Ted Danson and Mickey Rourke have surprisingly small supporting roles, although it was fairly early in the careers of both actors (it being pre- Cheers for Danson and pre- Diner for Rourke). Set during a heat-wave in Florida, the aptly named Body Heat is one the sweatiest films of all time – with the steam veritably wafting off the screen. With her thick mane of blonde hair, a body that looks fantastic in white silk “you shouldn’t wear that body” and that famous husky voice – Turner was born to play Matty Walker – a danger to rich husbands the world over. Turner could have been made in a femme fatale factory – she is so perfectly suited to archetype – and it’s no coincidence that she voiced Jessica “I’m not bad, I’m just drawn that way” Rabbit. With his tall but fairly skinny frame, floppy blonde hair and mustache, Hurt may not have been a typical sex symbol (especially compared with the Marvel muscles of today), but he absolutely works in the role and his chemistry with Kathleen Turner is electric.
William Hurt plays the perfectly-named Ned Racine – the lawyer who becomes a patsy in the femme fatale’s nefarious scheme. Several of these can currently be found in the Criterion Channel’s neo-noir selection, along with one of the decade’s best – Lawrence Kasden’s Body Heat (1981).īody Heat was the first of four collaborations between Kasden and William Hurt and all four are fantastic - with the other three being The Big Chill (1983), the hugely under-seen and underrated The Accidental Tourist (1988) and the brilliant dark comedy I Love You to Death (1990).
From Fatal Attraction (Adrian Lyne, 1987), Dressed to Kill (Brian De Palma, 1980) Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984) and The Bedroom Window (Curtis Hansen, 1987) to the New Orleans movies The Big Easy (Jim McBride, 1986) and Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987), and onto the remakes of Breathless (Jim McBride, 1983), Cat People (Paul Schrader, 1982) and The Postman Always Rings Twice (Bob Rafelson, 1981) – the 80s gave us noir fans endless treats.
Body heat movie mickey rourke full#
The 80s were the golden-age of the neo-noir, when they collided with the erotic thriller to combust into hot, steamy, passionate movies full of sex, sweat, sharp clothes, cigarette smoke, saxophone-soaked soundtracks and sultry femme fatales.