I was blissfully oblivious to the media sensation that Fatal Attraction sparked upon release in 1987. I did see the movie, on a date in fact, while in high school and enjoyed it for what it was worth but did not think much about it afterwards. Beyond that I have been marginally aware of its existence (it has become so culturally iconic, it would be hard not to be) and figured I must have caught it on cable or a rental. However after racking my brain, I realized that my recent viewing of Paramount’s new Blu-ray release is the first time I have seen the thriller in 22 years.
Of course this begs the question “how does it hold up?” I would say pretty well though I have some reservations. I am definitely better suited to appreciate the adult nature of the film. My recollections of Fatal Attraction were mostly vague impressions of sex scenes, some violence with a knife and the boiling bunny (things a teenager would remember). My second viewing brought out the plot’s inherent moral dilemma and made the complications all that more relatable, so I do not regret giving the movie another chance.
For those that have somehow missed Fatal Attraction, it involves Dan Gallagher (Michael Douglas), a New York attorney, who has a weekend tryst with a provocative Alex Forest (Glenn Close) while his wife and daughter are away. The physical interactions (i.e. sex) play out straightforward enough, though a bit tame by today’s standards, yet it is the aftermath of their affair that is the heart of the movie.
Dan writes off the encounter as a good enough time that he wishes to put behind him as he seemingly loves his family and wants to forget about his backslide in fidelity. Alex has other intentions as she proves to be emotionally unstable (an understatement I realize and all the more creepy on re-watching) and takes Dan’s lack of interest as a challenge that has drastic consequences. The narrative plays out a game of cat and mouse as Dan does his best to dissuade the jilted and increasingly psychotic lover from penetrating into his life, first subtlety then more forcefully, to little avail.
It is the enacting of those consequences that garnered the attention Fatal Attraction received (six Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Director, Actress, Editing and Writing though it won none) and sparked a genre of “erotic thrillers” that have played in the shadow of the film over the past two decades. While I would have a hard time giving director Adrian Lyne’s (9 ½ Weeks, Unfaithful) film best picture honors, it is well written (James Dearden’s script has held up over the years), tightly paced and Close’s performance is as unnerving as ever.
I do have some qualms such as much preferring the original finale (Alex kills herself and Dan is blamed) that was changed due to poor reception at test screenings. The theatrical ending turns into too much melodrama and cheapens the effect of the narrative though I highly doubt the film would have been as much of a box office success without it. I also find Michael Douglas’ talents wasted as his character is too generic to allow him much room to act. As the producers state in the extras, this was exactly the point as they wanted Dan to be an “any man” so that it is a realistic proposition that this scenario could befall anyone. I could additionally find issue with Dan’s morals as he is seen as the victim though he had some responsibility in what happens that he works to avoid. But Fatal Attraction is not the kind of thriller meant to be nitpicked or dissected. It can be an enjoyably tension-inducing experience that works much better viscerally following Dan through his nightmare and should make any man think twice before being unfaithful.
Paramount has been producing some commendable catalog titles on Blu-ray, and Fatal Attraction’s visuals fits solidly in the middle of them. I wish I had shorthand to convey the sentiment of “looks as good as you could expect but does not contend with the best of high-def” as that is exactly the case here. The opening scene had me a bit worried with noticeable print damage that calms down for the majority of the runtime. The 1080p AVC encoded transfer (with original 1.78:1 ratio) appears slightly flat but supports a film-like texture with a modest level of detail and noticeable but rarely obtrusive grain structure. Contrast is not amazing but rarely detrimental though some of the darker shots lose resolution. I did not notice any obvious digital tampering and while the image lacks the pizzazz of modern flicks, it is pleasant looking. I imagine this Blu-ray captures the way the film appeared when theatrically exhibited.
The 5.1 Dolby TrueHD (48 kHz / 24-bit) surround track has moments when it is surprisingly aggressive such as during the violent confrontations. They are surprising because the majority of the time, the audio is fairly tame. Dialog comes through without issue, and Maurice Jarre’s score supports the tense ambiance securely from the fronts. Yet my subwoofer was never active, and I actually had to put my ear near the rears to verify that a signal was being passed to them as it is mixed so low as to be negligible. Considering this was originally a stereo track, the lossless audio more or less gets the job done but only infrequently makes itself noticed.
Dubbed audio is available in French and Spanish stereo mixes with optional subtitles in English (SDH), French, Portuguese and Spanish.
All the extras from the 2002 special edition DVD are ported over to this Blu-ray release. The majority is in standard-def (4:3 ratio and stereo sound) and while watcheable is not that amazing in visual quality. The original ending and trailer have been mastered in high-def but show obvious print damage.
Audio Commentary – Director Adrian Lyne turns in a mostly feature-length commentary (he does have infrequent dropouts) which is one of the more boring ones I have suffered through in recent memory. Not helping matters is his vocal style that is so subdued it almost lulls you to sleep. There are some interesting tidbits to be had (such as that when Alex and Dan first have drinks, Lyne instructed Glenn to play “footsie” with Michael unbeknownst to the actor, and, knowing this, you can easily see his facial reactions). However, you have to wade through far too much banal chatter about the director liking the decoration of a room or someone’s clothing that adds little of depth to appreciating the movie. While I like Lyne’s style for what it is, based on this commentary, he should let his movies speak for themselves.
Forever Fatal: Remembering Fatal Attraction (28:16) – Gathering input from all the main actors, director and producers, this featurette covers the history of the movie much better than the commentary. Topics covered include background on the director, casting the leads (interestingly Glenn Close was seen as totally wrong for the part before she auditioned), filming sex scenes, adapting the original “short” film, writing the script and test screenings that forced the ending to be changed.
Social Attraction (10:00) – Culled from the same footage as the previous extra with many of the same participants and also involving social critics, the phenomenon of the movie is discussed including the backlash by feminists who perceived Alex’s issues as being directed against single working women.
Visual Attraction (19:39) – The film’s style is dissected with input from the costume designer, makeup artist, cinematographer and production designer.
Rehearsal Footage (7:09) – Video footage shot the first time Glenn Close and Michael Douglas met to rehearse. It is very interesting to see how intense Glenn already is into the mentality of her character.
Alternate Ending (11:51, HD) – The original ending that was forced to be changed to the one we are familiar with after test screenings universally panned it. For my taste, I think this is a much more satisfying ending that does not pander to the Hollywood audience mentality.
Trailer (1:34, HD) – The theatrical trailer which embodies the tension of the thriller well.
Considering I had put little thought into Fatal Attraction over the preceding two decades, it holds up as an enjoyable, nail-biting thriller though a bit predictable due to being overly imitated. Glenn Close’s performance alone makes the film worth the effort. Paramount turns in a high-def package that maximizes the visual quality of the movie, limitations and all, and gives perfunctory lossless audio. All the previous extras are included though I would suggest skipping the commentary in favor of the “making of” featurette and original ending. Fans should be satisfied with this Blu-ray release.
– Robert Searle
