LouHomey From my favorite movies..

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

lisagaryk I recently re-discovered this movie after not having seen it since the original airing on TV. I was in my early 20s back in 1985, and thought like many other women that Don Johnson was the sexiest man alive (he was indisputably the most popular actor in America, on one of the most popular TV shows), so it's interesting to watch the movie 23 years removed and with a fresh perspective. One of the first things that surprised me is that once you get past the sheer gorgeousness of the man (and he really was breathtaking - one of those rare few people for whom there were no bad camera angles), Don Johnson is in fact a very good and smart actor with quite a wide emotional range (for an excellent example, watch the scene where Noel and Ben are sharing the box lunch). Another surprise was the depth of the love scene between Ben and Noel. Anyone who ever adored Don Johnson knows that the man knew how to play a love scene like few others, and play it appropriately to the material. He could be hotter than hot but still tender, or loving and gentle but still hot. I remember being disappointed in the love scene initially, but looking at it now as an adult, I see how young and silly I was. As other posters have suggested, it manages to be a very intense, tender, sexy, emotional, and revealing few minutes without really showing anything at all. That's due entirely to the abilities of both Don, who clearly understood exactly the effect of every look, gesture, touch and kiss in that scene, and the always wonderful Judith Ivey's portrayal of Noel as a capable, strong, and intelligent grown woman whose lukewarm kisses with the milquetoasty (gay?) Alan have in no way prepared her for Ben's confident and relentless heat. The levels of fear, shock, desire and surrender that cross her face in those few short minutes are testament to her talent.So once you get past all the heat that Don Johnson generates (it does get to be amusing how frequently he was directed to take his shirt off, but funny in a GOOD way, if you know what I mean), all the other leads are very well cast and turn in great performances. I agree that Jason Robards doesn't quite equal Orson Welles' over-the-topness in the original, but who would? He nevertheless manages no small amount of bluster and rage as the small-town-rich family patriarch. I thought Cybill Shepherd (also one of the most popular actors in America at the time) was a perfect choice for the restless, sexy, spoiled and eternally unsatisfied Eula, as was William Russ (who coincidentally starred in a very highly rated "Miami Vice" episode that same season) for the tortured and complex Jody Varner.The movie is not without flaws; you can see the plot coming a mile away, and the crowd scenes contain some laughably bad acting and dialogue. The 1980s were sort of the "golden age" of the miniseries, and "The Long Hot Summer managed to be a worthy entry in a crowded field, an enjoyable slice of small-town Southern life, considerably improved by the megawatt star power of its cast.

jm000 I don't know why "Anonymous" from Atlanta hated the 1985 version so much. I saw both the 1958 version and the 1985 version, and I thought both were good in their respective ways, although I admit that I liked the 1958 version better. William Russ (Jody Varner) appeared with Don Johnson (Ben Quick) in Miami Vice, and James Gammon (Billy Quick) appeared with Johnson in Nash Bridges. The casting choice that I liked least was Cybill Shepherd (Eula Varner). She played the part well enough, but I'm just not a Cybill Shepherd fan. The closest I ever came to liking her was in her role as Maddie Hayes opposite Bruce Willis as David Addison in the TV series Moonlighting. I admit to having been a Miami Vice (1984-1989) fan. That's probably why I thought this 1985 version with Johnson in the lead was fairly good. He's a good enough actor that he gets the job done, and I wish I looked like him, that is, when he was still relatively young. It wasn't fun watching him age in the final season of Nash Bridges (1996-2001). Wrinkles are OK, but when the hairline and the waistline start to go, it's time to start avoiding the camera. What he absolutely had to have was hair replacement and a trainer to get him back into shape, but at 51 years of age, he didn't get either one, so the series wasn't renewed for a seventh season (the first season was comprised of 8 episodes in the spring of 1996, seasons 2-6 extending from the fall of 1996 to the spring of 2001). Anyway, I thought that the 1985 version of The Long Hot Summer was a lot better than what "Anonymous" from Atlanta indicated. I never saw the 1965 version.

teejay-4 First of all, the Paul Newman version has been one of my absolute favorites for most of my life. That said...For my money, only Don Johnson and Cybill Shepherd were right for their roles. As Ben Quick, Johnson had many of the qualities that Paul Newman exhibited in the same role more than 20 years before. And Cybill Shepherd was a worthy successor to Lee Remick. However Jason Robards was horribly mis-cast as the overbearing and intimidating patriarch of this clan and Judith Ivey was simply too light for her role as the woman to whom Ben Quick was drawn. And I felt no sympathy for William Russ in the part of the son. This is where everything collapses for me.

rajahro I first saw this as the mini series in 1985; I have watched it three or four times since then, most recently tonight. It is not consistently the greatest TV movie ever made, but the combination of Judith Ivey, Jason Robards and Don Johnson is wonderful. Cybill Shepherd is somewhat wasted as Eula, and the part of Jody is a pretty difficult one, but William Russ is perfect as the weaselly son of a powerful father. I enjoy this more every time I watch it, the locations, the soundtrack, the love story between Noelle Varner (Ivey) and Ben Quick (Johnson) as two strong willed people, one running from his past, the other hoping for a future. It's definitely worth a look-or two or three.