tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post5180453935420742454..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Netflix pick of the month: BODY HEATBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-24601020048304956422014-10-12T01:35:09.638-07:002014-10-12T01:35:09.638-07:00I saw Body Heat in West Palm Beach 1981 when it wa...I saw Body Heat in West Palm Beach 1981 when it was released. A lot of the film was shot in the greater West Palm Beach area, and I believe this was one of two or three cities where it was shown as an early premier. Maybe that accounts for why the version I saw is different I than have ever seen on any video or TV version--I don't know about early VHS versions--and different from what most reviews imply, either directly or implicitly by lack of note.<br /><br />What I am talking about is that most of the sex scenes that were in the theatrical version I saw have been severely edited or deleted. In the interview with the film editor in the Blu-ray version, she says, "Obviously, there was more graphic footage but we felt less was better" or something to that effect. Apparently that was an afterthought, because the version I saw had close-up full frontal nudity of Kathleen Turner, and what you see now is the ends of the sex scenes, which were pretty much the same as the softcore porn they show on Cinemax.<br /><br />Has anyone else seen the version I'm speaking of?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03011231196226015679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81095108691585154682009-10-30T19:10:44.891-07:002009-10-30T19:10:44.891-07:00I like this movie very much, but it's hardly f...I like this movie very much, but it's hardly flawless. What does work supremely well is Kathleen Turner's performance--she's not only sexy, but she has the presence and authority of a very fine stage actress (as for her subsequent weight gain, it's the result of taking steroids to control rheumatic arthritis, a very nasty autoimmune disease that attacks the joints and makes life VERY difficult for the people--mostly women--who suffer from it).<br /><br />William Hurt is an altogether lesser performer here. The role called for an actor who could project doomy romanticism, and Hurt wasn't it. He's competent and does nicely by the comic moments in the film, but is otherwise unremarkable. I've always thought that Michael Gambon, who was only about 40 at the time that this was made, would have been a much better choice, but I'm known for having weird taste.<br /><br />There are two unsung heroes on this film--the cinematographer, Richard Kline, who gave the film its rich, stylized look, particularly in the nighttime scenes, and also did a wizardly job of conveying a sense of oppressive heat hanging over the setting (the movie was, in fact, shot in the relative cool of the Florida winter, I believe). The other was the costume designer, Renie Conley. At the time the film was made, she'd been in the business over 40 years and had worked at RKO for a long time, shifting between "A" and "B" pictures with ease (she also shared in a 1963 Oscar for her work on the Taylor-Burton version of CLEOPATRA). She did a very shrewd job of suggesting 40's Hollywood in modern clothing, particularly the white blouse and red skirt that Kathleen Turner wears for the Big Sex Scene with Hurt (you know, where he smashes the French doors with the chair).<br /><br />One of my problems with the sex scenes is that Turner was doing all of the work--she's parading her anatomy about while her co-star's Naughty Bits are all discreetly off-screen. The other thing is that most of these scenes feel strained and phony--there's more heat in the moment when Turner stubs out a cigarette with the toe of her shoe than in all of the heavy breathing that follows.Matt Pattonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19450857301974313372009-10-29T19:40:33.585-07:002009-10-29T19:40:33.585-07:00I love that movie and one of the things I love mos...I love that movie and one of the things I love most is Ted Danson's part. Watching Danson in this is like watching Harrison Ford playing Han Solo in the first Star Wars movie-- this is not a star but a character actor doing a part and doing it quite well. There's a breathless ease to how they play the role, like they don't have to impress anyone. <br /><br />I think Ted Danson's a superb, thoughtful actor, but great as he is, after Cheers he could never do roles like he did in Body Heat because he's a star and there's expectations placed upon him by everyone including the producers, the audience and himself. It's a real shame.Graemehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14874622261770189776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-68801321610411880132009-10-29T13:53:56.217-07:002009-10-29T13:53:56.217-07:00i read anon 12:15's description of the S/T hav...i read anon 12:15's description of the S/T having a track titled "kill for pussy" and immediately thought "nuh-UH!!"<br /><br />so i went off to amazon, and i'll be damned if it isn't true. you can keep your "stairway to heaven"s, and your "over the rainbow"s, and the like. "kill for pussy" only the best song title EVER.<br /><br />they probably play the sinatra version in heaven.ici chacalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17314251303373330753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85244328261456272392009-10-28T22:43:50.361-07:002009-10-28T22:43:50.361-07:00I saw Body Heat because of Kathleen Turner, who I&...I saw Body Heat because of Kathleen Turner, who I've loved ever since I saw her in a negligee in the daytime soap opera The Doctors, which, I just found out, was 30 years ago. EEEKK!!!Alan Coilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09049940361953267636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-83173715741989364772009-10-28T20:58:55.114-07:002009-10-28T20:58:55.114-07:00D. McEwan said...
