Body Heat (1981) movie review - Sneak Previews with Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel

[@rouge2100]

Possibly the greatest "first film" by any director in Hollywood history. Kasdan had never even directed a short, or a play, prior to this. There is a story that George Lucas had agreed to be a "shadow director" for this film. He assured the producers that he would be on set for the duration of the filming, in case Kasdan got "too far out over his skis". After one day of watching him, Lucas never returned to the set, because he knew Kasdan could handle it all himself. I think the film is flawless, even in the smaller roles. LOVE both Mickey Rourke in his brief scenes, and Ted Danson in all of his...especially the scene on the pier, towards the end of the movie. Not a single thing I would change about the film, I think it's perfect. Incredibly, Hurt and Turner turn right around a few years later and do one of my other favorite films, also directed by Kasdan: :The Accidental Tourist. Great movie, again, great performances. Hurt and Turner's characters and performances could not possibly be more different in "Tourist", then in "Heat". Two phenomenal actors, with some of the greatest performances in film history.

[@mrfunball5204]

The pier scene is also my favorite, when Ted Danson says "buddy, your lawyer is present" you know the 💩 has hit the fan

[@robzilla730]

@@mrfunball5204 did Danson mean himself or Hurt?

[@cookiesandmilk3207]

Citizen Kane you philistine.

[@ragingbull2271]

Body Heat is a fascinatingly brilliant neo noir. It's one of my top favorite films. Everything about it is so alluring, seductive and thrilling. All of the performances are top notch especially a scene stealing Ted "Tap-Dancing" Danson, the cinematography is gorgeous and it has one of the best scores in film history by the highly underrated John Barry. They don't make movies like this anymore, sadly.

[@gabriel0961]

Yes. I tried seeking other movies from the same genre as good as this and couldnt find It. By the way, what os your top tem movies?

[@ragingbull2271]

@@gabriel0961 Top 10 is pretty tough for me but I can do my top 5. 1. The Godfather 2 2. The Godfather 3. Casino 4. Goodfellas 5. Boogie Nights

[@christianhafer9819]

@@ragingbull2271 Like mobster movies, huh? Lol.

[@Blairpark]

I could not agree more with this review. Why is it so hard to find this movie on TV?

[@itstheburnz]

Agree with Gene, I didn't even try to figure it out until right near the end...by then it had unfolded like a masterful Hitchcock, "man caught in a noose" moment!!

[@raiderdanCA]

First rate acting by (then) newcomer William Hurt, and femme fatale Katherine Turner ... And a perfectly composed sound track that made the story more ominous and threatening. LUVED this film when I saw it in California in 1981, and it still is in my top ten.

[@citygirl5705]

I saw this on Showtime in 1982 when I was a kid. It may be for adults, but I still loved it.

[@kettle_of_chris]

Same here (lol) I was 10 years old.

[@jimmyl324]

Soundtrack is one of the best

[@CR41489]

I’ve always liked this great film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Great story with great actors playing interesting characters. A tribute to the old film-noir classics of yesteryear. It also has a fantastic score with jazz elements by the great John Barry.

[@blackwingvalleylover]

It's based on Double Indemnity 1944 with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck

[@rievans57]

Why Kathleen Turner did not receive an Oscar nomination is beyond me. Her portrayal was fascinating. When the camera was on her she was sexy, sweet almost innocent but when when she wasn't on camera she was deadly. Incredible performance. Once again the Academy got it wrong.

[@thomasbradley4505]

She was nominated for a golden globe as best newcomer. She lost to Pia Zadora for the notoriously bad movie Butterfly. Pia Zadora was married to the head of the Hollywood Foreign Press

[@Unknown-bq9id]

@@thomasbradley4505 Yeah, Pia Zadora winning for best newcomer is bad enough--but over KATHLEEN TURNER in Body Heat!?!? No wonder people were suspicious...

