Crimes Of Passion: Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
Fashion designer Joanna Crane (Kathleen Turner) leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who’s attracted the unwanted attention of two men. One is a sexually frustrated private detective hired by her employees. The other is psychopathic priest (Anthony Perkins) in possession of a murderous sex toy.
This film is one of those that will remain in your head for a good while after watching it. Maybe not because of how great the film was but more for the the uniqueness of it. It felt a lot like a theater production. What I mean by that is that every scene was basically taking place on a built set and every person acting within each scene was over the top in their performance. Not that it was a bad thing but it just felt more like a play than a film. To top it off there are two versions of this film: A Director’s Cut and an Unrated Version. The movie is already pretty graphic but the big difference between the two is that the Unrated version is even more explicit. I thought both Turner and Perkins were extremely entertaining and it was kind of cool to see them perform at the height of their careers even though the subject matter of the film was not like I’ve seen them in the past. The plot to the film it really “out there” and if you’re easily offended by lots of violence and sex then this definitely isn’t going to be your cup of tea. If you aren’t then this is a great cult film that gives you an interesting look at cinema around the early 1980’s. 7/10
Special Features:
Director’s Cut/Unrated Cut
Audio Commentary With Director Ken Russell and Producer/Screenwriter Barry Sandler
Barry Sandler: Life of Crime – A really cool interview with the Producer/Screenwriter.
Rick Wakeman: Composing for Ken – Another really great interview with longtime Russell collaborator.
Deleted Scenes – About 20 minutes worth of scenes that have been enhanced with an optional commentary track.
It’s a Lovely Life – An interesting Ken Russell directed music video that featured music from Rick Wakeman.
