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GeoffMurphy

  • Director
  • Writer
Geoff_Murphy_Key_Profile.jpg

Geoff Murphy was a leading figure in the new wave of Kiwi filmmakers that emerged in the 1970s. His movie Goodbye Pork Pie became the first blockbuster of the local film renaissance. He completed an unsurpassed triple punch with Utu and sci-fi classic The Quiet Earth. Noted for his skill at action, knockabout comedy, and melding genres, Murphy spent a decade in Hollywood before returning home for further screen adventures.

Screenography

In Memoriam 2019
2019 Subject Short film
That Was New Zealand
2014 Subject Short film
A Persistent Vision
2013 Subject Short film

Biography

Geoff Murphy arguably helped usher in a new age of appreciation for New Zealand cinema, when he consecutively directed three classics of the Kiwi film renaissance. Murphy styled himself as a straight-talking rebel, Murphy's gifts for action and comedy won him a wide audience, and ensured a run of work in Hollywood. He showed a keen eye for capturing Kiwi culture on screen.

Awards

2014 Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit
For services to film

2013 Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards (The Moas)
Lifetime Achievement Award

2013 Arts Foundation
Arts Icon

“For our own sense of identity, cultural independence and feeling of nationhood we need our own voice in the form of a film industry.”

— Geoff Murphy in 2003

Related images

The-Quiet-Earth-Gallery-3.jpg
Quiet Earth director Geoff Murphy and lead actor Bruno Lawrence, during the making of the film.
Photo appears courtesy of the NZ Film Commission.
The-Quiet-Earth-Gallery-4.jpg
Actor Bruno Lawrence and director Geoff Murphy, during the making of The Quiet Earth (1985).
Kindly Provided by Onfilm.
Pork_Pie_Poster.jpg
Geoff Murphy and the poster for his film Goodbye Pork Pie.
Kindly provided by The Dominion Post.
Sleeping-Dogs-Gallery-1.jpg
A 30th anniversary reunion for movie Sleeping Dogs: from left to right, associate producer Larry Parr, special effects man Geoff Murphy, actor/co-writer Ian Mune, actor Bernard Kearns, and Don Brash (who helped finance the film).
Photographer: Andrew Gorrie. Kindly provided by The Dominion Post
Utu-gallery-image-1.jpg
The January 1983 premiere of Utu in Napier. From left: then Governor-General Sir David Beattie, Sir Graham Latimer (Chairman of the Māori Council), David Carson-Parker (executive producer of Utu) and the film's director Geoff Murphy.
Photographer: Barry Durrant. Kindly provided by The Dominion Post.
Utu-Gallery-12.jpg
Geoff Murphy and then wife Pat Robins arrive for the premiere of Utu in Napier, in January 1983. Disembarking from the cart are John Charles, who composed the soundtrack, and his wife Judy.
Photographer: Barry Durrant. Kindly provided by The Dominion Post.
Utu-Gallery-4.jpg
Behind the scenes on Utu. From left to right: actor Tim Shadbolt (in top hat), director Geoff Murphy, first assistant director Lee Tamahori, grip Alister Barry and camera operator Paul Leach.
Kindly provided by The Dominion Post.
Derek-Morton-Gallery-2.jpg
Shots from the making of unfinished musical The Magic Hammer. Geoff Murphy is pushing the dolly (mobile camera platform), while Derek Morton is behind the camera, which is enclosed in homemade, soundproof housing and mounted on a beer crate.
Kindly supplied by Geoff Murphy.
Derek-Morton-Gallery-1.jpg
A shot of the village set created for unfinished film The Magic Hammer. Derek Morton is behind the camera. The set was pre-fabricated in Geoff Murphy's garage in Wellington, then transported to the site in Makara on the roof of his Morris Minor.
Kindly supplied by Geoff Murphy.
GeoffMurphy_Gallery2.jpg
Left to right: Derek Morton, Geoff Murphy and (seated) cameraman Alun Bollinger, during the making of short film The Box (1969?).
Photo believed to have been taken by Helen Whiteford
Geoff_Murphy_Gallery1.jpg
Derek Morton and Geoff Murphy, shortly before setting up a car crash stunt on Wild Horses. The film was released in 1984.
Photo taken by Jocelyn Carlin
Derek-Morton-Gallery3.jpg
The three witches from Geoff Murphy and Derek Morton's unfinished film The Magic Hammer: Cackle (played by Christine Olsen), Lop (Mary Wootton), and Zap (Catherine Slavof). Photo believed to have been taken by Barry Clothier.
Kindly supplied by Mary Wootton (née Wheeler)
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Merata Mita working on the second unit of Geoff Murphy's The Magnificent Seven (1998), the pilot for an American TV series of the same name.