Thursday, March 19, 2026
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
Prizzi's Honor is a 1985 American black comedy crime film directed by John Huston, starring Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner as Charley Partanna and Irene Walkervisks, two highly skilled mob assassins who, after falling in love, are hired to kill each other. The screenplay co-written by Richard Condon is based on his 1982 novel of the same name. The film's supporting cast includes Anjelica Huston, Robert Loggia, John Randolph, CCH Pounder, Lawrence Tierney, and William Hickey. Stanley Tucci appears in a minor role in his film debut. It was the last of John Huston's films to be released during his lifetime.
Prizzi's Honor was theatrically released on June 14, 1985, by 20th Century Fox. It received critical acclaim, with praise for the performances of its cast (most notably Huston). It grossed $26 million against its $16 million budget.
The film received eight nominations at the 58th Academy Awards (including for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay) with Huston winning for Best Supporting Actress. The film also won four Golden Globe Awards, including Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Nicholson and Turner, respectively.
Plot
Charley Partanna is a hitman for a New York Mafia family headed by the elderly Don Corrado Prizzi, whose business is generally handled by his sons Dominic and Eduardo and by his longtime right-hand man, Angelo, who is Charley's father.
At a family wedding, Charley is quickly infatuated with a beautiful non-Italian woman he doesn't recognize. He asks Maerose Prizzi, estranged daughter of Dominic, if she recognizes the woman, oblivious to the fact that Maerose still has feelings for Charley, having once been his lover. Maerose is in disfavor with her father for running off with another man before the end of her romance with Charley.
Charley flies to California to carry out a contract to kill a man named Marxie Heller for robbing a Nevada casino. He is surprised to learn that Marxie is the estranged husband of Irene Walker, the woman from the wedding. She repays some of the money Marxie stole as Charley naively (or willfully) believes that Irene was not involved with the casino scam. By this point they have fallen in love and eventually travel to Mexico to marry. A jealous Maerose travels west on her own to establish for a fact that Irene has double-crossed the organization. The information restores Maerose to good graces somewhat with her father and the don. Charley's father later reveals that Irene (who had claimed to be a tax consultant) is a "contractor" who, like Charley, performs assassinations for the mob.
Dominic, acting on his own, wants Charley out of the way and hires someone to do the hit, not knowing that he has just given the job to Charley's own wife. Angelo sides with his son, and Eduardo is so appalled by his brother's actions that he helps set up Dominic's permanent removal from the family.
Irene and Charley team up on a kidnapping that will enrich the family, but she shoots Mrs. Calhane, a police captain's wife, in the process, endangering the organization's business relationship with the cops. The don is also still demanding a large sum of money from Irene for her unauthorized activities in Nevada, which she doesn't want to pay. In time, the don tells Charley that his wife's "gotta go".
Matters come to a head in California when, acting as if everything were alright, Charley comes home to his wife. Each pulls a weapon simultaneously in the bedroom. Irene ends up dead, and Charley ends up back in New York, missing her, but consoled by Maerose.
Cast
- Jack Nicholson as Charley Partanna
- Kathleen Turner as Irene Walkervisks / Irene Walker / Mrs. Heller
- Anjelica Huston as Maerose Prizzi
- Robert Loggia as Eduardo Prizzi
- John Randolph as Angelo "Pop" Partanna
- William Hickey as Don Corrado Prizzi
- Lee Richardson as Dominic Prizzi
- Michael Lombard as Rosario Filangi / Robert Finlay
- CCH Pounder as "Peaches" Altamont
- George Santopietro as Plumber
- Ann Selepegno as Amalia Prizzi
- Lawrence Tierney as Lieutenant Davey Hanley
- Vic Polizos as Phil Vittimizzare
- Dick O'Neil as Bluestone
- Sully Boyar as Casco Vasorne
- Raymond Heller as Sal Bocca
- Joseph Ruskin as Marxie Heller
- Seth Allen as Alvin Gomsky
- Dominic Barto as Presto Cigilone
- Raymond Serra as Bocca
- Stanley Tucci as Soldier
- Marlene Williams as Mrs. Calhane
Production
John Huston hired Meta Carpenter Wilde, the script supervisor who worked with him on The Maltese Falcon (1941) and Rudi Fehr, his film editor from Key Largo (1948).[3]
Anjelica Huston was paid the SAG-AFTRA scale rate of $14,000 for her role in Prizzi's Honor. When her agent called the movie's producer to ask for more money, she was told "Go to hell. Be my guest—ask for more money. We don't even want her in this movie." Huston, who was the daughter of director John Huston and girlfriend of Jack Nicholson at the time, wrote in her 2014 memoir Watch Me that she later overheard a production worker saying, "Her father is the director, her boyfriend's the star, and she has no talent."[4] She would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance at the 58th Academy Awards.
