This film is outstanding in the amount of vulnerability that Kim Bassinger brought to her role. The film also hits the ending correctly when she discovers that the Mickey O'Roark character is sadistic in his pursuit of invulnerability. This film was really worth a second viewing many years after it's first release.

9 1/2 Weeks is an intriguing exploration of amour fou, a passionate and all-consuming love that’s as beautiful as it is dangerous. For its time, the film was remarkably modern, challenging the conventional portrayals of romance by delving into a more intense, sometimes unsettling, relationship dynamic. The cinematography is striking, with each frame carefully crafted to amplify the raw emotions at play. The lighting adds another layer, creating an almost sensual ambiance that mirrors the film's themes of desire and obsession. The soundtrack, featuring a mix of iconic '80s tracks, perfectly complements the atmosphere, underscoring the tension and vulnerability between the two leads. Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke have palpable chemistry, making their relationship feel both magnetic and unpredictable. Basinger’s elegance and Rourke’s intensity create a complex emotional dynamic that keeps the viewer engaged, even as their connection veers into uncomfortable territory. What sets 9 1/2 Weeks apart is its fearless portrayal of love that transcends the traditional. It’s a film that holds up not only for its bold, ahead-of-its-time narrative, but also for its immersive sensory experience, creating a world where passion and power dynamics collide in a beautifully haunting way.

This erotic film about a torrid romance has a lot of 80s style in terms of setting, fashion, furniture, music, and design, and the eroticism is a throwback to when movies were not shy about being sexy. In this case not aging well could be seen as a bonus.

Marginally better than Wild Orchid. Don't waste your time.

Well shot and directed. Great acting and soundtrack. Unlike a scene from this movie, the audience is not "spoon fed" ; the director leaves room for interpretation of the symbolism and meaning.

Possibly one of the sexiest films of the 80s. You could definitely call this the pre-Fifty Shades of Grey. It's also based on the true story of Elizabeth McNeill. Liz and John are two strangers that meet and have a chance encounter with one another. He's a Wall Street trader and she's at an art gallery. Throughout their continual meetings they dive into a passionate, steamy physical relationship. But John starts engaging in more kinky scenarios that are foreign to her. It goes to the point where she acts as a submissive. Is the physical act of love all that makes up their connection? Maybe it's possible Liz wants something more. The movie truly takes advantage of its kinky nature going from using icicles to food to self satisfaction. Both of these people explore hidden passions. But there is a point where if one of them has to say no it would end faster. Perhaps John may end up having feelings he never knew, the turn ons he suggests may only be a facade. The ending is definitely downtrodden once the actual drama sets in. You have to give both Rourke and Basinger kudos for truly committing both physically and emotionally to their parts. Despite the massive amount of changes from McNeills autobiography this is still a very steamy experience showing how long the erotic nature can last before completely crumbling. Director Adrienne Lynne gets the excitement across that's for sure and even if much of his original vision is lost on the cutting room floor the movie still illustrates control and power. It doesn't have to be just one party in the relationship to be in charge all the time, either one of them can end it fast or later. Makes a good impression and this will do the trick for many couples out there who are in the mood for something exotic.

I loved it! The two leads are both gorgeous creatures to behold........and the sexy magnetism of Mickey Rourke cannot be denied. WOW........I don't find this film dated at all, especially with some of the tasteless smut around these days.......this was subtle and great. Even the music stands the test of time, and still sounds good. I'm keen to read the book and see what the film missed, as I have heard Mickey Rourke talk in interviews about wanting to go further in the movie........and that Kim Basinger has 14 hours of unseen film that has never been released to the public. Now THAT would be worth seeing.

Flat and aimless. Laughable.

This is one of the most erotic movies ever made. Kim Basinger is incredibly beautiful. One wonders what qualifies one to be a movie critic. Maybe a sexual dysfunction of some kind?