[@thomasbradley4505]

@@Unknown-bq9id she was not only up against Kathleen Turner, but also Mary Steenbergen as Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime . So many great choices and they went with Pia 🙄

[@Unknown-bq9id]

@@thomasbradley4505 It was Elizabeth McGovern who played Evelyn Nesbit and was nominated. Here were the other nominees: Craig Wasson for Four Friends, Rachel Ward for Sharkey's Machine, and Howard Rollins, Jr. for Ragtime. The Golden Globes had all those other great choices and they went with Pia Zadora?!? Especially Turner...

[@user-oh6vo1kn6s]

This is a world-class performance.

[@drinksnapple8997]

One of the great "Femme Fatale" roles....EVER!!!

[@avirulentyinvin1700]

found this (dvd) at a flea market for $1. boy, did i get lucky or what!

[@jimgallagher2979]

"Body Heat" was little noticed at the time but it told a great story, had great acting all around with that neat little twist at the end.

[@thomasbradley4505]

And regarding the twist, Kathleen Turner had just left the soap The Doctors, and was replaced by an actress named Kim Zimmer, who played Mattie’s former friend in the gazebo scene. 🤔

[@markthomas2436]

...an absolute cinematic masterpiece that will live on forEVER.

[@jdmac44]

Thanks for uploading these, Eric!

[@arturovillaluz2053]

Many believe "Body Heat" was inspired by the 1944 classic "Double Indemnity"

[@blackwingvalleylover]

The same plot except Ned is a lawyer and Neff is an insurance sales man!

[@arturovillaluz2053]

@@blackwingvalleylover The ending is also different.

[@blackwingvalleylover]

@@arturovillaluz2053 Yes I guess it's more the basic story and that sinister vibe through out both films I recognise. I think Kathleen is every bit as beautiful and menacing (as Barbara was )as the femme fatale in white!

[@tonymcquarters6593]

William Hurt should have got an Oscar for this..

[@georgetollisonbuffett]

Absolutely. And for so many other roles. I feel like if Hollywood really gave our these awards just by the measurement of pure talent, then they’d have to give him one every single year.

[@brerrabbit9585]

Very much in the same mold of 'Double Indemnity' and 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' and other 40s and 50s noir.. One of the best films of the 80s. It's HOT!

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Body Heat is exactly what Double Indemnity would have been without the oppressive production code.

[@75aces97]

I didn't know Kasdan wrote this. He directed Hurt in Big Chill and Accidental Tourist. Body Heat doesn't show up much on old movie TV rotation, and I don't know why. This was a great mockup of a 1940s noir mystery.

[@75aces97]

@Texas Chainsaw Jesus because...movies!

[@75aces97]

@Texas Chainsaw Jesus 🤔 I haven't seen this in a long time. Maybe I should see it again. It might not be as good as I remember.

[@Lkhrobertson]

“Had me rig it to a door with a little delay...” th Wheaton annual mentions she is a swimmer.

[@elvinhayes7120]

The rare perfect movie.

[@sonnyblack0870]

Body Heat is the best film/neo noir ever made.

[@GiovannaHI]

Have you seen The Last Seduction?

[@sonnyblack0870]

@@GiovannaHI I have. I know a lot of people liked it but I thought it was just okay.

[@jeshkam]

Come on, as much as I like this film, Blade Runner? Thief? Manhunter? To Live and Die in LA? American Gigolo?

[@sonnyblack0870]

@@jeshkam Yeah that’s a good point, I got a little ahead of myself with that comment lol. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of your traditional love triangle, murder for hire plot type film noir (Which American Gigolo kinda of is, I just forgot about it), but those films you mentioned are of course also neo-noir. I do prefer To Live & Die in LA, Blade Runner, and possibly American Gigolo over Body Heat. Thief & Manhunter are also both awesome films, very stylish.

[@alexalex13131]

I thought Double Indemnity might have been better. Robertson and MacMurray topped Hurt by himself. Although I did prefer Kathleen Turner over Stanwyck.