A 25-year-old Stanley Tucci made his film debut in Prizzi's Honor, playing the minor role of a mafia goon.
Reception
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, Prizzi's Honor holds an approval rating of 85% based on 40 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critics consensus states: "Disturbing and sardonic, Prizzi's Honor excels at black comedy because director John Huston and his game ensemble take the farce deadly seriously."[5] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[6]
Pauline Kael wrote: "This John Huston picture has a ripe and daring comic tone. It revels voluptuously in the murderous finagling of the members of a Brooklyn Mafia family, and rejoices in their scams. It's like The Godfather acted out by The Munsters. Jack Nicholson's average-guyness as Charley, the clan's enforcer, is the film's touchstone: this is a baroque comedy about people who behave in ordinary ways in grotesque circumstances, and it has the juice of everyday family craziness in it."[7] Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote: "This is the most bizarre comedy in many a month, a movie so dark, so cynical and so funny that perhaps only Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner could have kept straight faces during the love scenes."[8]
The February 2020 issue of New York Magazine lists Prizzi's Honor as among "The Best Movies That Lost Best Picture at the Oscars."[9]
Awards and nominations
American Film Institute
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – Nominated[24]
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – Nominated[25]
- AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated (Gangster Film)[26]
Body Heat (1981)
Body Heat is a 1981 American neo-noir[1][2] erotic thriller film written and directed by Lawrence Kasdan in his directorial debut. It stars William Hurt and Kathleen Turner, featuring Richard Crenna, Ted Danson, J. A. Preston, and Mickey Rourke. The film was inspired by the 1944 film noir Double Indemnity, in turn based on the 1943 novel.
The film launched Turner's career—Empire magazine cited the film in 1995 when it named her one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History".[3] The New York Times wrote in 2005 that, propelled by her "jaw-dropping movie debut [in] Body Heat ... she built a career on adventurousness and frank sexuality born of robust physicality".[4]
Plot
In South Florida, womanizing low-rent lawyer Ned Racine begins an affair with Matty Walker, the young wife of shady businessman Edmund Walker. The affair quickly becomes a consuming passion, but the two take care to keep it secret. Matty tells Ned that she wants a divorce, but a prenuptial agreement would leave her without Edmund's fortune. When she wishes Edmund dead, Ned suggests murdering him. Matty says she wants to forge a new will, but Ned warns her that would attract suspicion.
Ned runs into Matty and Edmund at a restaurant. Matty introduces Ned as a lawyer who has been asking about buying the Walkers' home. The three have dinner during which Edmund states, after Matty briefly absents herself, that he would kill any man who was having an affair with his wife.
Ned then meets with an old client, arsonist/bombmaker Teddy Lewis, who builds him an incendiary device. Ned fabricates an alibi by traveling to Miami, where he checks into a hotel and then drives back home in the night. After Ned kills Edmund, he and Matty move the body to an abandoned building owned by the victim. Ned sets the bomb to destroy Edmund's body and mislead the police. Ned and Matty then part and agree to have no contact until Matty takes possession of the estate.
