Body Heat is a 1981 American neo-noirerotic thriller film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. It stars William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Richard Crenna, and features Ted Danson, J. A. Preston, and Mickey Rourke. The film was inspired by Double Indemnity.^[3]

The film launched Turner's career—Empire magazine cited the film in 1995 when it named her one of the '100 Sexiest Stars in Film History'.^[4]The New York Times wrote in 2005 that, propelled by her 'jaw-dropping movie debut [in] Body Heat .. she built a career on adventurousness and frank sexuality born of robust physicality.'^[5]

The film was the directorial debut of Kasdan, screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Plot[edit]

During a particularly intense Florida heatwave, inept local lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) begins an affair with Matty (Kathleen Turner), the wife of wealthy businessman, Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna). One night Ned arrives at the Walker mansion and playfully propositions a woman who he mistakenly thinks is Matty. Shiv amritwani mp3 download mp3mad. The woman is Mary Ann Simpson (Kim Zimmer), Matty's visiting high school friend. Soon after, Matty tells Ned she wants to divorce Edmund, but their prenuptial agreement would leave her with little money. Eventually Ned suggests murdering Edmund so Matty can inherit his wealth. He consults a shady former client, Teddy Lewis (Mickey Rourke), an expert on incendiary devices, who supplies Ned with a bomb while strongly encouraging him to abandon whatever he is scheming.

Ned, aided by Matty, kills Edmund and moves the body to an abandoned building connected to Edmund's business interests. Ned detonates the bomb to look like Edmund died during a botched arson job. Soon after, Edmund's lawyer contacts Ned about a new will that Racine supposedly drafted for Edmund and was witnessed by Mary Ann Simpson. The new will was improperly prepared, making it null and void, resulting in Matty inheriting Edmund's entire fortune while disinheriting his surviving blood relatives. Matty later reveals to Ned that she forged the will, knowing it would be nullified.

Two of Ned's friends, assistant deputy prosecutor Peter Lowenstein (Ted Danson), and police detective Oscar Grace (J.A. Preston), begin to suspect that Ned is involved in Edmund's death. They inform Ned that Edmund's eyeglasses, which he always wore, are missing. Mary Ann Simpson has also disappeared. Nervous over the mounting evidence implicating him, and questioning Matty's loyalty, Ned happens upon a lawyer who once sued him over a mishandled legal case. The lawyer says that to make amends, he recommended Ned to Matty Walker, and admits he told her about Ned's modest legal skills.

Lowenstein informs Ned that on the night of the murder, hotel phone records show that repeated calls to Ned's room went unanswered, thereby weakening his alibi. Teddy tells Ned about a woman wanting another incendiary device, and that he showed her how to booby trap a door. Matty calls Ned and says Edmund's glasses are in the Walker estate boathouse. Ned arrives later that night and spots a long twisted wire attached to the door. When Matty arrives, Ned asks her to retrieve the glasses. Matty walks toward the boathouse and disappears from view; the boathouse explodes. A body found inside is identified through dental records as Matty Walker (née Tyler).

Now in prison, Ned, having realized Matty duped him, tries to convince Grace that she is still alive. He lays out for him the scenario that the woman he knew as 'Matty' assumed the real Matty Tyler's identity in order to marry and murder Edmund for his money. The 'Mary Ann Simpson' that Ned met had discovered the scheme and was blackmailing Matty, only to also be murdered. Had Ned been killed in the boathouse explosion, the police would have found both suspects' bodies. Ned obtains a copy of Matty's high school yearbook. In it are photos of Mary Ann Simpson and Matty Tyler, confirming his suspicion that Mary Ann assumed Matty's identity, eventually becoming Matty Walker. Below Mary Ann's is the nickname 'The Vamp' and 'Ambition—To be rich and live in an exotic land'.

The real Mary Ann (Matty) is last seen wearing a nonchalant facial expression, while lounging on a tropical beach, alongside a Brazilian Portuguese-speaking man.

Cast[edit]

• William Hurt as Ned Racine
• Kathleen Turner as Matty Tyler Walker
• Richard Crenna as Edmund Walker
• Ted Danson as Peter Lowenstein
• J. A. Preston as Oscar Grace
• Mickey Rourke as Teddy Lewis
• Kim Zimmer as Mary Ann Simpson
• Jane Hallaren as Stella
• Lanna Saunders as Roz Kraft
• Carola McGuinness as Heather Kraft
• Michael Ryan as Miles Hardin

Production[edit]

Kasdan 'wanted this film to have the intricate structure of a dream, the density of a good novel, and the texture of recognizable people in extraordinary circumstances.'^[6]

A substantial portion of the film was shot in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, including downtown Lake Worth and in the oceanside enclave of Manalapan. Additional scenes were shot on Hollywood Beach, Florida, such as the scene set in a band shell.