Mickey Rourke is a human chameleon at the rate his face and body change between movie roles. Weird to think the man that looks like he's on the road to recovery after sticking his face in a spinning lawnmower blade used to be a heartthrob. Dude looks like a fluffy-haired Bruce Willis here. So Nine 1/2 Weeks is marked as an 'erotic romance drama' but it's more of a dark psychosexual thriller, as Kim Basinger's Elizabeth falls into a passionate relationship with Rourke's John, a powerful and mysterious stockbroker; what starts as refreshing intensity gradually becomes more and more of a twisted fantasy as John pushes for increasingly degrading and public sexual acts. It's got this very strange juxtaposition between these recurring romantic comedy scenes filled with flirting and misadventures, and much more explicit exhibitionism; either there are problems with tone, or the deliberately confusing design, or the structure parallels Elizabeth's own polarized, consistently fluctuating understanding of their relationship. If that's the case (and I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt), Nine 1/2 Weeks seems like an oddly modern take on the fine line between deviancy and intensity, instead of a simple off-kilter fantasy, an odd precursor to the 50 Shades of Grey franchise. I don't buy Rourke in the main role, at least not initially. There's supposed to be a whirlwind, innocent start to the film, in order to contrast against the degradation to follow. But he opens up with buying her a fancy scarf at a flea market and follows that up with, "Do you like music?" There's no spark, no initial intimacy to make the dark places the script goes to feel earned, but the script does build it up later with this sort of chemical dependency that each of them has for one another, but in a self-destructive feedback-loop sort of way. Coming at it from that perspective rather than as a bit of failed escapism, Nine 1/2 Weeks seems ahead of its time even if it could be criticized for shortcomings in narrative development and character depth. (3/5)

It's wild, if nothing else.

Very sexy movie. They don't make anything like this anymore. A story about a romance that burns so hot, it burns itself out. Great story, great cast. Kim Basinger is unbelievable in this. 80's Micky Rourke is best Mickey Rourke.

This movie is about a man exploiting a vulnerable woman for his own self interest. At best it is voyeurism.

Possibly one of the sexiest films of the 80s. You could definitely call this the pre-Fifty Shades of Grey. It's also based on the true story of Elizabeth McNeill. Liz and John are two strangers that meet and have a chance encounter with one another. He's a Wall Street trader and she's at an art gallery. Throughout their continual meetings they dive into a passionate, steamy physical relationship. But John starts engaging in more kinky scenarios that are foreign to her. It goes to the point where she acts as a submissive. Is the physical act of love all that makes up their connection? Maybe it's possible Liz wants something more. The movie truly takes advantage of its kinky nature going from using icicles to food to self satisfaction. Both of these people explore hidden passions. But there is a point where if one of them has to say no it would end faster. Perhaps John may end up having feelings he never knew, the turn ons he suggests may only be a facade. The ending is definitely downtrodden once the actual drama sets in. You have to give both Rourke and Basinger kudos for truly committing both physically and emotionally to their parts. Despite the massive amount of changes from McNeills autobiography this is still a very steamy experience showing how long the erotic nature can last before completely crumbling. Director Adrienne Lynne gets the excitement across that's for sure and even if much of his original vision is lost on the cutting room floor the movie still illustrates control and power. It doesn't have to be just one party in the relationship to be in charge all the time, either one of them can end it fast or later. Makes a good impression and this will do the trick for many couples out there who are in the mood for something exotic.

Fantastic old NYC love romance with 2 of the hottest actors in their hay-day. One is needy and the other is unattainable. Fabulous watch.