Soon afterwards, Edmund's lawyer calls Ned about Edmund's new will, which had supposedly been drafted by Ned; the will was supposedly witnessed by Mary Ann Simpson, a woman Ned once met in passing (the two were introduced by Matty) but who is nowhere to be found now. The new will has been improperly prepared, violating the rule against perpetuities, and the local judge, with a poor opinion of Ned, nullifies it, leaving Matty the sole beneficiary and disinheriting Edmund's niece, Heather. Ned realizes Matty has disregarded his warning and forged the will, calculating it would be nullified. Matty pleads for forgiveness, pledging her love for Ned.[a]
The case is investigated by Ned's friends, prosecutor Peter Lowenstein and detective Oscar Grace. They suspect Matty is involved in her husband's death and warn Ned against seeing her; Ned begins openly dating Matty to throw them off. The police deduce Edmund was not killed at the arson scene because his glasses were missing. Also, Matty appears to have lied about Mary Ann Simpson. Oscar begins to suspect Ned when he realizes Ned's alibi in Miami does not hold. Edmund's niece, who once caught Matty and Ned having sex, is brought to the police but does not recognize Ned.
Increasingly nervous and questioning Matty's loyalty, Ned happens upon an acquaintance who says he had recommended Ned to Matty. Later, Teddy tells Ned about a woman who wanted to know how to rig a bomb to a door. Matty calls Ned, claiming her maid had agreed to return the incriminating glasses after she paid her off. She asks Ned to pick up the glasses from her boathouse. There, Ned spots a wire attached to the door. Matty arrives, and Ned asks her to get the glasses and she agrees. Oscar arrives and observes their interaction. Matty walks toward the boathouse, which then explodes. A body found inside is identified from dental records as that of Matty.
Now in prison, Ned suddenly intuits (and tries to convince Oscar) that "Matty" is still alive. Ned believes she had assumed the identity of a former schoolmate, Matty Tyler, to conceal her sordid past from Edmund. Ned surmises that the "Mary Ann Simpson" whom he had previously met, had discovered the scheme and was blackmailing Matty, only to be murdered and her body planted in the boathouse. That is why the dental records matched. Had Ned been killed in the explosion, the police would have found both suspects' bodies and closed the case. Oscar is not convinced and reminds Ned that he actually did kill Edmund.
Ned obtains a copy of Matty's high school yearbook: in it are photos of Mary Ann Simpson and Matty Tyler, confirming his suspicion. Below Mary Ann's photo is the nickname "The Vamp" and "Ambition—To be rich and live in an exotic land". The real Mary Ann is seen lounging on a tropical beach living a new life.
Cast
- William Hurt as Ned Racine
- Kathleen Turner as Matty Walker
- Richard Crenna as Edmund Walker
- Ted Danson as Peter Lowenstein
- J. A. Preston as Oscar Grace
- Mickey Rourke as Teddy Lewis
- Jane Hallaren as Stella
- Lanna Saunders as Roz Kraft
- Michael Ryan as Miles Hardin
- Larry Marko as Judge Costanza
- Kim Zimmer as Mary Ann Simpson
- Deborah Lucchesi as Beverly
- Lynn Hallowell as Angela
- Thom J. Sharp as Michael Glenn
In addition, the director's wife, Meg Kasdan, has a brief cameo at the beginning of the film as one of Racine's sexual partners – seen getting ready to leave his apartment to go to work.
Production
Kasdan "wanted this film to have the intricate structure of a dream, the density of a good novel, and the texture of recognizable people in extraordinary circumstances."[6] George Lucas acted as uncredited executive producer following successful collaborations with Kasdan as a scriptwriter on Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Empire Strikes Back.[7] Christopher Reeve turned down the role of Ned Racine, which eventually went to his friend, William Hurt; Reeve would later regret the decision, though he was "glad for" his friend.[8] Gail Matthius from Saturday Night Live auditioned for Turner's role.[9]
A substantial portion of the film was shot in east-central Palm Beach County, Florida, including downtown Lake Worth and in the oceanside enclave of Manalapan. Additional scenes were shot on Hollywood Beach, Florida, such as the scene set in a band shell.
There was originally more graphic and extensive sex scene footage, but this was shown only in a sneak preview in two cities, including West Palm Beach, the area where it was filmed, and was edited out for its official release.[10] In an interview, Body Heat film editor Carol Littleton says, "Obviously, there was more graphic footage. But we felt that less was more."
