Crimes of Passion (1984)

It is no secret that since the beginning of civilization sex and religion have always been able to maintain a unique "love hate" relationship with each other. The story of Adam and Eve is also viewed in the same context. Wherever there is religion, sex is likely to be found and vice versa. No religion has been able to free itself from the influence of sex. This has always been a trend and it would continue to be so in near future too. "Crimes of Passion" might turn out to be mild for many viewers according to today's standards but it was viewed as an absolutely shocking controversial film upon its initial release in 1984. Words would fail to describe actress Kathleen Turner's impeccable performances as 'China Blue'- an expensive hooker who is also leading a double life. Apart from some kinky sex scenes, China blue's character allows viewers to get a glimpse of tough lives faced by hookers. The religious side is presented by actor Anthony Perkins as a crazy priest whose only obsession seems to rescue china blue from damnation at all costs. He is able to succeed to a very large extent but a sudden event completely changes the course of action. Director Ken Russell has been honest with his depiction of people with dual identities. They have been presented as they are in real life without any embellishment. 'Crimes of Passion' has a lot of hilarious lines which denounce hypocrisy, falsehood and dishonesty. They are absolutely essential for viewers' comprehension in order to give them better ideas about a marriage which is on the verge of collapse due to lack of sex and how mean are societies to create and promote fallen women like "China Blue" for their selfish interests ?

Fmovies: I love films where everyone seems to be having a good time, especially the director. Kathy Turner vamps up Madonna, while Tony Perkins parodies his Psycho role while Russell tells us of a hooker whose heart is cold and made of gold at the same time--because her customers love it. Tony's preacher has obviously spent too much time amongst the slime bags of the combat zone and has allowed them to totally push him over the edge. The obvious point of this film is that the "typical" marriage is no better or worse than moral degeneracy

Forget the "R" rated version, and rent the unrated.

The thirty year-old hard-worker Bobby Grady (John Laughlin) is married with two children with the frigid Amy Grady (Annie Potts) and their marriage is in crisis. Bobby is invited to work in the night shift for the owner of a fashion designer studio that believes that his talented designer Joanna Crane (Kathleen Turner), who is very introspective, is selling his designs to competitors. Bobby accepts the job to make money and please Amy with a bathtub and follows Joanna after hours.

He discovers that she has a double life, working as a fifty-dollar hooker called China Blue in the red light district and practicing kinky sex with her clients to satisfy their fantasies. Bobby becomes obsessed by China Blue and when the true thief is found, he has sex with her and they have a crush on each other. Meanwhile the insane preacher Rev. Peter Shayne (Anthony Perkins) decides to save Joanna's soul and stalks her everywhere.

"Crimes of Passion" is one of the best and classiest "pre-AIDS" erotic-thriller of the 80's and among my favorite cult-movies ever. A youngster that sees this film in 2012 probably will not understand the behavior (and the beauty) of Kathleen Turner. But in 1981, the mesmerizing Kathleen Turner made her debut in the cinema industry with Lawrence Kasdan's film-noir "Body Heat" and this sexy actress became one of the most desirable women of the world. "Crimes of Passion" is her fifth movie and she is very sensual, sexy and gorgeous in the hands of the director Ken Russell. Anthony Perkins in the role of a mad preacher and the music score of Rick Wakeman complete this little masterpiece of the eroticism. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Crimes de Paixão" ("Crimes of Passion")

Crimes of Passion fmovies. Kathleen Turner plays a smoking sex-bomb of an NYC street hooker who goes by the name of China Blue ("the total package", as one john remarks). An unhappily married man develops a fascination with her after he eavesdrops on an encounter she has with an issue-ridden, demented preacher-type (Perkins) whose self-declared mission is to "save" China.