Divorced SoHo art gallery employee Elizabeth McGraw (Kim Basinger) first sees Wall Street arbitrageur John Gray (Mickey Rourke) in New York City at a Chinese grocer, and later at a street fair where she decides against buying an expensive scarf. John wins her heart when he eventually produces that scarf. They start dating, and Elizabeth is increasingly subjected to John's behavioral peculiarities; he blindfolds Elizabeth, who is at first reluctant to comply with his sexual demands, but eventually surrenders to them. He gives her an expensive gold watch, and instructs her to use it to think about him touching her every day at noon. She takes this imperative even further by masturbating at her workplace at the designated time. Elizabeth wants to include John in her life and meet her friends, but he makes it clear he only wishes to see her in the evenings, and instructs her to see her friends in the daytime. Elizabeth's confusion about John increases when he leaves her alone at his apartment. She examines his closet until she discovers a photograph of him with another woman, April Tover. John asks her if she went through his things, declaring that he will punish her. He then sexually assaults her. Elizabeth's heightened need for psychosexual stimulation drives her to stalk John to his office... Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus reads: "9 1/2 Weeks' famously steamy sex scenes titillate though the drama unfolding between the beddings is relatively standard for the genre." The film was championed by some critics. Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it three and a half stars out of four, stating: "A lot of the success of ​9 1⁄2 Weeks is because Rourke and Basinger make the characters and their relationship convincing." He further elaborated by saying that their relationship was believable, and unlike many other characters in other erotic films at that time, the characters in this movie are much more real and human. Over time, some critics have warmed to the film and audiences gave it somewhat of a legacy thanks to its success in the rental market. It performed very well in Europe, particularly in Italy, France and also in Latin America. Its success in France was so strong that it played for five years at a Paris cinema, earning approximately $100 million.[8] In São Paulo, Brazil, it played for 30 months in the cult movie house Cine Belas Artes from 1986 to 1989. So I have finally seen this Adrian Lyne film after 34 years of putting it on the backburner. This psychological drama has two great leads in the great Mickey Rourke and the always lovely Kim Basinger. The manipulative and experimental sexual love relation between John and Elizabeth is a bit too much based on specific situations and maybe not going in depth between the characters as much as I think it should. But there´s intensity between Rourke and Basinger. The way Elizabeth experiences a gradual downward spiral toward an emotional breakdownis not very pretty, but maybe not as gripping as it should be. "9 1/2 Weeks" is ok, but it lacks that little extra. The film itself was completed in 1984, but did not get released until February 1986. Considered too explicit by its American distributor, the film was heavily edited for release in the United States, where it was a box office bomb, grossing $6.7 million on a $17 million budget. It also received mixed reviews at the time of its release. However, its soundtrack sold well and the film itself became a huge success internationally in its unedited version, particularly in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, making $100 million worldwide. It has also acquired a large fanbase on video and DVD and has developed a cult following. Triva: The film is based on the 1978 memoir of the same name by Austrian-American author Ingeborg Day.

While it was rather controversial for its time and might interest those who are fans of erotic dramas,9 1/2 Weeks comes off nowadays as rather outdated, slow-paced and lacking in sex scenes until the movie starts getting uncomfortably sexy with poor Kim Basinger being the one who suffered the most during production thanks to an emotionally manipulative director. Your Mileage May Vary on how much her performance is better because of this approach. You probably won't put in this your Top 10 erotic movies is what I'm trying to say.

Awesome portrait of a love affair in the 1980s.

The best romance movie ever made!

They say every relationship has a breaking point. One can assume the more unconventional the relationship, the worse the breaking point will be. An employee at an art gallery (Kim Basinger) starts a torrid affair with a mysterious, closed off arbitrageur (Mickey Rourke) she first spies at a butcher shop in Chinatown. Taking place over the titular duration of time, it's interesting to watch such a small slice of peoples' lives played out across the silver screen with very little beginning or end. Just one moment in time that adds a dollop of paint upon a larger picture we will never see. It's also interesting to see the role reversal that takes place as the character we believe to be the sad, tragic figure looking for something more in their lives isn't necessarily the one we suspect it to be at the start. Basinger, to this day, has been one of the most beautiful women in the world and here she was at the peak of her libidinous prowess. Rourke, on the other hand, was just learning the power of his own smoldering presence, which gives him an uncertain edge necessary to breathe life into his character. There's surprisingly little actual nudity considering the premise of the film revolves around an S&M theme, meaning the tension and sensuality take the viewer in a much more intimate direction than they might be prepared to handle. There's no tawdriness here; only erotic and psychological revelation that's a bit more uncomfortable than the actual nudity might have been. Say what you will about director Adrian Lyne's choice of cinematic subject matter, he has always had an eye for space and has never shown it off quite so effectively as in this film. He directs people through crowds as easily as he directs them in more secretive settings. He knows how to occupy almost any given space and that's an often overlooked talent that not every director possesses. Peter Biziou instills a very Japanese quality into his cinematography. The monochromatic color design merely serves to deepen the shock at seeing swathes of green, blue, and red which are used sparingly throughout the movie. Jack Nitzsche's score reminds me of the work Bill Conti was putting out in the early Eighties, which is certainly not a bad thing as there are worse composers one could seek to emulate. Overall, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. Its pieces come together to form a complex puzzle that left me wanting more upon its conclusion.