There was originally more graphic and extensive sex scene footage, but this was only shown in an early premier, including in West Palm Beach, the area it was filmed, and was, apparently, edited out for wider distribution. In an interview, Body Heat film editor Carol Littleton says, 'Obviously, there was more graphic footage. But we felt that less was more.'

Music[edit]

In late 1980, Lawrence Kasdan met with four composers whose works he had admired, but only John Barry told him of ideas which were close to the director's own. 10 demos were recorded on March 31 and Barry wrote the whole score during April and early May 1981. The composer provided several themes and leitmotifs—the most memorable was 'Main Theme', heard during the main titles and representing Matty.^[7]

Barry worked closely with recording sessions engineer Dan Wallin to mix the soundtrack album, but for several reasons J.S Lasher (who produced the limited-edition LP and CD) remixed multitracks himself without Barry's or Wallin's participation.^[8]

J.S Lasher's album was released several times: as a 45 RPM (Southern Cross LXSE 1.002) in 1983 and as a CD (Label X LXCD 2) in 1989. Both editions also included 'Ladd Company Logo' composed and conducted by John Williams.

In 1998, Varèse Sarabande released a re-recording by Joel McNeely and the London Symphony Orchestra. This CD contains several new tracks (versus J.S Lasher's editions), but still was not complete.

In August 2012, Film Score Monthly released a definitive two-disc edition: complete score with alternate, unused and source cues on disc 1 and original, Barry-authorized album and theme demos on disc 2.^[9]

Reception[edit]

Body Heat was a commercial success. Produced on a budget of $9 million, it grossed $24 million at the domestic box office.^[2]

Upon its release, Richard Corliss wrote 'Body Heat has more narrative drive, character congestion and sense of place than any original screenplay since Chinatown, yet it leaves room for some splendid young actors to breathe, to collaborate in creating the film's texture'; it is 'full of meaty characters and pungent performances—Ted Danson as a tap-dancing prosecutor, J.A. Preston as a dogged detective, and especially Mickey Rourke as a savvy young ex-con who looks and acts as if he could be Ned's sleazier twin brother.'^[6]Variety magazine wrote 'Body Heat is an engrossing, mightily stylish meller [melodrama] in which sex and crime walk hand-in-hand down the path to tragedy, just like in the old days. Working in the imposing shadow of the late James M. Cain, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan makes an impressively confident directorial debut'.^[10]Roger Ebert included the film on his '10 Best List' for the year.^[11]

Janet Maslin wrote that Body Heat was 'skillfully, though slavishly, derived' from 1940s film noir classics; she stated that, 'Mr. Hurt does a wonderful job of bringing Ned to life' but was not impressed by Miss Turner:

Sex is all-important to Body Heat, as its title may indicate. And beyond that there isn't much to move the story along or to draw these characters together. A great deal of the distance between [Ned and Matty] can be attributed to the performance of Miss Turner, who looks like the quintessential forties siren, but sounds like the soap-opera actress she is. Miss Turner keeps her chin high in the air, speaks in a perfect monotone, and never seems to move from the position in which Mr. Kasdan has left her.^[12]

Pauline Kael dismissed the film, citing its 'insinuating, hotted-up dialogue that it would be fun to hoot at if only the hushed, sleepwalking manner of the film didn't make you cringe or yawn'.^[13] Ebert responded to Kael's negative review when he added the film to his 'Great Movies' list:

Yes, Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat (1981) is aware of the films that inspired it—especially Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944). But it has a power that transcends its sources. It exploits the personal style of its stars to insinuate itself; Kael is unfair to Turner, who in her debut role played a woman so sexually confident that we can believe her lover (William Hurt) could be dazed into doing almost anything for her. The moment we believe that, the movie stops being an exercise and starts working.^[3]

In a home video review for Turner Classic Movies, Glenn Erickson called it 'arguably the first conscious Neo Noir'; he wrote 'Too often described as a quickie remake of Double Indemnity, Body Heat is more detailed in structure and more pessimistic about human nature. The noir hero for the Reagan years is ..more like the self-defeating Al Roberts of Edgar Ulmer's Detour'.^[14]Body Heat received mostly positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 97% approval rating, based on 39 reviews, and an average rating of 8/10. The site's consensus states, 'Classic film noir gets a steamy, '80s update with Body Heat.'^[15]