"Tom, you do know that th...D. McEwan said... <br /><br />"<i>Tom, you do know that there's no postman in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, right? Just checking.</i>"<br /><br />Yes, I did know, Doug... Just being my usual silly self -- but thanks for checking....Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58003906993933416652009-10-28T17:16:53.796-07:002009-10-28T17:16:53.796-07:00My goof. The Visconti version was titled "Oss...My goof. The Visconti version was titled "Ossessione," not "Obsessione." It was Visconti's directoral debut. (Noir must make for good directing debuts. "Ossessione" was Visnonti's, BODY HEAT was Kasdan's, and THE MALTESE FALCON was John Huston's.)<br /><br />And the French version was, in fact, the first film of POSTMAN, so the Lana Turner version was already a remake. For that matter, Huston's MALTESE FALCON was the third film of that book.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29845987422340209272009-10-28T16:59:22.131-07:002009-10-28T16:59:22.131-07:00"jbryant said...
By the way, Crenna played t..."jbryant said... <br />By the way, Crenna played the MacMurray role in a TV version of DOUBLE INDEMNITY. I think it's an extra on the DVD of the latter."<br /><br />That is correct. It's the second disc in the set. But it so ghastly as to be unwatchable. It really shows you how necessary Billy Wilder was, because even using almost the same script, the TV remake is just boring and terrible.<br /><br />"Tom Quigley said... <br />I can only think of one film that BODY HEAT comes close to in its film noir aspirations -- the original THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE...<br />Of course these days, if they tried to make yet a third version of that classic, the postman probably wouldn't ring at all."<br /><br />"Comes close" as in, what parts of BODY HEAT's plot that weren't cribbed from DOUBLE INDEMNITY were lifted almost whole from POSTMAN?<br /><br />Tom, you do know that there's no postman in THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, right? Just checking.<br /><br />I find the remake of POSTMAN with Jack Nicholson superior to the VERY cleaned up Garfield-Turner version (Pauline Kael accurately calls the Lana Turner version "grossly bowdlerized") in almost every respect, especially if you've read the very short, enormously steamy novel. All that hot sex of BODY HEAT is also to be found in Cain's novel of POSTMAN. But the Nicholson movie, for reasons not known to me, stops at Cora's death, and omits the story's final, ironic twist, where Frank goes to the gas chamber for a murder he did not commit instead of for the one he did commit but got away with. That was the second ring of the metaphorical titular postman, so the Nicholson version is really THE POSTMAN ONLY RINGS ONCE.<br /><br />But a new version of POSTMAN wouldn't be the "third version," it would be a FIFTH version. Along with the Garfield and Nicholson versions, there was a French version made in 1939, "La Dernier Tournant," and Visconti made an Italian version called "Obsessione" in 1942.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1241511633396904472009-10-28T16:22:49.682-07:002009-10-28T16:22:49.682-07:00I can only think of one film that BODY HEAT comes ...I can only think of one film that BODY HEAT comes close to in its film noir aspirations -- the original THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE with Lana Turner and John Garfield. Of course these days, if they tried to make yet a third version of that classic, the postman probably wouldn't ring at all. He'd just leave a note on the door saying "Was unable to deliver my 'package'. Was hoping it would be as good for you as it would have been for me..."<br /><br />wv: popretio -- name of a character from an as yet undiscovered Shakespeare play?....Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-31109950011573354952009-10-28T15:47:48.683-07:002009-10-28T15:47:48.683-07:00Heresy, I suppose, but most neo-noirs, including B...Heresy, I suppose, but most neo-noirs, including BODY HEAT, leave me a bit cold. The 40s-style patter sounds awkward, self-conscious and a bit silly in a contemporary setting, even when cleverly updated by a good writer like Kasdan. CHINATOWN, being a period piece, didn't have that problem.<br /><br />By the way, Crenna played the MacMurray role in a TV version of DOUBLE INDEMNITY. I think it's an extra on the DVD of the latter.jbryantnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-16714693342540121842009-10-28T15:32:32.365-07:002009-10-28T15:32:32.365-07:00One of the classics. Succeeds in so many ways, the...One of the classics. Succeeds in so many ways, the writing and acting and music and direction. The ending threw me the first time, also, I wasn't ready for what I had seen. Talk about a genuine last shot very big reveal. <br /><br />I've read two interviews with Larry Kasdan which give credit to George Lucas for helping get Body Heat made. The Ladd Company, I think, was nervous about Kasdan, letting him make his first movie. They spoke to Lucas, who settled their nerves, and the production was on.Max Clarkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07706524941272103444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74388266394834954882009-10-28T14:29:17.853-07:002009-10-28T14:29:17.853-07:00" l.a.guy said...