In the wrong hands, this material could have been made into a boring thriller, with the preacher stalking his way towards a predictable finale. Or an overwrought marital drama, weighed down by absurd dialogue and the characters' utterly improbable decision-making. Or some lurid, booby C-grade sleaze-fest where the hooker plot is just an excuse to parade last month's centerfold in a half dozen sexy outfits. Luckily, we got Ken Russel, who somehow manages to not only balance all three in the same "total package", but lets them breathe with the genres' best and most outrageous excesses! Take the Preacher's "weapon of salvation" and the filthy sayings that get past his filter when he is praying, or the embarrassingly cheesy yet hilarious marriage bed conversations. Or pretty much anything that comes out of China Blue's mouth when she is "in character". And he does it all with a wink and a nod to you - the audience savvy enough to know not to take any of it seriously!

It should be noted that this is a "fun" movie. If there is any takeaway here for thought, it's probably about men's fears and anxieties relating to sex, the feminine, and marriage. But try not to think too much about it, otherwise you run the risk of taking it a bit too seriously and you'll miss out on the real fun - all the "I can't believe he/she just said/did that!" bits (comprising a good half the movie), Kathleen Turner's passionate and, um, rousing performance (who could possibly deliver lines like that if they weren't having fun on the set!?), and the lurid, swanky atmosphere that is the magic of Ken Russell's creation.

*** I also watched the scenes that were cut from the film - I had assumed they were cut because they were too racy or explicit, but the opposite is in fact true. The cut scenes were mostly from the domestic side of things: lots of wife-talk, an extended scene of the BBQ party, etc. They all deserved to be cut mercilessly because they either added nothing of value to the story or muddled the characters and plot to the point where the film would have been seriously flawed if were they allowed to stay in. In them, the confusion over this film's fate is visible, and I am very glad Russell did not choose to go there for the final version, instead maximizing on the glammy, schlocky sex schtick.

Click on my name for a list of over 500 reviews! This review is for the unrated version.

Fashion designer (Kathleen Turner) lives a double life at night posing as a $50 hooker. She is stalked and terrorized by a psycho preacher (Anthony Perkins) while a married man (John Laughlin) slowly falls in love with her. Amid all the sleaze, kink, (which is all very necessary to the plot of the film) and talk lies an intelligent, thoughtful film. You are never able to take your eyes off of Turner who is absolutely spellbinding. Perkins plays crazy like no one else can. And Laughlin and Annie Potts turn in frank, honest performances. Director Ken Russell is able to create colorful characterizations and generate memorable dialogue. The very 80's score falls perfectly into place in the film and the ending is among one of the most shocking in cinema history. A masterpiece in every respect and one of the most under rated films of all time.

Unrated; Extreme Sexual & Violent Content, Nudity, Profanity, Adult Themes and Nudity.

This is the film which demonstrated what a great actress Turner is and why she should still be a bigger star today than perhaps she is. She has such a wonderful voice and figure in this film - it's as if the part was written especially for her; perhaps it was! It also shows you how good Perkins was in a role where he could let himself go as over the top as Russell would like him to. He (Perkins) must have loved it. The musical score is supposedly written by Rick Wakeman, but is, of course, derived from Dvorak's New World Symphony. Wakeman does a great job and the music adds to the gloss of the film. The saxophone playing in the lovemaking scene is sensual in the extreme. Anthony Perkins has several monologues that serve as a narrative for the audience. Not for the wowserish, nor is it pornographic (using clever imagery to allude to what is occurring), it is full of very witty, memorable one-liners.

This is easily Kathleen's best film work and really no other American actress has ever shown such intimacy and duality in the sexuality of her character, it is compelling, enthralling and heart breaking. Plus you feel a connection to her because of her vulnerability that she develops as the movie unfolds. Finally her comedic timing is hilarious, yes there are plenty of laugh out scenes in this film too. Perkins is simply brilliant in this role, it seems to be a far cousin of the disturbed mind of Norman Bates, but having grown up in major crimes of the soul and the good manners. Once more, let' s remind the ineffable statement of Nicholas Machiaveli: "The half of the sin is the scandal."

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.