The Razor's Edge (1984)

Plot:  Based on the novel by Somerset Maugham, and a remake of the classic 1946 movie staring Clifton Webb, Tyrone Power, and Gene Tierney. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, a WWI  American ambulance driver. Traumatized by his war-time experiences,  Larry forsakes his rich friends to look for Life's meaning.

Stars:  Bill Murray, Thresa Russell, Catherine Hicks, Denholm Mitchell Elliott.

Wow, was this b-a-d, terrible.  It isn't more faithful to the novel and its far inferior - in almost every way - to the original 1946 adaptation.  Yes, its in color, the Indian scenes are better, and the set design is superior, but those are minor points. As the leading man, Bill Murray makes Tyrone Power look like Laurence Oliver. Murray goes through the entire movie with a deadpan poker face, except when uttering a few ironic comments.  I guess he was trying to be "thoughtful" or "deep".

So, other then  Murray, what else was wrong?

Well,  Catherine Hicks, as Isabella, for one.  She' not charismatic or much of anything. And then there's Denholm Elliott, who just reminds you of how much better Clifton Webb was.

And the script. It deviates from the novel for some reason.  Larry is no longer a pilot, but an ambulance driver, and the WW I scenes eat up the 20 minutes of the movie, even though they aren't done very well. And the script dumbs-down and over-explains things.   All the richness of Eliot's Templeton's character is lost along with Isabella or Gray's complexity.

The only bright spot is Thresa Russell who is excellent as "Sophia".