Body Heat (1981)

In the hot Pinehaven, Florida, the smalltime wolf lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) flirts with the sexy but married Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner) and they begin a torrid love affair. After a short period together, she convinces him that her husband and mobster Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna) is an obstacle for their passion and they have a prenuptial agreement; therefore he should be eliminated. Ned carefully plots a perfect scheme for killing Edmund; however things go wrong when successive evidences are disclosed conspiring against him.

"Body Heat" is the greatest homage to film-noir ever! The debut of the writer and director Lawrence Kasdan is an unforgettable masterpiece, and I do not know how many times I have watched this classy feature since 1981 (last time was on 04 February 2001) that is among my favorites. The astonishing Kathleen Turner in her debut in cinema is sexy, hot, and gorgeous performing one of the most Machiavellian female fatales of the cinema history. The novice William Hurt is perfect in the role of the shabby and cynical lawyer Ned Racine. The music score of John Barry is perfect supporting the bleak atmosphere of the story. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Corpos Ardentes" ("Heat Bodies")

Fmovies: I was in Palm Beach in the 1960's when the trial of Irene Von Maxey of Sebring, Florida and bookie John Sweet of Boston were tried for the murder of Irene's very wealthy husband. Despite overwhelming evidence Irene was not convicted and inherited her murdered husbands estate. It was later determined that before and during the trial she was having an affair with the prosecuting attorney. Her picture ran in the Palm Beach Post and she was no Kathleen Turner but John Sweet who, I believe, was convicted, and the D. A. must have thought differently. If Body Heat was not based on this murder it is one of the greatest coincidences I've seen. Great movie.

I remember watching the John Garfield and Lana Turner film noir classic `The Postman Always Rings Twice' with my mother when I was little. After the couple murdered Turner's husband, mom turned to me and said, `Watch. The two killers will be punished in the end.' `Why?' I asked. `It's the movie code,' she explained: Evil-doers must be punished."

While I'm not a fan of the sex and language direction that films have taken since the movie code died, part of the fun in watching `Body Heat' is knowing that there is a chance that either or both William Hurt and Kathleen Turner will get by with killing Turner's husband, played by Richard Crenna.

`Body Heat' is almost as good as `Double Indemnity,' which is considered by many to be best of the man-teams-with-woman-to-kill-her-husband genre. In `Indemnity' part of the fun is watching the Fred MacMurray character trying to outsmart his friend and mentor, played by Edward G. Robinson. In "Heat" Hurt has two friends he must deceive, cop J.A. Preston and a pre-`Cheers' assistant prosecutor Ted Danson. Try to figure out at what point they know Hurt is guilty.

The performances in `Body Heat' are excellent. In addition to Hurt, Turner, Crenna, Danson and Preston, this was Mickey Roarke's break-through role. Lawrence Kasden, who doesn't waste a shot, expertly directs the film. A great musical score by John Barry of James Bond composing fame expertly aids the steamy mood.

Body Heat fmovies. This movie was brilliant in almost every way possible. After seeing it the fourth time, I finally bumped it from a nine to a ten. The chemistry between Hurt and Turner was sensational. The story was very clever. The twist was surprising.

If you want a suspense thriller where you think you know what is going on, but don't know as much as you thought, this is it.

I had seen it before a couple times, but I hadn't seen it in years. Rarely does a movie interest me as much the second or third time around, but this one did. I started thinking about how the writer was leading us along with little bits of information and how the characters were seeing the same. I know Kasden got the the idea from Double Indemnity, but he did a great job with it. The writing was excellent and I don't compliment the writing very often.

The pacing was precisely what you would expect from a 1940's style movie as this was. The dim lighting, the lack of cool air in the summer, the sound track - especially the sax - all just right.

I can't imagine anyone not liking this movie unless it was just too hot!

A lightning fast affair develops between the ultra-hot and erotic Kathleen Turner and small-time Florida attorney William Hurt in the middle of an unprecedented heatwave in "Body Heat", arguably the most under-rated and most under-appreciated movie of the 1980s. Turner is the wife of a ridiculously rich businessman (Richard Crenna) and soon an elaborate plan hatches to kill him so the duo can be together forever. Naturally there is a lot more to Turner than meets the eye (Boy that is an understatement!) and Hurt becomes trapped in a super-steamy, but also highly dangerous relationship. Will the heat be too much for him in the end and are Turner's motives as clear as they appear? "Body Heat" could best be described as "Double Indemnity" for the sexed-up 1980s crowd. The sex is excessive and intense. By the end of the picture you feel like you had known Turner and Hurt for years (even though both were relative newcomers). Writer/director Lawrence Kasdan hit a major grand-slam with his first film-making venture. He had done work writing for the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" group of films, but this was the first project where he went exclusively out on his own. No one knew really what to make of the movie in 1981 and thus it did fair business at the box office and was indifferent with the critics (it failed any Oscar consideration). As the years pass it becomes monumentally important to modern film-making and a classic homage to film noir-styled over-excesses. Brilliantly made in every way, well-acted, superbly written and directed, "Body Heat" is one of those films that forces you to look, let your hair down and eventually loosen your collar. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Body Heat: 9 out of 10: Many successful movies lose their ability to shock over the years. After hundreds of copy cats Alien isn't as effective as when it first came out. Kramer vs. Kramer certainly isn't the shocking eye opener it once was.

Body Heat should suffer the same fate. It doesn't. Despite a hundred direct to video takes on the same story (six of them with the exact same title) the movie still works. In fact it works very well indeed.

Writer Lawrence Kasdan had just penned Raiders of the Lost Ark and Empire Strikes Back so it is a surprise he chooses noir for his first directing outing. (His next film was The Big Chill so this is one guy hard to pigeonhole) He both updates and in many ways upgrades the noir of the past.

By setting the movie in a Podunk Florida town he invokes John D Macdonald the way no Macdonald movie treatment has successfully done. His then unknown actors William Hurt and Kathleen Turner are pitch perfect.

This is a movie that really brings some new things to the table as it does some old things very well indeed. Like the best noir you are too involved to even begin to try to guess the next twist and turn.

Like Scorsese in Goodfellas or Huston in the Maltese Falcon Kasdan's directing is obviously very good yet his tricks remain hidden from view. Not a wasted shot and your television will sweat from all the heat generated.

Highly recommended to all fans of noir or simply fans of movies.