If you want to see a truly..." l.a.guy said... <br />If you want to see a truly unwatchable movie check out TOMMY or the even worse (which is quiet an achievement) LISZTOMANIA, ... Maybe you need to be on acid to appreciate his work, but I'll never forgive him for ruining Tommy."<br /><br />My recordings of TOMMY haven't been ruined, so all Russell "ruined" was the movie. (Stephen King was once asked if her resented Kubick "for ruining your book THE SHINING." King replied, "My book is just fine. There it is, right on that shelf.")<br /><br />But actually, for all it's wretched excess, and Russell was the queen of over-the-top wretched excess, I rather enjoy the movie of TOMMY. Oliver Reed is no singer, and needless to say, I never bought the soundtrack, but the film is fun in it's deranged way.<br /><br />I've never seen LIZTOMANIA. I loved WOMEN IN LOVE (the nude wrestling scene between Oliver Reed and Alan Bates was THE most erotic scene I had ever seen in any movie at that time, and still ranks VERY high on that list) and THE BOY FRIEND, liked in so far as it's possible to like, the bizarre spectacle which is THE DEVILS (I have a tape of it, but it's pan-and-scan, and the compositions are RUINED), and loathed THE MUSIC LOVERS.<br /><br />Ken Russell's movies were a preferred guilty pleasure of my dim college days. But VALENTINO soiled al it touched, and is a libel on everyone portrayed in it. Who knew Fatty Arbuckle could be libelled worse still worse than he was during his tragic life. (People forget that, at his third trial, he was EXONERATED!)<br /><br />And yes, being on acid would help.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88981017384286313752009-10-28T12:15:55.478-07:002009-10-28T12:15:55.478-07:00Ah, yes, that John Barry score. On the soundtrack ...Ah, yes, that John Barry score. On the soundtrack album, I recall one track was labeled "Kill for pussy" which I think sums of the film quite nicely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-61109718599119278022009-10-28T11:14:32.319-07:002009-10-28T11:14:32.319-07:00Fred MacMurray what??!!!
