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Crimes of Passion

Play trailer Poster for Crimes of Passion R 1984 1h 41m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
52% Tomatometer 27 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Bobby (John Laughlin) owns a gadget store by day and takes surveillance jobs by night. A businessman hires him to spy on Joanna (Kathleen Turner), a fashion designer suspected of committing white-collar crimes. But Bobby finds that Joanna's transgressions aren't business-related; instead, she spends her evenings as a prostitute specializing in fetishes. Intrigued, Bobby begins to woo her, but their relationship is complicated by Shayne (Anthony Perkins), a deviant priest who's stalking Joanna.
Crimes of Passion

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Ken Russell and his cast are definitely committed to Crimes of Passion, but whether this sexually charged thriller is worthy of the audience's convictions is altogether more uncertain.

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Critics Reviews

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Rick Lyman Philadelphia Inquirer 06/23/2021
Ken Russell fancies himself an artiste, and his odious pretentions take all the fun out of it. Go to Full Review Patrick Goldstein Los Angeles Times 06/23/2021
Turner acts if she's auditioning for some loopy Mae West impersonation contest. Eyes wide and nostrils flaring, she looks like a doe caught in the glare of a hunter's headlights. Perkins is her perfect body double. Go to Full Review Catharine Rambeau Detroit Free Press 06/23/2021
7/10
It remains steamy, sordid, grim and utterly fascinating, but it is not a movie to be taken lightly. Go to Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast Jul 20
4/5
The themes of 'Crimes of Passion' emerge in its uncut form. It's still quite messy, to be sure, but it's a much more cohesive whole. Turner and Perkins turn in astonishingly brave performances, too. Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 12/02/2022
C
It's aggressively sexual without being sexy. Russell wants to paint the kinky stuff as ugly and insipid, but he sensationalizes it anyway. Go to Full Review Alan Jones Starburst 07/08/2022
Crimes of Passion is a brilliant film painfully revealing the fine line people tread between fantasy and reality, using sex as the modus operandi. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Bela W @Berynice Jul 23 Both my husband and I thought it was great. Not your typical hollywood tripe. Hardly porno (don't care for porno myself). See more thiago s @Thiagostone 08/11/2025 Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são mais ou menos, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom, e só as cenas sexuais salvaram o filme. See more Tom F @RT55173143 06/06/2025 I never heard of this movie until the You Are Good podcast featured it during “erotic thriller month.” This is a messy delight, embracing the complexities of human sexuality while other erotic thrillers of the ‘80s and ‘90s dealt with sex with shameful hypocrisy. The story doesn’t really make sense, but it’s a constraint stream of great lines and stuff you can’t believe was in a movie in 1984 or even today. See more Helder F @uniquecliches 04/21/2023 A bit campy and all over the place, but it has captivating scenes. We are caught in life stories that we do not truly know but we assume are very complicated. I think we don't really get to know much of the characters through try movie - we get to see their compulsions and perversions, perhaps... - their defenses if you will, but we do not know exactly what their problems are. I wouldn't say that any of the characters is very likable. Surprisingly not even Robby's children are that likable. Everyone seems to be hiding a secret - or perhaps showing that they have some hangups even if we don't really learn much about them. Well, I enjoy it. See more michael d @RT08912548 11/21/2022 Awesome Russell-ness and all-around. See more 04/06/2022 The greatest acting ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL. See more Read all reviews
Crimes of Passion

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Ken Russell

Director

Kathleen Turner

Joanna Crane

Anthony Perkins

Rev. Peter Shayne

John Laughlin

Bobby Grady

Annie Potts

Amy Grady

Bruce Davison

Donny Hopper

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Crimes of Passion

Crimes of Passion (1984) Crimes of Passion (1984) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Bobby (John Laughlin) owns a gadget store by day and takes surveillance jobs by night. A businessman hires him to spy on Joanna (Kathleen Turner), a fashion designer suspected of committing white-collar crimes. But Bobby finds that Joanna's transgressions aren't business-related; instead, she spends her evenings as a prostitute specializing in fetishes. Intrigued, Bobby begins to woo her, but their relationship is complicated by Shayne (Anthony Perkins), a deviant priest who's stalking Joanna.
Director
Ken Russell
Producer
Barry Sandler
Screenwriter
Barry Sandler
Distributor
Image Entertainment Inc., Starmaker Video, New World Home Video, Anchor Bay Entertainment, New World Pictures, Lumivision
Production Co
New World Pictures, China Blue Productions Inc
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 19, 1984, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 28, 2018
Runtime
1h 41m
Sound Mix
Dolby
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