|
USA 1981
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Cast: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston, Mickey Rourke
Rating: R
Release Date: 28 August 1981
Running Time: 1 hour 53 minutes
The Movie Review
|
|
|
 |
| BODY HEAT |
| Storyline: |  |
| Cast: |  |
| Ending: | |
Overall:
|
|
|
When I was viewing an erotic thriller film titled Chloe (2009) on my trip to Semarang last month, I was sitting there practically alone since there were only 5 viewers and thinking what an awful movie I had picked. Clearly, some filmmakers don't know for certain how to write an interesting storyline without hopelessly putting gorgeous nude actresses in their movies. Those people probably should've watched Body Heat.
Body Heat is 3-decade old by this year 2011 and even though on some parts the movie has not aged very well, but the story and the cunning twists are definitely still its strongest selling points. Of course the extra nudity of Kathleen Turner might inevitably draws more male viewers to buy the DVD.
Body Heat was one of the earliest erotic thriller movies that had set a trend in eroticism combined with intricate storyline filled with suspense. There were many erotic thriller or erotic drama in the 80s and 90s, but Body Heat is definitely still on the list of "Must-Watch"
Set amidst heat wave in Florida, the story follows a lawyer named Ned Racine (William Hurt) who often gets into trouble because of his lifestyle. Ned Racine is famous among his friends to be a womanizer who has a fetish for women in uniforms. On a hot summer night, Ned lays his eyes on a very beautiful broad and he follows her around until he gets the chance to really know her. The woman named is Matty Tyler Walker (Kathleen Turner), a married woman who is often feels lonely and longing for a man's touch due to her husband always being out of town. What seems to be a brief flirtatious session between the two horny adults becomes an intimate love making which inevitable plunging them into deep trouble. Because not only that Matty's husband, Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna; famous as Rambo's ex-commanding Officer in First Blood (1982)), is a dangerous man but this illicit affair of Ned and Matty has blossomed into love. Eventually Ned and Matty have come up with a horrible idea to get rid of Edmund and to take control of his wealth. What will happen to Ned and Matty?
Shot in Florida and Hawaii and headlined by then-unknown actress, Kathleen Turner, this erotic thriller film eventually landed her nominations for Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Body Heat also made to the list of AFI Top 100 Most Thrilling Movies and AFI's 100 Passions. Back then in the age of Betamax/VHS, I admit I didn't even remember her name as all I remembered was how hot she is in Body Heat and how awesomely cunning her character is, but then I realize it was the story that is actually the most awesome thing about Body Heat. Before we get to the story, it's mandatory to say the movie is segmented for adult viewers as Body Heat features romantic sex scenes between Kathleen Tuner and William Hurt in which Kathleen Turner can be seen explicitly topless and nude. Actually this is probably one of the movies that I actually feel the story itself does not need further eroticism to be engaging. Body Heat also features Mickey Rourke (of Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986)) as Ned Racine's client named Teddy Lewis and even though his appearance is very short here but memorable and has an important role to the progress of the story.
Apparently Body Heat is said to be the remake of a splendid film noir from the mid 40s titled Double Indemnity (1944) which position is also secured in AFI's lists but in higher ranks! Nevertheless, even though Body Heat does borrowed many things from Double Indemnity, Body Heat is still a great neo-noir movie by its own accord, because the movie will leave you guessing with all the suspense it contains and thanks to the splendid performance of the entire characters especially the chemistry between Kathleen Turner and William Hurt. The cinematography, colour play and shooting location is also helpful in setting the mood for the relationship between Ned Racine and Matty, good thing is that not only they kiss passionately but they also exchange dialogue nicely with memorable lines. Even so, the beginning of the movie tends to bore you with its slow pacing and lack of intensity of crime. But once you get there when Ned Racine and Matty are scheming to kill Matty's husband, Body Heat will glue you to your seat. And if you rarely see suspenseful and/or erotic movies, Kathleen Turner's character will stick in your memory for quite a while :-)
> See more of Kathleen Turner in these films: A Breed Apart (1984), Romancing the Stone (1984) and The Jewel of the Nile (1985).
> Engaging Erotic Thriller Flicks: Dressed to Kill (1980), Fatal Attraction (1987) and Basic Instinct (1992).
© iwan pranowo of Movielogy.com
Twitter: @movielogy
posted: Sunday, 4 December 2011 13:13 pm
|
| |
|
Home > Horror & Thriller Home > Body Heat (1981)
|
