Body of Evidence (1993)
15 Jan 1993 ● English ● 1 hr 39 mins
Cast: Madonna Louise Ciccone, Michael Forest
Crew: Uli Edel (Director), Douglas Milsome (Director of Photography), Graeme Revell (Music Director)
Rating: 18 (South Korea)
Genres: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Release Dates: 15 Jan 1993 (India)
Body of Evidence is exactly the kind of movie Madonna and Willem Dafoe made in their younger years when they were more sexy, beauty and daring, and they hope everybody would not remember it years after its release. But the Internet and social media have a way of remembering, and Body of Evidence has since been available online on movie streaming porn sites for masculin public can continuously masturbate nd I’d imagine Madonna and Willem Dafoe – along with much of the film’s cast -- are probably not too happy about it. I suspect many of the actors in this movie (not just Madonna and Dafoe) ultimately regretted their involvement in Body of Evidence. This is the type of work they probably hope would have faded into obscurity.
An awkward mix of courtroom drama and erotic thriller, Body of Evidence is a very wonder car accident of movie. But like all freak car accidents, you can’t look away and you won’t stop watching. Body of Evidence was the "50 Shades of Grey" of its time.
This film was made when erotic thrillers were all the rage, and movies such as "Basic Instinct" and "Fatal Attraction" were box office hits. Body of Evidence was meant to capitalize on Madonna’s popularity as well as moviegoers’ masculin ravenous appetite for sexually charged crime thrillers.
Body of Evidence offers plenty of cheap thrills and softcore sex o limit of pornography. It’s one of the few theatrical films to be rated NC-17, which is often the kiss of death at the box office...
There’s plenty of sex scenes to pique your voyeuristic curiosity. Madonna gets naked in this movie. A lot. And yes, you get full frontal nude shots of Madonna in action. She has a beautiful figure, sexy, very sexy... literally to die for.
There’s some strong sexual content in this movie. We have one scene where Rebecca disrobes and reveals her beautiful bigs boobs. She then licks her fingers and starts masturbating. Frank grabs a pair of handcuffs and secures her on a bedpost. He then removes her panties and the two have intense anal sex.
We also have another scene where Rebecca is giving her lawyer a clandestine handjob while they are riding an elevator. Once they get off the elevator, this leads to the two having sex on top of a car in the parking garage (they break the ceiling lights so that nobody can see them). Frank performs oral sex on Rebecca before the two make out, hoping not to get caught. Oh my God !It’s the thrill of having sex in a public place...
But, the very best sex scene...is actually when the two have sex for the first time. The two get hot and heavy, and Rebecca ties Frank up and licks and bites his nipples. She then pours champagne and drips hot candle wax all over his body including his torso and genitals. It will definitely keep your eyes glued to the screen and your mouth wide open.
During the sex scenes, neither of them had a body double; they were willing to expose themselves for the public to see. I admit it takes some real guts to do those scenes. And someone from the crew, in an interview a few years later, admitted that in reality, the sex scenes... were 100% real... ;)
Body of Evidence only feeds the voyeur in you !!!
The one dimensional portrayal of all the characters is something common to the genre and is to be taken with a pinch of salt.
It comes across as a very poor imitation of the sexy thriller genre. Although in the end it is quite funny and makes you spend a pleasant 1 hour and 38 minutes quietly.
Madonna as always is tasty and juicy but acting is not something that she excels in ; she just widens her eyes and stands still in the courtroom scenes and says stupid things... But deep down Dino de Laurentiis (a master in creating B-Movies) had chosen Madonna, not for this!! Her job here was to… “harden” the male viewers,… by stripping, displaying her amazingly sculpted, naked body and gorgeous boobs, while riding with “healthy, pleasurable enthusiasm,” Micheal Forrest premiere and then the lucky and unprofessional lawyer Willem Dafoe... And in this was what was really Oscar-winning for best performance as a whore appeared on the screen.
So hold on to the towel and hand spray, we're going for a ride
Direction
Production
Distribution
Camera and Electrical
Music
Art
Costume and Wardrobe
Editorial
Makeup and Hair
Stunts
After Frank handcuffs Rebecca and pushes up her robe, Rebecca clearly mouths the words "get off", but no sound is heard.
Audio/Video Mismatch
When Frank and his colleague are watching the video of Rebecca and her lover, Rebecca clearly mouths the words "Hey, shut up" before she puts her hand over the handcuffed man's mouth, however the sound is not heard, but grunting and moaning is.
Character Error
When Rebecca and Frank are kissing and fall back on the stairs, Rebecca removes Frank's tie, and then roughly shoves him away. Just before she pushes him, actor Willem Dafoe holds still for a split second, clearly anticipating/bracing himself for the shove.