[@tylenoljackson9378]

I was shocked to see that air conditioning didn't exist in Florida in 1981.

[@sleuthentertainment5872]

Through the 80s the classic film noir had a great comeback. Body Heat was one of the best titles

[@Lockbar]

"Mommy Dearest" is the next film Ebert hated,..just in case anybody is wondering.

[@pacificostudios]

In the parody "Basic Instinct," the guy throws a chair against a window, and the chair breaks, not the window. Funny scene.

[@jeshkam]

You mean Loaded Weapon?

[@pacificostudios]

​@@jeshkam - Sorry, I meant "Fatal Instinct." Here's the trailer, at the point where Armand Assante smashes a chair against a window. Literally. kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6rOiGBtbZWVftU

[@jeshkam]

@@pacificostudios Oh, ok I got confused, because there was this scene in Loaded Weapon spoofing Basic Instinct. 😁

[@josephkelley8641]

so well acted it felt like a play. .

[@josephkelley8641]

Mickey Rourke astonishing in The Mick's debut.

[@georgetollisonbuffett]

William Hurt was the GOAT.

[@Bluexhox]

Siskel and Ebert were two giants of their profession. Man, what a time

[@TheFadingMan]

Kathleen Turner was the star of the movie. She deserved awards for this. Her performance is phenomenal.

[@kevinwhelan9607]

No one loved movies more than Roger Ebert❤❤❤

[@sleuthentertainment5872]

What?😅😂

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Double Indemnity 2: Electric Boogaloo

[@johnbalk6091]

Great movie. The sex scenes aren’t explicit but tasteful.

[@captainharris8980]

Buddy was a big K. Turner fan. He worked at a video rental place and took home every movie she ever did. Oh well. To each his own.

[@johnbrennan4449]

"Double Indemnity" 1944 "Body Heat" 1981 another remake 2021?

[@errolbourgeois8230]

I pray 🙏 not!!!!!!!!!!. Both films are classics. You cannot have the same response twice.

[@teejaye6226]

If they made this now, in 2021....there'd be a chase or two thrown in....also, Kathleen Turner would either know martial arts or be in a lesbian relationship.

[@Charleybones]

then there are the obesity, tatoos and social media pix to consider.....

[@paxwallacejazz]

I went to see this film 2wice

[@angelaalbury9985]

Great movie

[@HallofWisdom]

--- does anyone know what movie Roger was talking about next '... least entertaining, most painful...?' -16AUG20

[@dougn2350]

Matty played Ned like a fiddle

[@wataki2]

Telling the whole movie

[@christianhafer9819]

No mention of Ted Danson which is depressing.

[@paxwallacejazz]

Boy she didnt age well though. Unlike Madeline Stowe or Jennifer Connelly or or

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

Body Heat was a dumb, dumb movie about a dumb, dumb lawyer who thinks and moves slowly; which makes it impossible to believe he's a lawyer. He is conned by a woman who is so obvious it's laughable. The fact that Siskel and Ebert liked this movie is incomprehensible.

[@tanyahearin3648]

you must not know many southern lawyers

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@tanyahearin3648 , actually, I do. And they are the slickest, slimiest sociopathic hucksters you could ever come across. There's a reason why when there's a movie that shows a corrupt, smooth-talking lawyer, he always has a Southern accent....

[@christianhafer9819]

@@maskedmarvyl4774 There's always one negative comment.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

@@christianhafer9819 , Someone has to make it. Unfortunately, it's a burden that I'm force to bear.

[@christianhafer9819]

@@maskedmarvyl4774 While I don't think it's a phenomenal, all time classic movie like most of the comments, it is good. I'll watch Ted Danson in almost anything.

[@volvol1]

This is an ALL TIME GREAT MOVIE. One of the all time best movies ever created. I have seen a video of William Hurt advising Lawrence Kasdan (the screenwriter) not to be the director. Hurt was wrong. Kasdan, the director, did a flawless job.