Review of Body Heat (1981) by Stuart K — 30 Dec 2012
Written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan, this was his directorial debut after doing the screenplays for Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back. This film noir for the 1980's was produced by George Lucas, but he took his name off the credits as he was worried that the films erotic nature would hurt his reputation.
It was a massive hit, and you can imagine Lucas is somewhere kicking himself. In Miami, sleazy lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) begins an affair with Matty (Kathleen Turner), wife of rich businessman Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna), Ned and Matty decide to kill Walker, but Walker's will leaves most of the fortune to Edmund's young niece Heather (Carola McGuinness), who had witnessed Ned and Matty in a compromising position.
Ned forges a new will, and kills Edmund in one of his abandoned business factories, and blows it up to make it look like an arson job. It looks like Ned and Matty have gotten away with it, but the flaws in their hurried plot start to show up through the cracks and the police and lawmen are onto them both.
It's a clever and tricky erotic thriller, it came out in the same year as another erotic film-noir, The Postman Always Rings Twice, which was set in the 1940's. This has some good lead performances from Hurt and Turner, with support from Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke.
This review of Body Heat (1981) was written by Stuart K on 30 Dec 2012.
Body Heat has generally received very positive reviews.
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