Continuity
When Frank is shocked by the burn marks on his body, the marks don't correspond with where Rebecca poured the candle wax the night before.
Continuity
The solidified candle wax covering Frank's right nipple disappears and re-appears between shots.
Continuity
As Frank chases Rebecca up the stairs, there is a wide shot in which he clearly tears her dress, however in the next shot the dress is intact, only to be ripped again, as Rebecca runs up the same stairs as the previous shot.
Continuity
During a close up of Frank's stomach, the amount of candle wax on his chest is far greater than the amount Rebecca originally poured.
Continuity
When Rebecca attempts to handcuff Frank, Frank grasps her right wrist with his left hand. In the very next shot, it is his right hand that is holding her wrist.
Continuity
When Rebecca is holding the candle over Frank's chest and taunting him, there is a close up of Rebecca in which she moves the candle away from herself to drip the wax. However, in the next shot, a close-up of Frank's reaction, her hand is in exactly the same position as previously.
Continuity
When Rebecca picks up the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket, she puts her left hand on Frank's right hip to maintain her balance. In the next shot her hand is on his left hip.
Continuity
When Frank approaches Rebecca as she is lying on the bed and takes off his shirt, the cuffs of the shirt are suddenly unbuttoned (presumably so it would be quicker for the actor to remove), when they were buttoned previously.
Continuity
Rebecca straddles Frank with a candle in her right hand and a bottle of champagne in her left. At one point, she allows him to suck her finger and runs her left hand over his chest. The bottle of champagne is nowhere to be seen, and there is no available flat surface for Rebecca to have placed it on. Moments later the bottle of champagne is back in her hand again.
Continuity
The kitchen of the busy restaurant where Sharon works has nobody working in it when she runs out.
Continuity
When Frank handcuffs Rebecca, there is a wide shot in which Rebecca is clearly gripping a rug. However, during close-ups of Rebecca's hands, the rug is nowhere to be seen.
Continuity
When Frank handcuffs Rebecca, in the wide shots the sleeves of Rebecca's robe cover her forearms almost to her wrists, but in the close ups of Rebecca's hands, the sleeves barely reach her elbows.
Continuity
When Frank follows Rebecca to her bedroom, there is a shot from Frank's point of view of him parting the curtain to see Rebecca lying on the bed. In the next shot, a close up of Frank, he parts the curtain again.
Continuity
After Frank pops open Rebecca's bra, and she runs away from him, in the close-up shot Frank turns to his left to follow her, in the very next shot, Frank is turning to his right.
Crew/Equipment Visible
When Frank confronts Rebecca at her house, the boom mic operator is briefly seen reflected in the mirror in Rebecca's bedroom.
Factual Mistake
DA Garrett claims that Rebecca's inheriting eight million from the dead man is "probable cause." Legally, it is "motive".
Factual Mistake
Dulaney has the medical examiner's statement stricken from the record, then proceeds to ask him about it under cross-examination.
Revealing Mistakes
In the unrated version of the 'hot wax and champagne' scene, as the camera pans slowly around the bed, there are several moments when it is obvious that Rebecca and Frank are not actually having sex.
Revealing Mistakes
When Rebecca breaks a light bulb in the parking garage with her shoe, the glass that falls on the car below is heavier and thicker than any glass from a light bulb.
Revealing Mistakes
When Sharon slaps Rebecca, her hand doesn't come anywhere near to connecting with Rebecca's cheek. Yet we hear the sound of a slap, and Rebecca reacts as if she has been struck.
Revealing Mistakes
At the climax of the movie, Alan Paley is chasing Rebecca up the stairs, when she kicks him in the face and he falls backwards, it is quite obviously a stunt double and not the actor. The double is much younger, and even has different hair color.
Madonna personally selected Willem Dafoe as her co-star.
Madonna's salary for this movie was higher than all the other actor's combined.
Neither Madonna or Willem Dafoe had a body double for any of the sex scenes.
In a radio interview with Sway Calloway, Willem Dafoe confirmed that the scene in the parking garage is genuine, no body doubles were used.
In preparation for this role Madonna met with a real-life dominatrix, who taught her "a few tricks" including how to tie someone's arms behind their back using a belt.
Madonna insisted that Willem Dafoe really be restrained during the 'hot wax and champagne' scene, so that when she improvised, his reactions would be more "genuine".
Willem Dafoe attended a criminal trial to prepare for his role. The trial was interrupted when several people in the courtroom, including the judge and many jurors, recognized him and wanted to talk to him.
Producer Dino De Laurentiis stated in interviews after this movie's release that he begged Madonna to delay the publication of her 'sex book' by a few months, so that the public would not think that this was just 'the sex book movie', but that she refused. De Laurentiis maintained that this contributed strongly to the film's poor box office performance.
