Crimes of Passion

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domino harvey
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 2:42 pm

Crimes of Passion

#1 Post by domino harvey » Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:13 am

Image

SHE IS WATCHED. SHE IS WORSHIPPED. AND SHE MUST REMAIN A MYSTERY.

In the early eighties British enfant terrible Ken Russell travelled to America and placed his unorthodox imprint on a pair of US movies. The first was the Altered States, so out-there its screenwriter disowned it. The second was the equally crazy Crimes of Passion, starring Kathleen Turner (Body Heat, Serial Mom) at the height of her powers.

Fashion designer Joanna Crane (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 (played by Norman Bates himself, Anthony Perkins) in possession of a murderous sex toy.

With its outré screenplay by Barry Sandler and over the top score by Rick Wakeman, Crimes of Passion may just be the most outrageous Ken Russell film ever made – and that’s quite some feat!

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

Brand new 2K restoration of the film from original film materials
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the director’s cut and unrated versions of the film
Optional subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Ken Russell and producer-screenwriter Barry Sandler
Seven deleted/extended scenes with optional commentary by Sandler
Brand-new interview with Sandler recorded especially for this release
Home movie footage of Ken Russell visiting Florida for a retrospective screening of Crimes of Passion at the 2009 Orlando Film Festival
Theatrical trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Twins of Evil
Illustrated booklet containing new writing by Ken Russell’s biographer, Paul Sutton, correspondence between Russell and Kathleen Turner, and an on-set interview with Russell

DETAILS:
RRP: £24.99 £17.99
Region: A+B/1+2
Rating: 18
Cat No: FCD1337
Duration: 107 & 112 mins
Language: English
Subtitles: English SDH
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: Mono
Discs: 2
Colour

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Alphonse Tram
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 11:32 am

Re: Crime of Passion

#2 Post by Alphonse Tram » Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:20 am

CRIMES of Passion ;)

beamish13
Joined: Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:31 am

Re: Crimes of Passion

#3 Post by beamish13 » Fri Apr 08, 2016 11:22 am

one of Uncle Ken's best. I think that fake advert in the middle is one of the best sequences he ever shot.

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PfR73
Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 6:07 pm

Re: Crimes of Passion

#4 Post by PfR73 » Fri Apr 08, 2016 4:47 pm

domino harvey wrote:High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of the director’s cut and unrated versions of the film
I'm confused, is this including more than 1 cut of the film? I thought the unrated version and the director's cut were the same thing.

criterion10

Re: Crimes of Passion

#5 Post by criterion10 » Fri Apr 08, 2016 5:32 pm

Post-Altered States, Russell basically became a B-movie director, though some of these works are still enjoyable -- just don't expect something like The Lair of the White Worm to hold a candle to The Devils (speaking of which, any chance Arrow will release the former?).

Crimes of Passion works pretty well with the Kathleen Turner/Anthony Perkins material, though is nearly unwatchable when it focuses on the "normal" life of John Laughlin's character. A shame, as the former material is fun in a trashy, DePalma-esque manner.

Looks like a solid release overall, though I wish there were a few more newer extras (both the commentary and deleted scenes were on the Anchor Bay DVD). Will be nice to see this in a new 2K scan, and the booklet looks pretty strong too.
PfR73 wrote:I'm confused, is this including more than 1 cut of the film? I thought the unrated version and the director's cut were the same thing.
From what I understand, there's a truncated 100-minute R-rated Cut, initially released in the U.S., a subsequent 107-minute Unrated Cut, initially released by Anchor Bay on DVD, and then a new Director's Cut also released by Anchor Bay a few years later.

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GaryC
Joined: Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:56 pm
Location: Aldershot, Hampshire, UK

Re: Crimes of Passion

#6 Post by GaryC » Sat Apr 09, 2016 3:44 am

criterion10 wrote:
PfR73 wrote:I'm confused, is this including more than 1 cut of the film? I thought the unrated version and the director's cut were the same thing.
From what I understand, there's a truncated 100-minute R-rated Cut, initially released in the U.S., a subsequent 107-minute Unrated Cut, initially released by Anchor Bay on DVD, and then a new Director's Cut also released by Anchor Bay a few years later.
The 107-minute version is the one which played in European cinemas, including the UK. The BBFC did cut 24 seconds back in 1985 but has since then passed this version uncut.

Apparently, the additional scenes in the director's cut (113 minutes) are material which would not have troubled the censor and were removed for pacing reasons.

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