The production of Ken Russell's 1984 erotic thriller was reportedly made substantially more difficult by serious personal problems behind the camera and among its principal performers. In her memoirs, Kathleen Turner wrote that Anthony Perkins was struggling with a drug problem during filming, while Russell was drinking heavily. The combination was especially volatile on a picture already demanding psychologically extreme performances, elaborate sexual imagery, and Russell's famously obsessive, high-pressure visual style. Turner had deliberately chosen the film to escape the polished romantic-adventure image established by Romancing the Stone, and she later said Russell made her feel brave enough to take those risks. That artistic intensity, however, existed alongside an unstable working environment. Perkins nevertheless praised Russell's willingness to listen to actors, and Turner remained proud of her performance even while acknowledging that the shoot itself was difficult. The film's troubled atmosphere became part of its later lore, although the available account comes primarily from Turner's recollections rather than from a documented production investigation.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1980s
Kathleen Turner's Account of Drug Problems and Heavy Drinking on Crimes of Passion
Crimes of Passion / 1980s
The production of Ken Russell's 1984 erotic thriller was reportedly made substantially more difficult by serious personal problems behind the camera and among its principal performers. In her memoirs, Kathleen Turner wrote that Anthony Perkins was struggling with a drug problem during filming, while Russell was drinking heavily. The combination was especially volatile on a picture already demanding psychologically extreme performances, elaborate sexual imagery, and Russell's famously obsessive, high-pressure visual style. Turner had deliberately chosen the film to escape the polished romantic-adventure image established by Romancing the Stone, and she later said Russell made her feel brave enough to take those risks. That artistic intensity, however, existed alongside an unstable working environment. Perkins nevertheless praised Russell's willingness to listen to actors, and Turner remained proud of her performance even while acknowledging that the shoot itself was difficult. The film's troubled atmosphere became part of its later lore, although the available account comes primarily from Turner's recollections rather than from a documented production investigation.
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