Music
In late 1980, Lawrence Kasdan met with four composers whose works he had admired, but only John Barry presented ideas which were close to the director's own. 10 demos were recorded on March 31 and Barry wrote the whole score during April and early May 1981. The composer provided several themes and leitmotifs—the most memorable was "Main Theme", heard during the main titles and representing Matty.[11]
Barry worked closely with recording sessions engineer Dan Wallin to mix the soundtrack album, but for several reasons J.S Lasher (who produced the limited-edition LP and CD) remixed multitracks himself without Barry's or Wallin's participation.[12]
J.S. Lasher's album was released several times: as a 45 RPM (Southern Cross LXSE 1.002) in 1983 and as a CD (Label X LXCD 2) in 1989. Both editions also included 'Ladd Company Logo' composed and conducted by John Williams.
In 1998, Varèse Sarabande released a re-recording by Joel McNeely and the London Symphony Orchestra. This CD contained several new tracks (versus J.S Lasher's editions), but still was not complete.
In August 2012, Film Score Monthly released a definitive two-disc edition: the complete score with alternate, unused, and source cues on disc 1, and the original, Barry-authorized album and theme demos on disc 2.[13]
Reception
Box office
Body Heat was a commercial success. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $24.1 million at the box office,[14] against a budget of $9 million.[15]
Critical response
Body Heat received mostly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Made from classic noir ingredients and flavored with a heaping helping of steamy modern spice, Body Heat more than lives up to its evocative title."[16] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 77, based on reviews from 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[17]
Upon its release, Richard Corliss wrote "Body Heat has more narrative drive, character congestion and sense of place than any original screenplay since Chinatown, yet it leaves room for some splendid young actors to breathe, to collaborate in creating the film's texture"; it is "full of meaty characters and pungent performances—Ted Danson as a tap-dancing prosecutor, J.A. Preston as a dogged detective, and especially Mickey Rourke as a savvy young ex-con who looks and acts as if he could be Ned's sleazier twin brother."[6] Variety magazine wrote "Body Heat is an engrossing, mightily stylish meller in which sex and crime walk hand-in-hand down the path to tragedy, just like in the old days. Working in the imposing shadow of the late James M. Cain, screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan makes an impressively confident directorial debut".[18] Roger Ebert included the film on his "10 Best List" for the year.[19]
Janet Maslin wrote that Body Heat was "skillfully, though slavishly, derived" from 1940s film noir classics; she stated that, "Mr. Hurt does a wonderful job of bringing Ned to life," but was not impressed by Turner's performance:
Sex is all-important to Body Heat, as its title may indicate. And beyond that there isn't much to move the story along or to draw these characters together. A great deal of the distance between [Ned and Matty] can be attributed to the performance of Miss Turner, who looks like the quintessential forties siren, but sounds like the soap-opera actress she is. Miss Turner keeps her chin high in the air, speaks in a perfect monotone, and never seems to move from the position in which Mr. Kasdan has left her.[20]
Pauline Kael dismissed the film, citing its "insinuating, hotted-up dialogue that it would be fun to hoot at if only the hushed, sleepwalking manner of the film didn't make you cringe or yawn".[21] Ebert responded to Kael's negative review when he added the film to his "Great Movies" list:
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; Kael is unfair to Turner, who in her debut role played a woman so sexually confident that we can believe her lover (William Hurt) could be dazed into doing almost anything for her. The moment we believe that, the movie stops being an exercise and starts working.[7]
John Simon of National Review described Body Heat as "derivative and odious".[22]
In a home video review for Turner Classic Movies, Glenn Erickson called it "arguably the first conscious Neo Noir"; he wrote "Too often described as a quickie remake of Double Indemnity, Body Heat is more detailed in structure and more pessimistic about human nature. The noir hero for the Reagan years is ...more like the self-defeating Al Roberts of Edgar Ulmer's Detour".[23]
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – No. 92[24]
- 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – No. 94[25]
Rourke earned critical acclaim for his performance, which helped him evolve from character actor to movie star.[26]
Home media
Warner Home Video released a 25th-anniversary Deluxe Edition DVD of Body Heat, including a documentary about the film by Laurent Bouzereau, a "number of rightfully deleted scenes",[23] and a trailer.