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

• 2001: AFI's 100 Years..100 Thrills – No. 92^[16]
• 2002: AFI's 100 Years..100 Passions – No. 94^[17]
• 2005: AFI's 100 Years..100 Movie Quotes:
  • Matty Walker: 'You aren't too bright. I like that in a man.' – Nominated^[18]
• 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated^[19]

Home media[edit]

Warner Bros. released a 25th anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD of Body Heat, including a documentary about the film by Laurent Bouzereau, a 'number of rightfully deleted scenes',^[14] and a trailer.

References[edit]

Notes

1. ^Spy (Nov 1988). The Unstoppables. New York, New York: Sussex Publishers, LLC. p. 94. ISSN0890-1759.
2. ^ ^abBox Office Information for Body Heat.Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
3. ^ ^abEbert, Roger (1997-07-20). 'Body Heat (1981)'. rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
4. ^'Empire Magazine's 100 Sexiest Movie Stars (1995)'AmIAnnoying.com
5. ^Green, Jesse (March 20, 2005). 'Kathleen Turner Meets Her Monster'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
6. ^ ^abCorliss, Richard (August 24, 1981). 'Torrid Movie, Hot New Star'. Time. Archived from the original on 2006-09-08. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
7. ^Jon Burlingame, liner notes from Film Score Monthly'sBody Heat CD (FSM Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 4, 6-7)
8. ^Jon Burlingame, liner notes from Film Score Monthly'sBody Heat CD (FSM Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 13-14)
9. ^'Body Heat'. Film Score Monthly. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
10. ^'Body Heat'. Variety. December 31, 1980. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
11. ^Ebert, Roger (December 15, 2004). 'Ebert's 10 Best Lists: 1967-present'. rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2006-09-08. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
12. ^Maslin, Janet (August 28, 1981). 'Body Heat'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
13. ^'An appeal powered by steam'. Los Angeles Times. December 9, 2005. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
14. ^ ^abErickson, Glenn (2006). 'Body Heat (Special Edition): Home Video Review'. Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
15. ^'Body Heat'. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
16. ^'AFI's 100 Years..100 Thrills'(PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
17. ^'AFI's 100 Years..100 Passions'(PDF). American Film Institute. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
18. ^'AFI's 100 Years..100 Movie Quotes Nominees'(PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-20.
19. ^'AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores Nominees'(PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-20.

External links[edit]

• Body Heat on IMDb
• Body Heat at Rotten Tomatoes
• Body Heat at AllMovie
• Body Heat at Box Office Mojo
• Body Heat at Metacritic

And yet if bad modern noir can play like a parody, good noir still has the power to seduce. Yes, Lawrence Kasdan's “Body Heat” (1981) is aware of the films that inspired it--especially Billy Wilder's “Double Indemnity” (1944). But it has a power that transcends its sources. It exploits the personal style of its stars to insinuate itself; Kael is unfair to Turner, who in her debut role played a woman so sexually confident that we can believe her lover (William Hurt) could be dazed into doing almost anything for her. The moment we believe that, the movie stops being an exercise and starts working. (I think the moment occurs in the scene where she leads Hurt by her hand in that manner a man is least inclined to argue with.)

Women are rarely allowed to be bold and devious in the movies; most directors are men, and they see women as goals, prizes, enemies, lovers and friends, but rarely as protagonists. Turner's entrance in “Body Heat” announces that she is the film's center of power. It is a hot, humid night in Florida. Hurt, playing a cocky but lazy lawyer named Ned Racine, is strolling on a pier where an exhausted band is listlessly playing. He is behind the seated audience. We can see straight down the center aisle to the bandstand. All is dark and red and orange. Suddenly a woman in white stands up, turns around and walks straight toward him. This is Matty Walker. To see her is to need her.

Turner in her first movie role was an intriguing original. Slender, with hair down to her shoulders, she evoked aspects of Barbara Stanwyck and Lauren Bacall. But the voice, with its elusive hint of a Latin accent, was challenging. She had “angry eyes,” the critic David Thomson observed. And a slight overbite (later corrected, I think) gave a playful edge to her challenging dialogue (“You're not too smart, are you?” she says soon after meeting him. “I like that in a man.”)

