Crimes of Passion
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| Starring |
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| Produced by | Ken Russell | |
| Studio | Anchor Bay | |
| Released | 1984 | |
| Runtime | 107mMinutes | |
| IMDB Info | 0087100 on IMDb | |
| Buy it from | Amazon.com on VHS | |
| Buy it from | Amazon.com on DVD | |
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I love films where everyone seems to be having a good time, especially the director. Kathy Turner vamps up Madonna, while Tony Perkins parodies his Psycho role while Russell tells us of a hooker whose heart is cold and made of gold at the same time--because her customers love it. Tony's preacher has obviously spent too much time amongst the slime bags of the combat zone and has allowed them to totally push him over the edge. The obvious point of this film is that the "typical" marriage is no better or worse than moral degeneracy
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The crazy man of British film, Ken Russell (Women in Love, Whore), hit the apex of guilty-pleasure absurdity with Crimes of Passion, a dark if pointed (and ultimately poignant) walk on the wild side. Although this schizophrenic, neon-blurred traipse through the red-light district of Los Angeles, courtesy of hooker and guide China Blue (Kathleen Turner), never made much money at the box office, it still managed to eke out a cult following. Barry Sandler's script felt a lot like a play with its rather stilted (but furiously funny) dialogue between Turner and Anthony Perkins, who plays an obsessed and crazed stalker/reverend who believes he is China Blue's savior. Their story is contrasted against that of Bobby Grady (John Laughlin), who is married to the materialistic Amy (Annie Potts). After taking a second job as a private investigator for a dress manufacturer who thinks his lead designer, Joanna Crane (Turner again), is selling patterns to a rival, Bobby becomes mired in a netherworld he never imagined. But it's Bobby who becomes Joanna/China Blue's true savior; it seems Joanna's husband cheated on her and she created the alter ego, China Blue, in order to control her world by making men dependent on her sexuality. The facade cracks after Bobby hits the scene. Russell's film is bawdy and even daring, and the unrated version on DVD features a couple of scenes (one with China Blue, a cop, and his nightstick, as well as some flashes of pornography) that were not included in the film's original release. Also for die-hard fans, Sandler originally ended the script at a more ambiguous place in the climactic scene in Joanna's apartment. An "epitaph" with Bobby at an encounter group was added to appease the distributor, who wanted a more upbeat, "Hollywood" conclusion. Sandler's original idea gave the film a real wallop, but despite the change, Crimes of Passion remains an original camp classic. --Paula Nechak
- From the Back Cover
By day, Joanna crane (Kathleen Turner) is a prim workaholic fashion designer. At night she becomes China Blue, a kinky hooker on the streets of Los Angeles. But when she finds herself being followed by a private investigator (John Laughlin) and stalked by a fanatical preacher (a truly over-the-top performance by Anthony Perkins), Joanna's depraved double life threatens to explode. In the world ruled by mad passion and holy obsession, can one woman survive the most dangerous emotion of all? Annie Potts and Bruce Davidson co-star in this landmark adult thriller directed by the inimitable Ken Russell (Tommy, Altered States, Women in Love) that became one of the most controversial films of the decade. Crimes of Passion is now presented in a razor-sharp new widescreen transfer and features recently discovered deleted scenes as well as shocking footage of graphic sexuality (including the notorious 'night stick' scene) not contained in the original U.S. theatrical version.
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