searching for meaning in life after experiencing the horror of World War I. The feeling here is that Murray successfully meets that challenge by playing his character with both a quick comic tongue and with soulful eyes. His character's sense of humor is vintage Murray; his soulfulness is deep and genuine." Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "It's possible that moviegoers will find this mystic glider ride to the snowcapped peaks of the Himalayas painfully earnest, especially for a comic of Murray's wise-guy gifts. But Murray, in his first serious role, is anything but miscast. He's perhaps the best thing about this intriguing but stubbornly ineffectual drama that only fitfully revives the dated charm of Maugham's rambling, meditative novel." Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post wrote that "this longtime pet project of Murray's will only disappoint his fans," finding the juxtaposition of Murray's comedic sensibility with the 1920s setting "jarringly bizarre" and the supporting cast "uniformly lousy." Since its release, The Razor's Edge has developed something of a following, and criticism has softened. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club, reviewing the film in 2007, felt, "If The Razor's Edge is ultimately a failure, it's an honest, noble one", and that there were "all manner of minor pleasures to be gleaned along the way." As of January 2020, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 50% rating based on 16 reviews. Murray stated he deluded himself that there would be major interest in the film as a period piece, while the studio wanted to make a modern movie. Afterwards Murray realized his mistake, but said he still would have found the experience worth it if the film had never been released. See also The Razor's Edge, a 1946 adaptation with Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney References External links The Razor's Edge Film Site called www.theoldcorner.org.uk 1984 films 1984 drama films American drama films Columbia Pictures films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films scored by Jack Nitzsche Films based on British novels Films based on works by W. Somerset Maugham Films set in India Films set in Paris Films set in the 1910s Films set in the 1920s Films set in the 1930s Films shot in France Films shot in India Films shot in Switzerland 1980s English-language films 1980s American films