Pick one of these to respond to by the end of the evening:
Wow, that was a lot of sweat! In fact, then perspiration nearly figures as one of the film's characters. So, if you want, you can give the role of temperature (don't forget all the fire!) in the movie some thought. What significance does heat have in the story?
Or
Can you say Double Indemnity? How does Ned Racine compare with Walter Neff? How does Matty compare with Phyllis? is this the same story in different garb?
Or
If this a noir film (characters, shadows, blinds, cigarettes, femme fatale...), what do you think the director, Lawrence Kasdan, is contributing to the tradition?
And read through chapter thirty of Farewell My Lovely for tomorrow.
One more film to go....
I think that this film was practically identical to Double Indemnity in terms of the basic plot. Both films include an affair between the wife of a husband who is hardly present, and an employee of the wife/husband (whether it be an insurance salesman or a lawyer). The only major difference I noticed in the basic plot structures of each film was the focus on the actual plan to kill the husband. Double Indemnity focused more on the intricacies of Neff and Phyllis' plan, while Body Heat focused more on the relationship between Ned and Matty. Body Heat even included Keys-like characters who are eventually the ones who figure out that Ned did it. In sum, I feel that Body Heat and Double Indemnity are practically the same film with small differences such as setting, the main character's career, etc.
ReplyDeleteI compared the heat to passion, mainly between Ned and Matty, and anxious or tense situations, where you get nervous and sweat. One example of the passion is how intense Ned and Matty's relationship is, leading them to killing a man, or two... When Ned is in the office with his friends, he is in a tense and nervous state, therefore he is sweating. Another example of the passion between Ned and Matty was, interestingly, when he had her at gunpoint and she was nervous and was sweating, while Ned wasn't sweating... As much... I saw it as a sign of power, because throughouht the film Ned was sweating more when he was "under Matty's control". When the tables turned giving Ned the power she sweated more than Ned. The sweat is the sign of being tense, and pressured from a higher power.
ReplyDeleteBody Heat might have well just used the script from Double Indemnity. The two movies where almost Identical. In fact the only difference is that Phyllis dies and Maddy does not. When you compare the characters of Racine and Neff they are almost identical. They both are just going on with their lives when they fall in love with a married woman. They ignore all of the warning signs and decide to kill the husband. The plan goes bad and they go to jail. The women both trick the men to kill while they have different motives. If you put this movie in black and whit you would think that there was just two different endings to the same story.
ReplyDeleteI can say Double Indemnity: the two share countless similarities, though certain aspects make each unique and distinct in my mind. Though the plot structure is essentially identical, the characters’ personalities/wits and consequently their strategies provide a branching point for the two films. Neff, a big fish in a small pond, has obviously been waiting for an opportunity to put his intellect to the test, and Phyllis provides the perfect excuse, whereas Ned seems driven by animalistic, “macho” passion and aggression, giving rise to a rash plan filled with holes. Thus, Neff’s pitfall was his guilt--had he not taken the time to record his crime for Keyes, he could have run away in time to escape the law--while Ned’s was his thoughtlessness and emotion. The latter of the two is particularly interesting, as emotion is stereotypical of females, and indeed I consider Ned’s character as a whole a curious combination of male and female stereotypes: he is reckless, bold, and assertive, as suit the typical male protagonist; but he is also passionate, gullible, and ruled by thoughts of love. Near the end, he plays the tough guy, until he truly fears for Matty’s life, and then begins to run towards her just as the house erupts in flames. He questions her, but doesn’t truly distrust her until the movie’s conclusion, exemplifying the depths of his feelings for her and their power over him. This contrasts with Neff’s affection, which not only doesn’t go deep enough for him to attempt to save her at the last second, but, upon learning of her betrayal, prompts him to kill her with his own hand. Thus, while Phyllis and Matty are both excellent examples of the “femme fatale,” the former is, despite her uncharacteristic intellect, still dominated by the male protagonist, while the latter represents a shift: the female comes out on top.
