Crimes of Passion

R

Released Oct 19, 1984

1 hr. 41 min.

Drama

List

50%

26 Reviews

Tomatometer

61%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Bobby (John Laughlin) owns a gadget store by day and takes surveillance jobs by night. A businessman hires him to spy on Joanna (Kathleen Turner), a fashion designer suspected of committing white-collar crimes. But Bobby finds that Joanna's transgressions aren't business-related; instead, she spends her evenings as a prostitute specializing in fetishes. Intrigued, Bobby begins to woo her, but their relationship is complicated by Shayne (Anthony Perkins), a deviant priest who's stalking Joanna.

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Critics Consensus

Ken Russell and his cast are definitely committed to Crimes of Passion, but whether this sexually charged thriller is worthy of the audience's convictions is altogether more uncertain.

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Blue

The Movie is Amazing! The Femme Fatale is what makes this Movie one of the best, the way she seduces and manipulate the police officer before utter dominating him with her femininity, you can see how horrified the police officer before accepting his fate, he know she has him by the neck literally! All he can think of is to end this nightmare while she just humiliates him and penetrates and probe him with his baton, you can hear him Scream in agony to stop while this girl boss give him what he deserves, this scene would've been 10x better if she could've killed him by just leaving the baton up his rectum or use a knife while the baton while still in there to penetrate the chest. This Femme Fatale/Rape scene was the best part of the whole movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/03/23

Full Review

Allen H

The edgy writing of the day is just cheesy now. They put a lot into this movie in 1984 but now it's a yawn, ... except that Anthony Perkins shows he can still do unique psychos.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

06/03/23

Full Review

Helder F

A bit campy and all over the place, but it has captivating scenes. We are caught in life stories that we do not truly know but we assume are very complicated. I think we don't really get to know much of the characters through try movie - we get to see their compulsions and perversions, perhaps... - their defenses if you will, but we do not know exactly what their problems are. I wouldn't say that any of the characters is very likable. Surprisingly not even Robby's children are that likable. Everyone seems to be hiding a secret - or perhaps showing that they have some hangups even if we don't really learn much about them. Well, I enjoy it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/23

Full Review

michael d

Awesome Russell-ness and all-around.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The greatest acting ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Lequisha S

Snappy, if overly punny, dialogue helps keep this three-pronged character piece entertaining. The ideas of dual identities and facades each character constructs to shield themselves from confronting deep-seated insecurities (and how these ideas revolve around intimacy, primarily sex) are mostly well-realized. There's a certain over-the-topness to it that conflicts with the grounded, heartfelt tone it yearns to strike elsewhere. Definitely an interesting film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/17/21

Full Review

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Ken Russell

Director

Kathleen Turner

Joanna Crane

Anthony Perkins

Rev. Peter Shayne

John Laughlin

Bobby Grady

Annie Potts

Amy Grady

Bruce Davison

Donny Hopper

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Rick Lyman

Philadelphia Inquirer

Ken Russell fancies himself an artiste, and his odious pretentions take all the fun out of it.

Jun 23, 2021

Full Review

Bill Cosford

Miami Herald

Turner's performance is intriguing - now we know that she can play not only a sexpot (Body Heat) but a sexpot hiding in a career woman's suit-and-tie and posing as a fleshpot. This is pretty interesting.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jun 23, 2021

Full Review

Patrick Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

Turner acts if she's auditioning for some loopy Mae West impersonation contest. Eyes wide and nostrils flaring, she looks like a doe caught in the glare of a hunter's headlights. Perkins is her perfect body double.

Jun 23, 2021

Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

It's aggressively sexual without being sexy. Russell wants to paint the kinky stuff as ugly and insipid, but he sensationalizes it anyway.

Rated: C

Dec 2, 2022

Full Review

Alan Jones

Starburst

Crimes of Passion is a brilliant film painfully revealing the fine line people tread between fantasy and reality, using sex as the modus operandi.

Jul 8, 2022

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

Except for the performance of Kathleen Turner... "Crimes of Passion" goes beyond the unbearable into the execrable: an artistic netherworld where terminal boredom, utter silliness and mind-boggling perversity coexist.

Jun 23, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Bobby (John Laughlin) owns a gadget store by day and takes surveillance jobs by night. A businessman hires him to spy on Joanna (Kathleen Turner), a fashion designer suspected of committing white-collar crimes. But Bobby finds that Joanna's transgressions aren't business-related; instead, she spends her evenings as a prostitute specializing in fetishes. Intrigued, Bobby begins to woo her, but their relationship is complicated by Shayne (Anthony Perkins), a deviant priest who's stalking Joanna.

Director: Ken Russell
Executive Producer: Larry A. Thompson
Screenwriter: Barry Sandler
Distributor: Image Entertainment Inc., Starmaker Video, New World Home Video, Anchor Bay Entertainment, New World Pictures, Lumivision
Production Co: New World Pictures, China Blue Productions Inc
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 19, 1984, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 28, 2018
Sound Mix: Dolby