Hurt had been in one movie before “Body Heat” (Ken Russell's “Altered States” in 1980). He was still unfamiliar: a tall, already balding, indolently handsome man with a certain lazy arrogance to his speech, as if amused by his own intelligence. “Body Heat” is a movie about a woman who gets a man to commit murder for her. It is important that the man not be a dummy; he needs to be smart enough to think of the plan himself. One of the brilliant touches of Kasdan's screenplay is the way he makes Ned Racine think he is the initiator of Matty Walker's plans.

Few movies have done a better job of evoking the weather. Heat, body heat, is a convention of pornography, where performers routinely complain about how warm they are (as if lovemaking could cool them off, instead of making them hotter). Although air conditioning was not unknown in South Florida in 1981, the characters here are constantly in heat; there is a scene where Ned comes home, takes off his shirt and stands in front of the open refrigerator. The film opens with an inn burning in the distance (“Somebody's torched it to clear the lot,” Ned says. “Probably one of my clients.”) There are other fires. There is the use of the color red. There is the sense that heat inflames passion and encourages madness.

In this heat, Matty seems cool. Early in the film there is a justly famous scene where Matty brings Ned home from a bar, allegedly to listen to her wind chimes, and then asks him to leave. He leaves, then returns, and looks through a window next to her front door. She stands inside, dressed in red, calmly returning his gaze. He picks up a chair and throws it through the window, and in the next shot they are embracing. Knowing what we know about Matty, look once again at her expression as she looks back at him. She looks as confident and absorbed as a child who has pushed a button and is waiting for a video game to respond.

Kasdan, born in 1949, worked in ad agencies before moving to Hollywood to write screenplays. His more personal work languished in desk drawers while his first credits were two of the biggest blockbusters of all time, “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” George Lucas acted as executive producer on this directorial debut to reassure Warner Bros. that it would come in on time and be releasable. It was; David Chute wrote in Film Comment that it was “perhaps the most stunning debut movie ever” (which raises the question of “Citizen Kane,” but never mind). Kasdan's subsequent career has alternated between action pieces written for others (“Return of the Jedi,” aspects of “The Bodyguard”) and quirky, smart films directed by himself (“The Accidental Tourist,” “I Love You To Death,” and the brilliant, overlooked “Grand Canyon” in 1991).

In “Body Heat,” Kasdan's original screenplay surrounds the characters with good, well-written performances in supporting roles; he creates a real world of police stations, diners, law offices and restaurants, away from which Matty has seduced Ned into her own twisted scenario. The best supporting work in the movie is by Mickey Rourke, in his breakthrough role, as Ned's friend, a professional arsonist. Richard Crenna is Matty's husband. “He's small, and mean, and weak,” she tells Ned, but when we see him he is not small or weak. Ted Danson and J.A. Preston are a D.A. and a cop, Ned's friends, who are drawn reluctantly into suspecting him of murder (Danson's sense of timing and nuance are perfect in a night scene where he essentially briefs his friend Ned on the case against him).

“Kasdan has modern characters talking jive talk as if they'd been boning up on Chandler novels,” Kael wrote, “and he doesn't seem to know if he wants laughs or not.” But isn't it almost essential for noir characters to talk in a certain heightened style, and isn't it possible for us to smile in recognition? On the night they first make love, Ned tells Matty, “Maybe you shouldn't dress like that.” She says, “This is a blouse and skirt. I don't know what you're talking about.” And he says, “You shouldn't wear that body.” Chandleresque? Yes. Works in this movie? Yes.

And there is some dialogue that unblinkingly confronts the enormity of the crime that Ned and Matty are contemplating. In many movies, the killers use self-justification and rationalization to talk themselves into murder. There is a chilling scene in “Body Heat” where Ned flatly tells Matty: “That man is gonna die for no reason but . . . we want him to.”

The plot and its double-crosses are of course part of the pleasure, although watching the film again last night, aware of its secrets, I found the final payoff less rewarding than the diabolical setup. The closing scenes are obligatory (and the final beach scene is perfunctory and unconvincing). The last scene that works as drama is the one where Ned suggests to Matty that she go get the glasses in the boathouse, and then she pauses on the lawn to tell him, “Ned, whatever you think--I really do love you.”

Does she? That's what makes the movie so intriguing. Does he love her, for that matter? Or is he swept away by sexual intoxication--body heat? You watch the movie the first time from his point of view, and the second time from hers. Every scene plays two ways. “Body Heat” is good enough to make film noir play like we hadn't seen it before.