare (film stock lost in post), 2001)

This period saw Mike work with a group of actors that would resurface in many of his features, this "family" would play a major part in his life both personally and in fascilitating his film making, which saw Mike make the transition to shooting on video, entering the digital realm.

(Roxi, 2005, Skare, 2007, ZK3, 2013, Nekros, 2014, The Return of Alan  Strange, 2015).

The magic of cinema drove him. Always a dreamer he loved the spectacle of grand films such as El Cid and Spartacus, the style of Hitchcock, he was intrigued by Fellini, enjoyed the homespun security of early Hammer Films and the artistry of Dario Agento. He gained a reputation for horror, but this was not his main interest. He would have rather made epics with casts of thousands, full of action, pageant and romance.

His ultimate aim was to entertain, he never took himself too seriously,always the first to criticise his own work. He tried to create gripping plots, often with his tongue firmly in his cheek.

When asked his tip for aspiring film makers once, he answered:

 

"Just do it. Find a workable team of actors and crew. Give them a good experience. Something they will always remember. And work VERY, VERY hard..."