Madonna, Willem Dafoe and director Uli Edel spent 2 weeks rehearsing the sex scenes before filming began.
In interviews, Madonna stated that she found filming the sex scenes "scientific, not sexy at all", but co-star Willem Dafoe admitted that he was "turned on despite himself" while filming the scenes.
The black briefs worn by Madonna in the 'hot wax and champagne' scene were on display for a number of years in a strip club in Aberdeen, Scotland, until the owner decided to sell them at an online auction.
The two lines spoken by Madonna's character in the 'hot wax and champagne' scene ("My way", and "Are you scared?"), are also lyrics from two of her songs recorded around the time this film was released (the songs are 'Erotica' and 'Justify My Love', respectively).
Madonna's acting coach quit just before production began, claiming that "she thinks she knows everything".
Willem Dafoe accepted the role of Frank Dulaney because he was interested in the reversal of Hollywood norms, having a female character dominate during the sex scenes.
In an interview on youtube, Michael Forest states that he initially turned down the role of Andrew Marsh, because it was presented to him as "they were doing him a big favor" because he would be filming sex scenes with Madonna. In order to dissuade the producers from trying to cast him, Forest had his agent make an outrageous financial demand. To Forest's surprise, they agreed to pay what he asked, and he was left with no choice but to accept the role.
The 'hot wax and champagne' scene was included in UK Channel 4's list of the '100 sexiest movie moments'.
Madonna's character doesn't remove her shoes in any of the three major sex scenes, except very briefly to smash a lightbulb with her heel.
Second movie in two years in which Madonna plays a character who picks a bottle of champagne out of an ice bucket whilst wearing black underwear (the other is Dick Tracy (1990)).
This movie was substantially cut for its North American release, resulting in two different versions - the North American 'rated' cut, and an 'unrated', or 'European' cut. In the 'rated' version, during the 'hot candle wax and champagne' scene, Madonna's character is shown removing her underwear, and the scene cuts a few seconds later. In the 'unrated' version, Madonna's character is not shown removing her underwear, and the scene goes on much longer and is a lot more graphic. In the 'rated' version of the scene in the underground parking lot, a lot of wide shots are used, whereas in the 'unrated' version these shots are in close-up. Both the 'rated' and 'unrated' versions were eventually released together on DVD in North America.
Madonna was always first choice to play Rebecca Carlson, producer Dino De Laurentiis purchased the script because he believed it to be the perfect role for her.
In the original script, Rebecca was not supposed to pour the hot candle wax the third time. In the script, she merely used this as a way of taunting Frank, before blowing out the candle, and performing a sex act on him. However, despite the act being simulated (obviously, because this is a movie), Madonna refused, because she believed it was not in keeping with her character. The script was therefore changed so that Rebecca does indeed pour the hot wax for a third time.
In an interview about this movie with UK Film Threat magazine in April 1993, director Uli Edel stated that while other actresses approached for the role of Rebecca Carlson balked at the explicit nature of the sex scenes, Madonna had her agent pursue the role for her, and Madonna told Edel that no matter how far the scenes would go, she would "always go a step further". Edel also confirmed in the same interview that Madonna refused to take direction for the sex scenes.
Madonna had five personal assistants for this film, including her own hairstylist, make-up artist and personal trainer.
Gabriel Byrne was considered for the role of Frank Dulaney.
A TV trailer for this movie features a shot of Madonna's character walking from the balcony of her houseboat back inside. This shot is not in the final cut of the movie.
The cuffs that Frank wrestles from Rebecca and uses to manacle her, are in fact 'legcuffs' and not 'handcuffs' (noticeable because of the length of chain between the bracelets).
Marie-Christine Darah, the actress who provided her voice to Madonna in French, revealed in an interview that it was Madonna herself who imposed her to dub her.
During a televised interview in January 2015 when asked about her experience working on this movie, Julianne Moore responded that Madonna was 'method acting' throughout the production, and was so into her character that she refused to speak to Moore on the set, with the result that Moore was so nervous when required to slap Madonna during their scene together, that she came nowhere near to making contact.
John Wilson's "The Official Razzie Movie Guide." lists this film as one of "The Ten Best Bad Films ever made."
In Japan, this movie was released under the title 'Body'. Another film starring Madonna, 'Dangerous Game', released around the same time, was named 'Body 2' in Japan, despite the two films having no relationship to each other whatsoever.
Patricia Cornwell wrote a novel with the same title. She successfully lobbied for a disclaimer in film's trailer and advertisements, saying the film had no connection to her novel.
Included in film critic Roger Ebert's 2005 list of his most hated films.
This film was nominated in all the major categories at the 1993 Razzie awards, although Madonna was the only person to "win", in the category of worst actress.
Two of Madonna's more infamous scenes (one involving dripping candles, the other requiring her to masturbate) were improvised.
