murphy made his name with road movie "goodbye pork pie" (1981), the first new zealand film to attract large-scale audiences in its home country. made on a low budget, the film followed three people travelling from the top of the north island to the bottom of the south island, to growing infamy along the way. murphy directed the film and co-produced it with nigel hutchinson. murphy next directed the māori western "utu" (1983) and the last-man-on-earth piece "the quiet earth" (1985).