Body Heat (1981)
89%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
6 nominations total
Made from classic noir ingredients and flavored with a heaping helping of steamy modern spice, Body Heat more than lives up to its evocative title
Body Heat is the kind of movie that makes you want to take a cold shower after watching it. With its steamy ambiance and hot performances from William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, it’s no wonder it’s still regarded as one of the steamiest movies of all time. John Barry’s noirish lounge music and the constant cigarette smoke only add to the film’s sultry atmosphere. It’s pure noir that may force too much on the final thought of Hurt’s character, but it’s still a movie that dazzles in each of its frames. Just make sure you have a fan nearby.
Production Company(ies)
Mediopolis Film-und Fernsehproduktion Skyline Productions, Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Distributor
Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Lake Worth, Florida, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1981
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Mono
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 53m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 1981 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2006
Genre(s)
Crime/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J.A Preston, Mickey Rourke, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, written by Lawrence Kasdan, produced by Fred T Gallo, crime, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Gary Arnold, James Berardinelli, Ian Nathan, Dave Kehr, Richard Corliss, Nell Minow, Yasser Medina, Kenneth Turan, David Nusair, Mike Massie, Alberto Abuín, Diego Galán, John Barry, film noir, steamy, lawyer, affair, Florida, businessman, criminal, bomb maker, double-crosses, treacherous, R rating, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros
Worldwide gross: $24,058,838
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $81,061,163
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,122
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 8,839,821
US/Canada gross: $24,058,838
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $81,061,163
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 856
US/Canada opening weekend: $564,593
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $1,902,277
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,213
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $9,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $30,323,595
Production budget ranking: 1,154
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,329,256
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $34,408,312
ROI to date (est.): 74%
ROI ranking: 1,045
Kathleen Turner – Matty Walker
Richard Crenna – Edmund Walker
Ted Danson – Peter Lowenstein
J.A. Preston – Oscar Grace
Mickey Rourke – Teddy Lewis
Director – Lawrence Kasdan
Producer – Fred T. Gallo
Writer – Lawrence Kasdan
Director(s)
Lawrence Kasdan
Writer(s)
Lawrence Kasdan
Producer(s)
Fred T. Gallo
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
6 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (45) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (1)
There’s no mistaking the fact that Kasdan loves the tawdry genre he’s working in.
May 9, 2017
Gary Arnold
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
April 30, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
Still regarded as one of the steamiest movie’s of all time, Body Heat is a fantastic exponenet of how noir has developed.
February 8, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Lawrence Kasdan’s 1981 noir fable is highly derivative in its overall conception, but it finds some freshness in its details.
February 8, 2008
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Though Lawrence Kasdan’s film is set in today’s South Florida, its characters move through an atmosphere that suggests the confluences of decor and demeanor in a 1940s film noir.
February 8, 2008
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
September 18, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
In his directorial debut, Kasdan crafted an erotic thriller that, in addition to building a low-key homage to film noir, lights up the screen like a cigarette butt with hot performances from William Hurt and Kathleen Turner. [Full review in Spanish]
December 18, 2021 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Body Heat sizzles, smolders, burns.
November 3, 2021
Kenneth Turan
New West/California
…an atmospheric drama that benefits substantially from its moody, steamy ambiance and proliferation of top-notch performances…
October 17, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
John Barry’s noirish lounge music creeps into every other scene, cigarette smoke wafts through every room, and shadows tend to fall across everything.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Pure noir, which may force too much the final thought of Hurt’s character – he’s dumb, but he’s still a lawyer – but that dazzles, never better, in each of its frames. [Full Review in Spanish]
September 10, 2019
Alberto Abuín
Espinof
Body Heat won’t disappoint those who follow it with innocence. It’s a movie made with a certain exuberance. [Full Review in Spanish]
August 21, 2019
Diego Galán
El Pais (Spain)…
Plot
Ned Racine is a seedy small town lawyer in Florida. During a searing heatwave he’s picked up by married Matty Walker. A passionate affair commences but it isn’t long before they realise the only thing standing in their way is Matty’s rich husband Edmund. A plot hatches to kill him but will they pull it off?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Body Heat.
Lawrence-Kasdan.jpg
