Sad sack Florida lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) is out for a stroll one night when he spots Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), an alluring, mysterious woman who is married to Edmund Walker (Richard Crenna), a wealthy businessman whose financial dealings are more than a little shady. Shortly after beginning a torrid affair, Ned and Matty hatch a plot to murder Edmund, but not before revising his will and making Matty the sole beneficiary of his estate. Unfortunately for Ned, he’s already in over his head by the time he realizes Matty has been playing him for a fool since the moment they met.

CRITIQUE

After having sold two spec scripts (The Bodyguard and Continental Divide), and performing two of the best work-for-hire gigs in the history of Hollywood (Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back), Lawrence Kasdan was looking to make his directorial debut. With a little help from George Lucas (who, although he took no credit, acted as Body Heat’s de facto executive producer), Kasdan struck a deal with the newly-founded Ladd Company.

Production was set to begin in New Jersey, but an actor’s strike delayed shooting. By the time everything was up and running again, the Jersey locations were unavailable. Undaunted, Kasdan changed the setting to Florida. Cameras finally rolled in late 1980, and the resulting film is undoubtedly one of the best noir films of the modern era.

I first saw Body Heat when I was twelve or thirteen. I couldn’t follow all of the specifics of the plot, but I got the gist of the story, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoyed seeing Kathleen Turner naked (seeing her hit the wall over the past decade has been a painful experience). I’ve seen it several times since then, and it’s still wonderfully enjoyable. Like all great noir tales, knowing the final outcome doesn’t negate the film’s entertainment value; there’s considerable fun to be had in seeing the murder scheme come together and then watching everything unravel.

Kasdan (this film remains his best directorial effort) does a masterful job of hitting all the de rigueur noir beats. In lesser hands, the movie could have very easily come off as a pastiche, or ventured into the realm of parody, but it’s obvious Kasdan absorbed the tenets of classic film noir (especially Double Indemnity, to which this film owes an enormous debt) during his formative years.

The dialogue is knowingly sharp and clever (no surprise there), and the small details with which Kasdan embellishes his characters help to elevate them above simply being cogs in the machinery of the plot. All of the performances are first rate. Hurt has never been so relaxed or likeable, and Turner positively smolders (even when I think Hurt is a fool for falling into her trap, I can’t help but understand why he so willingly sells his soul).

There’s also nice work from Ted Danson, playing an assistant prosecutor who longs to be Fred Astaire, and Mickey Rourke, who turns up as a client of Hurt’s who has a penchant for starting fires. (Speaking of Kasdan’s attention to detail, his decision to have Rourke lip-synch to Bob Seger’s “Feel Like a Number” is a masterstroke.)        

It’s a good thing Kasdan chose to make this film when he did, as I can’t imagine a major studio greenlighting this film today. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it sexually explicit, but it’s not exactly tame, either. I think the film is best described as frank. Kasdan doesn’t dwell on the sexual component of Ned and Matty’s relationship, but instead presents it in an almost matter-of-fact manner. I think this casualness will shock many who are seeing Body Heat for the first time, as sex in cinema today is too often offered up for primarily prurient or comedic purposes; Kasdan’s mature treatment of the subject is practically refreshing.

And the ending certainly wouldn’t fly in today’s cinematic climate; it’s far too melancholy and ambiguous (in other words, it’s just as it should be). When you think about it, no one comes out on top, and it’s unlikely studio execs would get behind a movie in which there’s no clear winner.

THE VIDEO

The 1.85:1/1080p transfer included here was obviously sourced from the same master as the transfer included on the 2006 standard-def disc, as it exhibits the same strengths and weaknesses. There’s more than a little grain present, and brighter scenes can be a little soft, although this softness is at least partially due to the film stocks used back in the late ‘70s/early ‘80s.

This high-def transfer makes marginal improvements over the standard-def disc, boosting detail to a slight degree and taking some of the digital edge off the grain, which gives the video a slightly more film-like appearance. Although far from perfect, this is without a doubt the best the film has ever looked (at least as far as its home video incarnations go), and probably the best it could look without a major renovation effort.

THE AUDIO

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack makes no use of the surrounds; the audio is firmly anchored in the front half of the soundstage for the entire length of the film, which is undoubtedly characteristic of the film’s original theatrical mix. Dialogue is always clear and intelligible, although it does sound a bit hollow on a couple of occasions. John Barry’s jazz-flavored score, which contains a couple of entertaining nods to the works of Bernard Herrmann, sounds excellent.

Improvements over the 2006 disc’s Dolby Digital 5.1 track (which is also included here) are minimal. Spanish 2.0 and French and German mono tracks are also included. English, French, German, and Spanish subtitles are available.

THE EXTRAS

The extras are a direct port of those from the 2006 disc.

The following featurettes are viewable separately or as one long documentary:

Body Heat: The Plan (17 minutes) details the film’s pre-production and casting. 

The Production (16 minutes) covers principal photography. (I was shocked to learn the film was shot during one of the coldest Florida winters on record.)

The Post-production (10 minutes) centers on the film’s scoring, editing and release.

Vintage interview footage of Hurt and Turner (12 minutes), apparently shot for a European television program, is also included.

You also get five deleted scenes (9 minutes total), which were quite obviously cut in order to tighten up the film’s pacing.

Rounding out the extras is the film’s rather quaint theatrical trailer.

FINAL THOUGHTS