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Body Heat
In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman convinces her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband.
Release : | 1981 |
Rating : | 7.4 |
Studio : | Warner Bros. Pictures, The Ladd Company, |
Crew : | Construction Coordinator, Leadman, |
Cast : | William Hurt Kathleen Turner Richard Crenna Ted Danson J.A. Preston |
Genre : | Crime Romance |
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Reviews
Good story, Not enough for a whole film
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
"Ned Racine" (William Hurt) is a small-town lawyer in Florida who just happens to meet a beautiful, married woman named "Matty Walker" (Kathleen Turner) one night and immediately becomes sexually attracted to her. After spending some time with her she brings up the fact that her husband, "Edmund Walker" (Richard Crenna) has left a sizable sum for her in his will and suggests that if Ned kills him they can have each other along with the money. Soon both of them concoct an elaborate plan to murder Edmund but things don't quite turn out the way it was initially intended. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this turned out to be an excellent film-noir with solid acting by everyone involved. Of particular note was the steamy performance by Kathleen Turner who dominated every scene she was in. Additionally, the twist at the end was also quite remarkable as well. In any case, I highly recommend this movie for those who might be interested in a film of this type and I have rated it accordingly. Definitely above average.
I actually saw this movie when it first came out and a few times during the years and then recently on Sundance. What a great movie, I had forgotten. When it first came out, I thought, boy how daring, but it really has withstood the test of time.You have a steamy love affair between Kathleen Turner and William Hurt. You have the unsuspecting husband (or is he) Richard Crenna and then the policemen. People will recognize "pre Cheers", Ted Danson in a major role. Do the police suspect WIlliam Hurt is involved all along? Is he that stupid to be involved in such a scheme or is Kathleen Turner that alluring that William Hurt trusts her so implicitly. When does he realize he has been scammed, and what a great ending! The movie was a great thriller and kept you guessing all along. This was a remake of Double Imdemnity, but with a modern twist. Don't miss this movie - it will keep you interested the whole time.
Now, I have to admit something. I do enjoy watching movies that consists on film-noir style. I really do. Like anyone else, I do have my own favorite batch of genres that I like to watch on my own. My favorite genres are action, crime/gangster, science-fiction and western. But, film-noir or neo-noir pictures are essentially one of my personal and favorite one of all. Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote both Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back, written and directed a movie of his own. The name of it? Body Heat. The movie takes place in Florida during an endless, steamy heat wave. Ned Racine (William Hurt), is a seedy lawyer, who can't seem to get his hands off of his female clients. He's the kind of guy that someone would call a sleazeball, yet you know, Ned is a sleazy man, who can't seem to stop doing what he does best. One night, he runs across an beautiful brunette, Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner, in her first movie role) during a outdoor concert. At first, Walker doesn't buy Ned's womanizing tactics and even after her refusal, Ned continues to see her, even though her husband is away. Soon enough, Ned and Matty began to start a steamy and somewhat erotic affair between the both of them. Then, Matty tells Ned that she is planning to kill her rich husband so that she can collect all of the money. Walker's husband, Edmund, (Richard Crenna) soon comes home and doesn't seem to notice the ongoing relationship between Matty and Ned. But, the movie does get interesting when Ned finds himself getting in way over his head about falling in love with Matty. The plot leads to a series of corruption, betrayal and even suspicion when a private investigator suspects that someone kills Edmund. The surprising interest that ignites this movie is the relationship between Ned and Matty, between William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. Their sex scenes are truly well-shot and also very erotic in its own right. Another criticism that I have about the movie is Kathleen Turner. She definitely stole the movie away from all of the other supporting actors. During the whole time when I was watching Body Heat, I was reminded of other femme-fatales that were erected straight out from other 1940's film-noir classics like Double Indemnity, The Asphalt Jungle and Out of the Past. Turner does resembled a lot like a modern femme-fatale of the 80's. The one thing that all femme-fatales have in common that I certainly did see in Kathleen Turner is the lips. Her lips have a red-hot flare to them. Every time a light shimmers over her lips, I was reminded of those 1940's femme-fatales. In fact, Double Indemnity and Out of the Past, the two movies that I mentioned above, were the two movies that were inspired to make Body Heat. But, getting back on Kathleen Turner's performance. She's beautiful to look at and she is also smart in the way that her character can easily manipulate Ned by convincing him to go along with her murder plot. As for the eroticism of this movie, I have to say that it really is convincing and it is sexy. One of the high points in this movie is when Ned looks through the window at Matty and he can't control his lust about her. So, he takes a chair and throws it through the glass window and walks up to her and start kissing her. That is just about as sexy as a movie can go. If you think about it, it isn't played for dirtiness. It isn't trash. It's a neo-noir picture of the 80's. For its time, Body Heat was shocking when it first came out and even today, it is ranked as being one of the best erotic thrillers ever made. In fact, I think that Body Heat helped inspired other neo-noir films of its kind like Blood Simple or The Last Seduction, which was film-noir for the 90's. Furthermore, Kasdan himself feared that he would never make another picture in his career. Lucky for him, his career did expanded with other pictures like The Big Chill and the western Sliverado. His screenplay crackles with high-voltage energy and with star-making performances by Turner and Hurt. Hurt himself is also very convincing as the seedy lawyer who doesn't know what he is getting himself into. Kasdan's direction is also great. He knows how a scene works by letting the characters and the actors talk and communicate through dialogue that literally breaks through like glass. Body Heat proves to be, once again one of the best erotic thrillers ever made. It is well-paced, well-directed with excellent performances by Hurt and Turner and it is one of the films of 1981. Suspenseful and sexy. ★★★★ 4 stars.
First look at Body Heat by Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Empire Strikes Back, Accidental Tourist) one may think "Hey, so what, it looks like a remake of Double Indemnity." But a couple of factors give this film a life of its own. The casting is top notch, with a spot on Ted Danson threatening to steal the show as the messenger of foreshadowing, and a small role with Mickey Rourke as an accomplice to arson. And of course, there's Kathleen Turner and William Hurt in what could be considered their finest performances they ever committed to celluloid.In fact, foreshadowing is the name of the game here, as seedy Florida lawyer Ned Racine gradually realizes his fated connection to femme fatale Matty Walker. Shot and structured like an art film, scenes were either carefully rendered with attention to detail, or just the subtle tinkling of piano keys ring ominously throughout that creates a fatalistic atmosphere.The sex and violence is present, but the latter is kept to the bare minimum, and the former is portrayed almost tastefully in its eroticism. The carnal lust that the characters share for one another fits with the film's salacious and 'heated' tone, where morality is blurred and greed overtakes common sense.I figured I could predict how the story would even play out, but I was taken by surprise with a well written twist that plays on the expectations of the viewer, and makes a passionate commentary on the human condition.So after the film was finished, I wasn't left thinking "So What?" anymore, so much as "Man, I wish I could have directed that film." A fine piece of American Neo-Noir and one of the better mystery/thrillers of the 80s. A great all around package.