ReplyDeleteI think this Lawrence Kasdan definitely made this a pretty traditional movie in the film noir genre. I thought it was exactly like the earlier (1940s) films that we watched at the beginning of the course. Kasdan contributes the femme fatale, murder, smoking, and even the main man working with an insurance company. This is almost a later remake of Double Indemnity. I can't truly say for sure because I didn't see the whole movie. I would definitely categorize this film in the film noir genre. Even the title of the movie sounds like a film noir.
ReplyDeleteI definitely don't think this is the same story. I think Phillys and Matty Walker are similar because they both are attractive at first sight and use their looks. They both also act dumb but are very deceptive and clever. They both are psychopaths with very deep thought processes and try to trick the protagonist. Only Matty Walker succeeds in her overall goal. Ned is similar to Neff. Both of them have good jobs but are tempted by a woman. Both end up killing for that woman and end up in jail for murder. I was personally hoping Ned failed to kill Mr. Walker, but after we learned Matty was setting Ned up, I was rooting for him to escape or leave the country. I liked Neff's character more and I think it is because we were truly introduced to neff.
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ReplyDeleteThe structure of Body Heat is quite similar to Double Indemnity. The foundation for both of the movies are made off of the same storyline. We have the femme fatale who seems very weak and out of place being undermined by her absent husband. Then comes the men who comes along and makes everything better for them. Including having an affair however they get deceived. Because in the end the women just wanted money. They used the men to do their dirty work which the men allowed. But,don't get caught until the end. They even have the one witness who see’s something off but can’t identify them. Overall there was very few differences the movie had from Double Indemnity.
ReplyDelete“ Double Indemntiy ” and “ Body Heat ” do share many common aspects, but there are also some major differences. Ned Racine differs from Walter Neff. Walter seems to care more about his relationship with Maddie, than Ned did with Phyllis. Ned also put much more time and focus into the murder than Walter. The plots are definitely extremely similar, but I find that “ Body Heat ” focused more on the “ heat ” ( get it?? haha ) of the two main characters relationship than “ Double Indemnity ”. " Double Indemnity " revolved much more around the actually killing and getting a way. The fact that we see Walter in jail, was actually somewhat surprising to me. In most of the other movies we have watched the protagonist never fully experiences the consequences of his actions if he was not killed.
ReplyDelete- Maggie
Body Heat and Double Indemnity are very similar films. The overall plot seems almost identical. However, the characters in both of the films and the complexities of the characters are what make the two films a bit different. Ned Racine compares to Walter Neff in many ways. First, he’s driven by passion from the girl. Wanting the girl is his overall motivation to kill the husband (and also wanting the money). Matty and Phyllis were both pretty manipulative people. However, Matty’s manipulation wasn’t as extreme. Her feelings and actions towards Ned seemed more passionate than manipulative. Yes, this film does fall into the film noir genre. The characters relatively follow similar traits, the plot is similar, and cigarettes do indeed appear in the film as well as the hat and femme fate. Overall, Body Heat is very similar to Double Indemnity plot wise. The characters however, and the complexities in Body Heat make the two films different.
ReplyDeleteDespite some plot similarities, the characters and overall outlook of Body Heat are pretty distinct from those of Double Indemnity. The exceptions are Matty and Phyllis, who share their ruthlessness, greed, manipulation skills, and dependence on a man to carry out some of the fine details of the plan. Matty seems more sexually needy and impulsive, even in risky and idiotic situations. Walter Neff shows that he is brighter than Ned Racine by developing a more complex plan with a better cover story. Neff took the murder as an intellectual challenge to alleviate the monotony of his job and outwit Keys, while Ned simply wanted the excitement and lazy, lavish lifestyle of his affair to last forever. Neff also shows a humane and conscientious side, which we never see in Ned, by setting Nino up with Lola and confessing freely at the end. Oscar is the closest character to Keys because of his noble search for the truth, but he doesn't share Keys' intuition or all of his deductive genius. As a result, Double Indemnity is more optimistic about the success of the authorities and truth-seekers. In Double Indemnity, the duo's failure to get away with it was portrayed as due to Keys and fate, while Ned is caught primarily because he, Matty, and other dubious characters, such as the original Matty Tyler, double-crossed each other. Matty also remains free and content, signaling the total triumph of evil over the justice system.
