Body Heat
Lawrence Kasdan's first directorial effort is a throwback to the early days of film noir. The scene is a beastly hot Florida coastal town, where naive attorney Ned (William Hurt) is entranced by the alluring Matty (Kathleen Turner in her film debut). Ned is manipulated into killing Matty's much older husband (Richard Crenna), the plan being that Ned's knowledge of legal matters will enable both conspirators to escape scott-free. This might have been the case, had not Matty been infinitely craftier than the cloddish Ned. Just when it seems as though the film has run out of plot twists, we're handed yet another surprise.
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A. Preston
Body Heat is good enough to make film noir play like we hadn't seen it before.
An excellent crime drama in the style of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, and Dashiell Hammett.
Kasdan's moody tribute to cinema's dark past set a gold standard for neo-noirs that has seldom been equaled.
While Body Heat involves murder, fraud, a weak hero led astray and a seductive, double-dealing broad, it also incorporates something new: a sexual explicitness that the old films could only hint at.
Body Heat is full of meaty characters and pungent performances...a film to be seen at a drive-in, on a heavy summer night, with someone you trust.
Most Outstanding Newcomer to Leading Film Roles
BAFTA Awards (1983)
Best Motion Picture
Edgar Allan Poe Awards (1982)
New Star of the Year in a Motion Picture
Golden Globes (1982)
Best Director
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (1981)
Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen
Writers Guild of America (1982)
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