THE PLOT THUS FAR
The documentary reveals the remarkable life of “Murph,” a son, brother, neighbor and warrior who made the ultimate sacrifice for his country and became a true American hero. This is his story and legacy. The film was written, directed and produced by Scott Mactavish and debuted theatrically in March 2013 during Medal of Honor week. Since then, it has gathered tens of thousands of followers. It was executive produced by Jon Sheinberg and Brian Aspinwall, and has qualified for the 2013 Academy Award® voting categories of Best Feature Documentary, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, and Best Film Editing.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Murph the Protector” is a documentary about a hero. Murph saved his friends and paid the ultimate cost. I know that this country has turned Patriotism into a branding agent, but let’s look past that for a moment. When do we start having inspiring documentaries and when do we start getting American spirit pablum? It’s a tricky maneuver, but there is some ground to be covered.
The documentary tries to be more historical document than grandstanding political statement. It’s sad that I have to emphasize that, but we live in a post infotainment age. While the film spends too much time trying to turn Murph into a saint, I did enjoy listening to his family talk about the person behind the hero image. It’s a great thing to hear people come together in their grief to rise above such difficult times.
The Blu-Ray comes with no special features. However, the 1080p transfer is really strong for a documentary. The audio track was pretty lossy, however I’m not sure if it was PCM or something else. My receiver had a difficult time reading the encode. In the end, I’d recommend a rental to the curious.
RELEASE DATE: 01/07/2014