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The New Hollywood directors of the late 1960s and 70s were the first generation of Hollywood filmmakers to grow up studying Hollywood movies as art. In 1981-1982, a number of those directors made actual or virtual remakes of classic Hollywood noir films, including Lawrence Kasdan’s Body Heat, and Bob Rafelson’s The Postman Always Rings Twice; and Paul Schrader’s Cat People. What was the value of revisiting the tropes and narratives of 1940s noirs in the 80s, beyond the fact that the sexual relationships implied in the original movies could now be depicted graphically? Today we’ll talk about how these films played into the personas of stars Jack Nicholson and Kathleen Turner, how they challenged the standards of what could be shown in movies of the 80s – and how and why they were received extremely differently.
William Hurt and Kathleen Turner in Body Heat, 1981
SHOW NOTES:
Sources:
Easy Riders Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-And Rock 'N Roll Generation by Peter Biskind
Send Yourself Roses: Thoughts on My Life, Love, and Leading Roles Kindle Edition by Kathleen Turner
Lawrence Kasdan Knows How To Listen, Hear Him Talk by F.X. Feeney. Written By Magazine, August 2001
Detours and Lost Highways: A Map of Neo-Noir by Hirsch Foster
Pictures: Hurt And Turner For 'Body Heat' Leads Variety, Los Angeles Vol. 300, Iss. 13, Oct 29, 1980
Body Heat by Arthur Knight, The Hollywood Reporter; Hollywood Vol. 268, Iss. 7, Aug 17, 1981
Film review: Body Heat, Variety; Los Angeles Vol. 304, Iss. 3, Aug 19, 1981
Cinema: Torrid Movie, Hot New Star TIME Magazine By Richard Corliss Monday, Aug. 24, 1981
Reviews: BODY HEAT by David Linck, Boxoffice; New York Vol. 10, Iss. 117, Oct 1, 1981
Film View; THE PLEASURES OF 'BODY HEAT' New York Times, By Vincent Canby Oct. 25, 1981
'Body Heat' at 40: Kathleen Turner recalls 'misguided' decision to film all-nude sex scene on the first day Yahoo Movies Kevin Polowy·Senior Correspondent, Yahoo Entertainment August 27, 2021
Kathleen Turner, Playboy, May 1986
Kathleen Turner, Cover & The Queen Of Curves, Vanity Fair, September 1986, Brad Gooch Annie Leibovitz
Body Heat Review by Pauline Kael, New Yorker, Nov 11, 1981
The Postman Always Rings Twice by Roger Ebert, January 01, 1981
The Postman Always Rings Twice by Robert Osborne, The Hollywood Reporter, Hollywood Vol. 265, Iss. 47, Mar 13, 1981
Film review: The Postman Always Rings Twice, Variety, Los Angeles Vol. 302, Iss. 7, Mar 18, 1981
A New 'Postman Always Rings Twice' By Vincent Canby, New York Times March 20, 1981
Jack Nicholson, GQ Magazine, March 1981
Jack Nicholson, Film Comment, March-April 1981
Jack Nicholson, Rolling Stone, April 16, 1981
The Story Is The Same But Hollywood Has Changed By Janet Maslin, New York Times, April 26, 1981
Jessica Lange Life with Barishnikov and Baby, People Magazine, June 15, 1981
Jessica Lange Blond Obsession, Rolling Stone Magazine, March 1983
Jessica Lange: From King Kong to The Postman, New York Magazine, April 1981
Jessica Lange, Naturally by David Richards, Washington Post, October 5, 1984
The Postman Always Rings Twice, AFI Catalogue of Feature Films
The Monologist and the Fighter: An Interview with Bob Rafelson Rainer Knepperges and Franz Müller, April 2009, Senses of Cinema, Conversations on Film Issue 50
"Let Me Put It This Way: It Works for Me": An Interview with Bob Rafelson by Monika Raesch, Journal of Film and Video (2013) 65 (3): 49–55
Bob Rafelson Emerges to Reflect on His Feud-and-Brawl-Filled CareerRafelson profile, Esquire by Josh Karp, Apr 2, 2019
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Production still on set of American Gigolo 1980) with Paul Schrader and Richard Gere | Photo Courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin
Music:
The music used in this episode, with the exception of the intro, was sourced from royalty-free music libraries and licensed music collections. The intro includes a clip from the film Casablanca.
Excerpts from the following songs were used throughout the episode:
"Rumoi Night" - Kokura Station
"Pxl Htra" - The Fence
"Even Dreams of Beaches" - Resolute
"The Killjoy Brothers" - Kittyhawk
"Pxl Eventuat" - The Fence
"Four Cluster" - Fornax
"Vik Fence Haflak" - The Fence
"Vengeful" - Warmbody
"Tower of Mirrors" - TinyTiny Trio
"Pxl Cray" - The Fence
"Ion Cruiser" - Kokura Station
"Pxl Deter" - The Fence
"Readers Do You Read" - Chris Zabriskie
Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange in The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1981
Credits:
This episode was written, narrated, and produced by Karina Longworth.
Our editor this season is Evan Viola.
Research and production assistant: Lindsey D. Schoenholtz.
Social media assistant: Brendan Whalen.
Logo design: Teddy Blanks.