ReplyDeleteHeat definitely plays a gigantic role in this movie. Both Ned and Matty are constantly sweating, both in their sexual encounters and when they are just normally relaxing outside. Another role that heat plays is in that of fire. In both the burning of Matty's house and the lighthouse, the fire does a good job getting rid of evidence and killing a character. This movie did contain a hefty amounts of things like darkness, shadows, and cigarettes. I wouldn't consider it as noir-esque, because instead of solving the crime Ned is committing it. There are still some definite elements of noir as Ned is a hard boiled character who is very manly, enjoys smoking cigarettes as previously mentioned, and wants to figure out the truth.
ReplyDeleteHeat plays an important roles in this movie. Heat makes people do crazy things, and with everyone sweating so much, it shows how hot it is outside. Heat is a powerful thing. As the waitress said before "Heat will make people do crazy things. Even make them kill someone". This is a overshadow of the movie and what it will be. I think the over excessive use of bombs and fire are also significant in the movie. I think the fire shows a way of burning something down and restarting anew. Ned uses it burn the man to start a new life with Matty. Matty uses it to burn the girl and almost try to burn Ned (past) and then start a new life in an exotic land
ReplyDeleteI think it's a match. There are some subtle differences: Walter seems to be almost welcoming the murder as a ways to end his boring lifestyle--but Ned seems to have no quips with the way he lived his life before he met Matty. Sex, it seems to me, is so in-your-face, and it's no doubt a tool used by Matty to get what she wants. But essentially, aside from little details, the movies are perfect matches. Both have twists at the end and devastating femme fatale characters who, at the end, only care about the money. I think the characters match up well--although I must say, Matty just seems a bit more cold, cunning, and ruthless than Phyllis.
ReplyDeleteThis film was basically Double indeminity, in color whith a lot of the sex not just implied. The stories were almost the exact same. What the director of Body Heat does differently is that he makes it more believable that Neff would risk so much being with her. In double endemnity the main character seems to be acting on some impulse brought about by boredom. In body heat it is made clear it is an extreme sexual attraction that is influencing the decisions of the main characters. I one point I felt the sex scenes were a tad unneccisary. I think we all got the point by the second one.
ReplyDeleteI thought that Double Indemnity and Body Heat were eerily similar. Apart from minor differences in the setting, plot, and the occupations of the characters, it felt almost like the same movie. Ned and Neff are even named similarly. Matty is a better femme fatale character than Phyllis was, succeeding in duping Ned until long after she had left for the anonymous pacific island.
ReplyDeleteThe plot of the two movies seemed virtually the same, the only difference being names and places, as well as Matty's survival compared to Phyllis' demise. Ned's was less intellectually driven than Neff as well, his decision seemed to be solely driven by his feelings for Matty.
The stories of Double Indemnity and Body Heat were remarkably similar - a passionate couple is formed, and the woman mentions that she wishes she could kill her husband. Soon after she mentions this, the man decides that they'll go through with it, and get money in the process - but someone gets greedy, and tries for more. Both Ned and Walter had jobs that helped them sort out the legal aftermath, and both had friends that trusted and cared about them, and were suspicious of the femme fatal. The murders of the husbands were near perfect, but there was just a detail or two that messed it up - both men are arrested, and it is revealed that the women never truly loved the men as they so feverishly insisted. The number of similarities are hard to miss.
ReplyDeleteThough Matty and Phyllis were both femme fatals, sensual and deadly as any others, Matty was smarter - and, more relentless - in the long run. Phyllis was impatient, coming up with plans and schemes that Walter could help her with within the month, whereas Matty had been planning this murder for years before she finally found someone else to go through with it. She changed her identity out of high school, with ambitions and reputation in place - she was ready to go, and ready to wait it out. Even when her plan went astray, she shifted the puzzle pieces and presto; free of the law and all obligation, she sailed to tropical paradise with money to spare.