The Oxford Murders (2008)

Director:

Álex de la Iglesia

Writers:

Jorge Guerricaechevarría (writer)
Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 January 2008 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try and stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols. |

Plot Keywords:

Student | Oxford | Murder | Teacher Student Relationship | Unrequited Love

Awards:

5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Elijah Wood	...	Martin
John Hurt	...	Arthur Seldom
Leonor Watling	...	Lorna
Julie Cox	...	Beth
Burn Gorman	...	Podorov
Anna Massey	...	Mrs. Eagleton
Jim Carter	...	Inspector Petersen
Alan David	...	Mr. Higgins
Dominique Pinon	...	Frank
Tim Wallers	...	Defence Lawyer
James Weber-Brown	...	Doctor
Ian East	...	Howard Green
Charlotte Asprey	...	Mrs. Howard Green
Alex Cox	...	Kalman
Tom Frederic	...	Ludwig Wittgenstein

Also Known As:

Crimes à Oxford (France)
Los crímenes de Oxford (Spain: Castilian title)
Oxford Crimes (Spain) (working title)
Los crímenes de Oxford (Argentina) (Peru) [es]
Akolouthia fonon stin Oxfordi (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
I akolouthia tis Oxfordis (Greece) [el]
Oxford Murders (Germany) (DVD title) [de]
Oxford cinayetleri (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Oxfordin murhat (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

Spain | UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Spain:13 | Italy:T | Argentina:16 | Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-13 | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Eurimages

Trivia:

The "Bormat's Last Theorem" that is solved in the movie is clearly a reference to Fermat's Last Theorem. Like Bormat's theorem in the movie, Fermat's theorem was widely considered to be (one of) the most difficult problems of the last 300 years. It was solved fairly recently (in 1995 by Andrew Wiles). It was solved using elliptic curves, and the proof was first demonstrated at Cambridge. Like the proof of Bormat's theorem in the movie, the proving of Fermat's was a very big deal in the world of number theory.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Prof. Wilkes finishes his presentation of his solution to Bormat's Last Theorem, the writing on the blackboard behind him changes.

Soundtrack:

Orchestral Suite nº1 in C Major, BMW 1006:1 Overture

Witty, refreshing and challenging.

The Oxford Murders from Alex de La Iglesia is a refreshing appearance on international releases. The opening's most stunning speech from brilliant John Hurt "There's no truth outside of mathematics... Philosophy is dead." begins a journey with an impeccable filmography. The uninterrupted shot following the main characters on the streets of Oxford, into the bookstore, and onto the streets again to end in the crime scene was perfect, and shows off the director's film-making skills. Elijah and Leonor are both rare specimens in today's one pattern acting and appearance, also I found there was no chemistry between them, they both did a great job only shadowed by John Hurt's impressive performance. This is really a film not to miss.