Body Heat (1981)

One of the Best Movies ever made!

The movie itself is one of the best movies ever made. A great neo-noir that has it all: murder, sex, money, twists, turns, humor. A true classic.

The transfer of the movie is fine. If you are expecting a highly detailed look with bright colors, you will be disappointed. But this was not the way the movie was filmed. It is a noir film. It is supposed to be dark and soft. It was a relatively low budget movie as well.

The extras on the disc are very good. Three good featurettes that cover the entire production of the movie from concept to post production. I only wish Lawrence Kasdan and/or the cast had done an audio commentary.

Is this a significant improvement over the Collector's edition DVD? Probably not. But it is an improvement. If you have the original DVD released in the 90's with the 16x9 trnasfer on one side and a 4x3 trnasfer on the other with virtually no extras, pick this up. If you have the CE DVD, it's a tougher call, but I think the improvements make the disc worth picking up. It's very reasonably priced, as well November 26, 2008

Murder And Erotica

Well acted and atmospheric modern noir thriller with Kathleen Turner creating sexual electricity in her debut role. Excellent blue ray transfer. November 24, 2008

A dreadful transfer of a great movie

I've seen a few Blu-Ray discs that aren't much of an improvement over the DVD, but this is a rarity, a Blu-Ray that actually looks bad. I already traded in my DVD and it's been a few years, so I can't see if it looks any better, but this is no improvement. The colors are faded and washed out, the picture is generally blurry and limp, and it's really not much different than watching an old VHS tape.

Some interior scenes, particularly those that take place in the diner, are completely washed out by bright sunlight coming in through the windows. These scenes look downright terrible. The rest of the movie is barely adequate.

If you already have this film on DVD, I'd recommend saving your money and avoiding this purchase. I have about sixty Blu-Ray discs and this is the first one I genuinely regret buying. November 8, 2008

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