In 1992 Sharon Stone opened up and said ahhhh in the controversial and now famous interrogation scene from Basic Instinct, and only last year it was Denise Richards who lead us up the garden path as she stepped out of the pool in Wild Things, but it was back in 1981 that a 27 year old Kathleen Turner blew our minds in Body Heat....actually it was more than just William Hurt's mind she blew in that film..., but we won't go there...

Lawrence Kasden's Body Heat was an 80's take on Film Noir.   Of course the required ingredients were included, a femme fatale, a blinded-by-love man, and a murder, but also thrown in for good measure was some rather sassy dialogue, that give you a good chuckle if you let it, and it doesn't take away from the overall seriousness of the film.  On a whole this film is a tad predictable, following a typical film noir format, but there are a few surprises around the corner to keep one thoroughly entertained..

So Kathleen Turner, in her film acting debut, stars as Matty Walker, a young woman married to an older entrepreneur (Richard Crenna).  She soon hooks up with Lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) and the two are quickly embroiled in a rather passionate love affair (hence the title of the film). Realising that under current circumstances that the two can never truly be together, they wilfully conspire to remove the kink in their chain.........The husband......

To help keep things moving along, John Barry has lent his musical talents to delivery a jazzy little score that fits in perfectly with the rest of the film. And for those of you who are Ted Danson fans, you'll be please to note that he looks like a total dork in this film....but plays a great, if minor role.....:-)

So How Does This Transfer Hold Up?

Well it looks as though someone has put a bit of elbow grease into getting this transfer into ship shape order as it looks pretty damn good for a near 20 year old film.  Sure there is the odd scene with grain and a few too many specks visible on the screen, which is presented in the 16:9 format, but these problems are only really noticeable if you are looking for them.  Other than that you'll be watching a DVD that is essentially free on any motion artifacts, the darkly lit scenes hold up very well, as do the fog lit scenes.  Colour Saturation is generally pretty good, but is limited to the age of the film itself....some of the scenes have very good saturation levels, others are a bit lacking...That's not to say it looks plain awful, but rather compared to the quality of recently released films, it is somewhat noticeable.....

The soundtrack has been remastered into what is claimed as being Dolby Digital 5.1....I'm more inclined to call this Dolby Digital 3.0.    There is bugger all bass, if any, and Even with my ear right up to the rear speaker I couldn't hear anything other than a light hiss coming out of them (it's my speakers that hiss and NOT the soundtrack in case you were wondering:-)  The front soundstage is actually very good.  The Music makes great use of the Left and Right with dialogue usually focused on the centre and surprisingly the overall sound is very clean.  The music sounded far better than you normally hear in a 20 year old recording (unless you're talking about Star Wars).

Included on this DVD are the usual array of goodies found on other Warner DVDs.   Cast Bios, 30 Chapters for the movie, a theatrical trailer that is somewhat unique, and a bit of Film Trivia detailing the problems associated with trying to get this film made

This DVD carries a RRP of $34.95 and while not my first pick as worthy of my collection, is none the less an impressive Film Noir Thriller that is definitely worth renting.  

First Reviewed 04 November 1998

Review Equipment
TV: Pioneer SD-T50W1 (16:9 RPTV)
DVD: Samsung DVD905 (via RGB outputs)
Receiver: Marantz SR870
Speakers:-
     Fronts: B&W 602
     Centre: B&W CDMC-SE
     Rears: Jamo Magic 14
     Subby: M&K V125