What a waste of my time!!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Am I Missing Something?

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

"Crimes of Passion", an incredibly bizarre, sexually charged drama, provides interesting material with which inimitable filmmaker Ken Russell can work. It's as stylish as anything he's done, and maintains a gritty, fairly sleazy atmosphere and a deliberate pace. Kathleen Turner is striking in the role of "China Blue", a lady with a double life: by day she's a fashion designer (real name Joanna Crane), by night she's a hooker. She fascinates two men, one of them an ordinary guy named Bobby Grady (John Laughlin), the other a fanatical, so-called "preacher" named Peter Shayne (Anthony Perkins) who claims to be out to "save" her. Bobby was hired by Joannas' boss to tail her, and she presents the young man with a fresh view of the world; his relationship with his uptight wife Amy (Annie Potts) has soured after years of marriage, and he's happy to meet somebody who doesn't have any hangups about being intimate. The movie is never quite as outrageous as some viewers may expect, but that doesn't mean that there isn't some explicit imagery here and there. Its few sex scenes are done in a surprisingly tasteful manner, but its dialogue is quite kinky, witty, and delicious; it's amazing to hear ever reliable Perkins, extremely well cast in one of his typical nutty roles, utter lots of obscenities. He's just fantastic as always, and the lovely Turner delivers a multi dimensional performance worthy of some respect. Laughlin and Potts are both fine, and the cast also features people such as Bruce Davison, Stephen Lee, Norman Burton, Peggy Feury, and Gerald S. O'Loughlin, but it's the two leads that truly command your attention. Working from a screenplay by producer Barry Sandler, Russell injects the film with plenty of humour; just the idea of Perkins carrying erotic paraphernalia around with him is a hoot. (There's a vibrator, in particular, that will prove to be a very important prop later on.) It may require a bit of patience on the part of some viewers due to its unhurried nature, and of course some may find the subject matter a turn off. Those who don't will be amused by the sordid story and all of the trappings of the milieu. In the end, this isn't something that can be easily forgotten. Seven out of 10.

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.

Back in the 80's there was a lot of controversy surrounding this film. I remember hearing about a battle with the MPAA regarding the rating. MPAA wanted to give it an X rating so Russell had to edit it down in order to achieve an R rating.I was sixteen and a friend and I snuck into the theatre to see this. I wanted to know what the buzz was about. I was mesmerized and this film continues to exist in my top ten favorite films of all time (as is Tommy, another Ken Russell masterpiece). Tony Perkins has perfected the art of playing psychotic maniacs and his performance here is no exception. Turner, in her finest performance ever, sizzles up the screen as China Blue, a whore by night, fashion designer by day. She parades around in this satin blue dress in the red light district performing fantasies for kinky clients. The dialogue is incredibly witty and Turner and Perkins play so perfectly off each other. Perkins with his portable pedestal, bible and doctor bag full of sex toys (there is one in particular that will make your jaw drop).This is one of those love/hate films. You either love it or you hate it. I attempted to turn so many people onto this film. Some were so offended by the meshing of religion and sex that they couldn't get through the whole thing. Others, like me, loved it and can watch it repeatedly and continue to be amused by the script, the performances, the art direction.This film is indeed a piece of art. But art is subjective. So enter with an open mind.

First, just make sure you see the UNRATED version of this film. The theatrical version isn't the same movie, there's just way too much cut out of it (and I'm not referring to sex scenes). If you're a fan of Ken Russell, Kathleen Turner, or Anthony Perkins this is a must see. Turner, Perkins and Anne Potts all give remarkable performances. The film is plenty weird... if you're familiar with Russell's work you'll know what I mean, but well worth the viewing. I'll be thinking about it for a long, long time. I won't bore you with plot details, you can look at the summaries section for that, but I thought the movie was fun, shocking, frightening, sexy, intelligent, stupid, trippy, deep, sleazy, happy, and sad all at the same time. In other words, highly recommended!