Supelice Dreadfully Boring

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

christopher-underwood I can't establish whether writer Barry Sandler got the idea for Crimes of Passion from the original Joe Orton theatrical pairing that went out under that title but several of the main ingredients are there including the crazed preacher, the prostitute and the 'normal' guy. I have discovered that Cher was at one time considered for the female lead and that Jeff bridges for the 'normal' guy. Things would have been a little different in that situation. As it is Kathleen Turner gives the bravest, boldest and most bravura performance as the part time prostitute with a passion for the unusual and Anthony Perkins gives, surely the scariest performance of his career. And yes, David Lynch or Dennis Hopper must have had a little look at this before making Blue Velvet. Ken Russell clearly had fun here and creates the most splendid neon drenched streets, sleazy character aplenty whilst encouraging Turner to give her all and Perkins to just let rip. Exciting, disturbing, silly, sexy and serious by turns, this is an extraordinary film that despite my mention of the Lynch film, truly stands alone even in comparison to the craziest creations in the wonderful world of cinema.

crownofsprats Kathleen Turner plays a smoking sex-bomb of an NYC street hooker who goes by the name of China Blue ("the total package", as one john remarks). An unhappily married man develops a fascination with her after he eavesdrops on an encounter she has with an issue-ridden, demented preacher-type (Perkins) whose self-declared mission is to "save" China.In the wrong hands, this material could have been made into a boring thriller, with the preacher stalking his way towards a predictable finale. Or an overwrought marital drama, weighed down by absurd dialogue and the characters' utterly improbable decision-making. Or some lurid, booby C-grade sleaze-fest where the hooker plot is just an excuse to parade last month's centerfold in a half dozen sexy outfits. Luckily, we got Ken Russel, who somehow manages to not only balance all three in the same "total package", but lets them breathe with the genres' best and most outrageous excesses! Take the Preacher's "weapon of salvation" and the filthy sayings that get past his filter when he is praying, or the embarrassingly cheesy yet hilarious marriage bed conversations. Or pretty much anything that comes out of China Blue's mouth when she is "in character". And he does it all with a wink and a nod to you - the audience savvy enough to know not to take any of it seriously!It should be noted that this is a "fun" movie. If there is any takeaway here for thought, it's probably about men's fears and anxieties relating to sex, the feminine, and marriage. But try not to think too much about it, otherwise you run the risk of taking it a bit too seriously and you'll miss out on the real fun - all the "I can't believe he/she just said/did that!" bits (comprising a good half the movie), Kathleen Turner's passionate and, um, rousing performance (who could possibly deliver lines like that if they weren't having fun on the set!?), and the lurid, swanky atmosphere that is the magic of Ken Russell's creation.*** I also watched the scenes that were cut from the film - I had assumed they were cut because they were too racy or explicit, but the opposite is in fact true. The cut scenes were mostly from the domestic side of things: lots of wife-talk, an extended scene of the BBQ party, etc. They all deserved to be cut mercilessly because they either added nothing of value to the story or muddled the characters and plot to the point where the film would have been seriously flawed if were they allowed to stay in. In them, the confusion over this film's fate is visible, and I am very glad Russell did not choose to go there for the final version, instead maximizing on the glammy, schlocky sex schtick.

vldazzle This is one that I saved on my TiVo because it sounded interesting, but I didn't bother to watch it for months. Now that I did, I was drawn into the plot, and as I saw some of the interactions of the characters, I recognized the quirky style of Ken Russell. This is one of the reasons that he is one of my favorite directors. I had to come here to IMDb to verify that he is the director and now, after reading other reviews, I will NOT save the version that I have from TV, but will buy the best original cut. It is truly about how most people interact (except for Perkins character ;-) I could see this as a very erotic stimulus for many people in the romantic scenes, as it is for me.

sol ***SPOILERS*** Being a highly paid and very successful fashion designer isn't the life that Joanna Crane, Kathleen Turner, hoped it would be in her having no time to develop any lasting and fulfilling relationships with her many clients. It's when Joanna went native and became the free soul and anything goes hooker China Blue that her drab and boring life suddenly changed overnight. Out on the streets and turning tricks Joanna, or China Blue, could now live out her fantasies in real life with people she's very at home with. Not the stiffs and square heads that she deals with at her day job.It's almost by accident that China Blue runs into surveillance expert Bobby Grady, John Laughlin, who's been hired by her boss to spy on her in him feeling that Joanna aka China Blue is passing off company secrets to rival firms. Meanwhile Bobby is undergoing a life change in that his wife Amy, Annie Potts, is not responding to his love making efforts in bed. Having faked it for over 10 years Amy finally admits that Bobby just can't turn her on not because he lacks the proper equipment but that she herself is a cold fish when it comes to him trying to make love to her.It's when Bobby runs into China Blue that his sex life is revitalized to the point when he just can't spend as much as an evening away from her. The hot and heavy action between Bobby and China Blue doesn't go unnoticed from street corner preacher Rev. Peter Shayne, Anthony Perkins, who been after China in trying to save her soul from a life of sin and degradation. It's in the crazed Rev. Shayne's attempt to save China Blue that leads him into the very degenerate lifestyle that he's trying to get her out of! This triple X, Bobby China Blue & Rev. Shayne, relationship comes to a shocking conclusion when the three end up in the same place, China/Joanna's apartment, for the films utterly shocking and totally unexpected climax!***SPOILERS***Dispite the very good performances by both John Laughlin and Kathleen Turner I have to say that it was the neurotic and constantly sweating Anthony Perkins who ended up stealing the show. As nutty and obnoxious as ever Perkins made every scene that he was in count with him never breaking a sweat by him never once acting as if he were a normal person. To top off his earth shattering and mind bending interpretation of a deranged religious nut Perkins even had the time to revive his famous role of Norman Bates that will blow your mind! Just like he did to the very unsuspecting audiences watching him in the film "Psycho" some 25 years earlier!