Body Heat

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Body Heat

R

1981

1h 53m

Crime

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Shyster lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) begins a passionate affair with Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), wife of a wealthy Florida businessman (Richard Crenna). With the help of one of his criminal clients, bomb maker Teddy Lewis (Mickey Rourke), Ned hatches a scheme to kill Matty's husband so that they can run away together with his money. But complications build upon double-crosses, launching the hapless lawyer into a situation far more treacherous than he imagined.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Gary Arnold

Washington Post

05/09/2017

There's no mistaking the fact that Kasdan loves the tawdry genre he's working in.

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Ian Nathan

Empire Magazine

02/08/2008

4/5

Still regarded as one of the steamiest movie's of all time, Body Heat is a fantastic exponenet of how noir has developed.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

02/08/2008

Lawrence Kasdan's 1981 noir fable is highly derivative in its overall conception, but it finds some freshness in its details.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Oct 11

'Body Heat' remains the very model of the modern neo-noir erotic thriller: sexy, sultry, brilliantly plotted, perfectly played, and endlessly repeatable.

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

Jun 16

4/5

…a few questionable plot points aside, Body Heat still stands out from the crowd by dint of the fiercely amoral characters, tricky plotting and ripe, languid atmosphere…

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Zita Short

InSession Film

02/02/2023

It is very difficult to see this as a love story when Walker and Racine are only sexually attracted to one another. Despite the fact that they frequently claim to love one another, we get a lot of evidence to the contrary.

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bob c

Dec 23

Delicious Turner, naive Hurt and a sleazy start for Rourke. Great story. One of the great Noirs.

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Randy M

Nov 24

A masterpeace of Flim Noir

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Rami A

@Bunt101 Sep 21

Lawrence Kasdan may be a good screenwriter, but he's not a very good director. A lot of this movie didn't seem to work out and the plot isn't that interesting.

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Ed B

Aug 1

I wouldn't say it's steamy by modern standards, but it's hot throughout the movie rather than the usual rain in noir and that femme fatal!! We enjoyed it even though it's an older movie

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Tim M

@tgmacman Jul 26

Lawrence Kasdan channels prime noir tones in Body Heat, a supremely sensual and tense thriller that'll make you sweat through and through.

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Jun 19

Watching this in 2025. It's really good. A twisted femme fatale movie of the highest order. Great acting and the story was exceptional AND original. An easy keeper for your movie collection.

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Lawrence Kasdan

Director

William Hurt

Ned Racine

Kathleen Turner

Matty Walker

Richard Crenna

Edmund Walker

Ted Danson

Peter Lowenstein

J.A. Preston

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Synopsis

Shyster lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) begins a passionate affair with Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner), wife of a wealthy Florida businessman (Richard Crenna). With the help of one of his criminal clients, bomb maker Teddy Lewis (Mickey Rourke), Ned hatches a scheme to kill Matty's husband so that they can run away together with his money. But complications build upon double-crosses, launching the hapless lawyer into a situation far more treacherous than he imagined.

Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Producer: Fred T. Gallo
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan
Distributor: Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Production Co: The Ladd Company
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 28, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2008
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Mono

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