Blu-ray Movie Reviews

William Hurt and Kathleen Turner strike sparks in Lawrence Kasdan's "Body Heat", a sexy, haunting tale of desire and skullduggery that echoes 1940s film noirs but is charged with an energy and passion that could only flare in the '80s.

Kasdan is by far one of my favorite directors of the eighties and this spicy thriller was one of his greats. While it may not have the same impact as it did in its prime, the story still sizzles and the performances from Hurt and Turner are outstanding. A solid catalog classic.

Warner has been doing a very good job with their catalog titles and this one is no exception. Sure it isn’t razor sharp eye candy, but it is quite faithful to the original look. The image has a bit of a hazy look at times and black levels are a bit elevated, but detail never suffers too much and the sense of dimension is good. I was happy to see a total lack of compression artifacts and edge enhancement was never an issue.

The soundtrack is delivered in Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (bravo Warner!) and like so many films of this genre features a jazzy soundtrack that makes exceptional use of the sax to set the mood. Dialogue is very natural in tone and the balance of the sound mix is great. Surround use is a bit on the minimal side, but the front soundstage has a very open feel to it.

Extras include some deleted scenes along with a couple of production features that give an inside look into the filming, cast, and final production. Interviews with Turner and Hurt are also included along with the trailer.

Warner has done a great job delivering this steamy classic. The A/V presentation is by far the best I’ve seen for this film and the material still holds up well. Here’s hoping we’ll see Kasdan return to cinema at some point.