1981 Neo-Noir Ranked Among 'Most Influential Erotic Thrillers Ever Made'

The infamous genre known as film noir launched nearly 100 years ago but has remained relevant in the decades since.

Exhibit A is Body Heat, released in 1981 to both critical and commercial acclaim, earning over $24 million against just a $9 million budget.

Criterion calls it "one of the steamiest and most influential erotic thrillers ever made." It's no wonder, therefore, that the home distribution company is releasing a special 4K edition of Body Heat this month (May 19), as the celebrated film quickly nears its 45th anniversary (August 28).

Here's the twisty film's official synopsis, offered by Criterion:

On the sultry South Florida coast, lawyer Ned Racine (William Hurt) is drawn into a torrid affair with unhappily married housewife Matty Walker (Kathleen Turner, in a star-making performance)-and it's not long before they've hatched a scheme to murder her wealthy husband. Featuring ingenious plot twists, memorable hard-boiled dialogue, and an atmosphere so evocative you can practically feel the humidity, Body Heat is a languorously seductive tale of greed and desire, one that paved a new path for American crime cinema.

The thriller holds an impressive 96% average critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Roger Ebert once giving it a perfect four-star review. He wrote in part at the time, "Good noir still has the power to seduce. Yes, Lawrence Kasdan's Body Heat (1981) is aware of the films that inspired it–especially Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity (1944). But it has a power that transcends its sources. It exploits the personal style of its stars to insinuate itself..."

The standout supporting actors in Body Heat include Mickey Rourke and Ted Danson, the latter of whom led an iconic sitcom that launched the year after this film's release. In fact, one episode of NBC's Cheers is ranked near the very top of Rolling Stone's 100 Best TV Episodes of All Time list. Find out more here.

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 3:52 PM.