ROFLAMOFred MacMurray <i>what??!!!</i><br /><br />ROFLAMOblogwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07362291687463326731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-8686191234522715012009-10-28T10:09:48.010-07:002009-10-28T10:09:48.010-07:00I love when William Hurt throws the lawn chair tho...I love when William Hurt throws the lawn chair though the window to get at a very hot Kathleen Turner. Awesome film.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-4819583851935570842009-10-28T08:28:19.743-07:002009-10-28T08:28:19.743-07:00That scene where he smashes the window to get to h...That scene where he smashes the window to get to her is a great example of how to establish character and chemistry in a short amount of time. That one action tells us almost everything we need to know about their relationship.Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-668739663609610462009-10-28T07:52:19.616-07:002009-10-28T07:52:19.616-07:00I saw 'Body Heat' in the theatre and recal...I saw 'Body Heat' in the theatre and recall liking it but being confused by the ending. I thought that Kasden's screenplay for 'Continental Divide' reached the screen before 'Body Heat', but it appears that BH was released first. ('Continental Divide'is a personal favorite.) I also remember being more impressed with the secondary characters-Crenna, Danson and Rourke-than with the leads.scottmchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00482605047309863052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67419482044717135842009-10-28T07:42:06.323-07:002009-10-28T07:42:06.323-07:00I just read that Earl Pomerantz is out of surgery....I just read that Earl Pomerantz is out of surgery. It went well and he is in recovery, mumbling about his love for anethesia.emilynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52114073284835582732009-10-28T07:41:30.782-07:002009-10-28T07:41:30.782-07:00One steamy summer night in 1984, my family was cel...One steamy summer night in 1984, my family was celebrating our grandparents' 50th anniversary in the Virgin Islands. Most of us grandkids were in college, but one was still in high school. We heard the resort was showing "Body Heat" in an outdoor pavilion and decided to go. My 80-something grandma asked about the movie, and we told her it was about a lawyer in Florida, thinking that was the safest synopsis. Gram wanted to come, too, but we managed to talk her out of it. Gram was a flapper in the 1920s so maybe not as naive as we imagined, but we would have died of embarrassment seeing "Body Heat" with her.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13600073794552842891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-56664206654053514032009-10-28T06:46:31.856-07:002009-10-28T06:46:31.856-07:00BODY HEAT is a classic, as fine a film noir as was...BODY HEAT is a classic, as fine a film noir as was ever made.<br /><br />At a recent writers conference, Christa Faust (a leading writer of noir fiction) described noir as a story where the protagonist is screwed from the outset but doesn't know it. As opposed to hard-boiled, where the situation and landscape may be screwed, but he has a chance. ("Screwed" wasn't the word she used.)Dana Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01350344882342624735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-10453522635007344622009-10-28T04:19:07.526-07:002009-10-28T04:19:07.526-07:00I think Michael Hauge uses Body Heat as an example...I think Michael Hauge uses <i>Body Heat</i> as an example of using your script to arouse emotion/feelings in the reader. He cites the saucy directions for the sex scenes as being designed to arouse the reader, rather than just a blow-by-blow (ahem) blueprint of the action.<br /><br />He also uses the introduction of Mickey Rourke's character in the script as a model for making your character descriptions fresh interesting: "Teddy Lewis - rock'n'roll arsonist".Tom Murphyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18321494400861424580noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-81100092434435011592009-10-28T01:38:18.575-07:002009-10-28T01:38:18.575-07:00I just... finished watching the Ken Russell VALENT...<i>I just... finished watching the Ken Russell VALENTINO... my GOD what a DREADFUL movie."</i><br /><br />If you want to see a truly unwatchable movie check out TOMMY or the even worse (which is quiet an achievement) LISZTOMANIA, the two movies that proceeded VALENTINO.<br /><br />Forcing someone to watch all three in a single sitting would qualify as a war crime on the order of water boarding. Maybe you need to be on acid to appreciate his work, but I'll never forgive him for ruining Tommy.l.a.guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-90148452610530511272009-10-27T23:39:14.452-07:002009-10-27T23:39:14.452-07:00Lawrence Kasdan isn't it? Not Kasden.Lawrence Kasdan isn't it? Not Kasden.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-18010830828460014082009-10-27T23:35:13.248-07:002009-10-27T23:35:13.248-07:00I am a huge fan of BODY HEAT. Both my father and ...I am a huge fan of BODY HEAT. Both my father and a film teacher of mine (also a man) introduced me to it. I love film noir, especially the neo-noirs of the 70's and 80's, and this is one of the best.<br /><br />I was also really blown away by Ted Danson's performance, having known him primarily from his television work like CHEERS, INK and BECKER. Do you know if his role in BODY HEAT had anything to do with him being cast on CHEERS?Erich Eilenbergerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17172090517245801061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73629333419647831962009-10-27T22:44:19.978-07:002009-10-27T22:44:19.978-07:00What is this "rewind" you speak of, old ...What is this "rewind" you speak of, old man?Foaming Solventhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02483018330648466234noreply@blogger.com