Fatal Attraction
Encyclopedia
Fatal Attraction is a 1987 American thriller blended with horror
, directed by Adrian Lyne
and stars Michael Douglas
, Glenn Close
and Anne Archer
. The film centers around a married man who has a weekend affair
with a woman who refuses to allow it to end, resulting in emotional blackmail, stalking and an ensuing obsession on her part. The film was adapted by James Dearden and Nicholas Meyer
from an earlier short film by Dearden for British television, Diversion (1980).
Fatal Attraction was a hit, becoming the second highest grossing film of 1987 in the United States
and hugely popular internationally. Critics were enthusiastic about the film, and it received six Academy Award nominations, including that for Best Picture
, Best Actress
for Close and Best Supporting Actress
for Archer.
) is a successful, happily-married New York
attorney living in Manhattan
when he meets Alexandra "Alex" Forrest (Glenn Close
), an editor for a publishing company, through business. While his wife, Beth (Anne Archer
), and daughter, Ellen (Ellen Hamilton Latzen
), are out of town for the weekend, he has a passionate affair with Alex. Though he thought it was understood to be a simple fling, she begins clinging to him.
Dan explains that he must go home and Alex cuts her wrists in a suicide
attempt. He helps her to bandage them and later leaves. He thinks the affair is forgotten, but she shows up at various places to see him. She waits at his office one day to apologize and invite him to the opera
Madama Butterfly
, but he turns her down. She then continues to telephone until he tells his secretary that he will no longer take her calls. She then phones his home at all hours, and then confronts him saying that she is pregnant and plans to keep the baby. Although he wants nothing to do with her, she argues that he must take responsibility. She shows up at his apartment (which is for sale) and meets Beth, feigning interest as a buyer. Later that night, he goes to her apartment to confront her about her actions which results in a violent scuffle. In response, she replies that she will not be ignored.
Dan moves his family to Bedford
, but this doesn't deter Alex. She has a tape recording delivered to him filled with verbal abuse. She stalks
him in a parking garage, pours acid on his vehicle, and follows him home one night to spy on him, Beth, and Ellen from the bushes in their yard; the sight of their family life literally makes her sick to her stomach. Her obsession escalates further. Dan approaches the police to apply for a restraining order
against her (claiming that it is "for a client"), to which the lieutenant claims that he cannot violate her rights without probable cause
and that the adulterer has to own up to his adultery.
At one point, while the Gallaghers are not home, Alex kills Ellen's pet rabbit, and puts it on their stove to boil
. After this, Dan tells Beth of the affair and Alex's pregnancy. Enraged, she asks him to leave. Before he goes, he calls Alex to tell her that Beth knows about the affair. She gets on the phone and warns her that if she persists, she will kill her. Without Dan and Beth's knowledge, Alex picks up Ellen at school and takes her to an amusement park, buying her ice cream as well as taking her on a roller coaster. Beth panics when she realizes that she doesn't know where Ellen is. She drives around searching and rear-ends a car stopped at an intersection and is slightly injured and hospitalized. The film cuts the scenes between the roller coaster ride and the car collision. Alex later drops Ellen off at the Gallaghers' house, asking Ellen for a kiss on the cheek.
Dan barges into Alex's apartment and attacks her, choking her and not too short of strangling her. He stops himself, but as he does she lunges at him with a kitchen knife. He overpowers her, but puts the knife down and leaves, with Alex leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling. He approaches the police about having her arrested, and they start searching for Alex to bring her in for taking Ellen. Following her release from the hospital, Beth forgives Dan and they return home.
Beth prepares a bath for herself and Alex suddenly appears, again with the kitchen knife. She starts to explain her resentment of her, nervously fidgeting (which causes her to cut her own leg) and then attacks her. Dan hears the screaming and runs in, wrestles Alex into the bathtub and seemingly drowns her. She suddenly emerges from the water, swinging the knife. Beth, who went searching for Dan's gun, shoots her in the chest, killing her. The final scene shows police cars outside the Gallaghers' house. As Dan finishes talking with the cops, he walks inside, where Beth is waiting for him. They embrace and proceed upstairs as the camera focuses on a picture of Dan, Beth, and Ellen.
, meanwhile, did not appreciate the depiction of Alex as a strong career woman who is at the same time profoundly psychotic. Feminist Susan Faludi
discussed the film in her book Backlash
, arguing that major changes had been made to the original plot in order to make Alex wholly negative, while Dan's carelessness and the lack of compassion and responsibility raised no discussion, except for a small number of fundamentalist men's groups who said that Dan was eventually forced to own up to his irresponsibility in that "everyone pays the piper".
The film has also had an effect on men. Glenn Close
was quoted in 2008 as saying, "Men still come up to me and say, 'You scared the shit out of me.' Sometimes they say, 'You saved my marriage.'"
The film grossed USD$156.6 million and was the second highest-grossing film of 1987 behind Three Men and a Baby
.
Much of the movie's plot was spoofed in the 1993 comedy Fatal Instinct
.
The term "bunny boiler
" has now passed into popular parlance as a term for a jealous mistress on the back of the infamous rabbit boiling scene from the movie.
s did not respond well.
This resulted in a three-week reshoot for the action-filled sequence in the bathroom and Alex's death by gunshot. Her shooting by Beth juxtaposes the two characters, with Alex becoming the victim and Beth taking violent action to protect her family.
In the 2002 Special Edition DVD
, Close comments that she had concerns reshooting the movie's ending because she believed, and was backed by psychiatrists, that the character would "self-destruct and commit suicide." She gave in on her concerns, however, and filmed the new sequence after having fought against the change for two weeks. The movie was initially released in Japan
with the original ending. The original ending first appeared on a special edition VHS
and Laserdisc
release by Paramount
in 1992, and was included on the film's DVD release a decade later.
on June 9, 2009 with several bonus features from the original 2002 "Special Collector's Edition" DVD, including commentary by director Adrian Lyne, cast and crew interviews, a look at the cultural phenomenon of the movie, a behind-the-scenes look, rehearsal footage, alternate ending, and original theatrical trailer (both in high definition
).
American Film Institute
recognition
. The character displays the behaviors of impulsivity, emotional lability, fear of abandonment, idealization/devaluation and self-mutilation consistent with the diagnosis, although generally aggression to the self rather than others is a more usual feature in borderline personality disorder.
As referenced in Orit Kamirs' Every Breath You Take: Stalking Narratives and the Law, "Glenn Close's character Alex is quite deliberately made to be an erotomaniac. Gelder reports that Glenn Close 'consulted three separate shrinks for an inner profile of her character, who is meant to be suffering from a form of obsessive condition known as de Clérambault's syndrome
' (Gelder 1990, 93 - 94)".
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
, directed by Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne
Adrian Lyne is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for directing films that focus on sexually charged characters and often uses natural light, a fog machine and other effects to create eroticized atmospheres...
and stars Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
, Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
and Anne Archer
Anne Archer
Anne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
. The film centers around a married man who has a weekend affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with a woman who refuses to allow it to end, resulting in emotional blackmail, stalking and an ensuing obsession on her part. The film was adapted by James Dearden and Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer is an American screenwriter, producer, director and novelist, known best for his best-selling novel The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and for directing the films Time After Time, two of the Star Trek feature film series, and the 1983 television movie The Day After.Meyer graduated from...
from an earlier short film by Dearden for British television, Diversion (1980).
Fatal Attraction was a hit, becoming the second highest grossing film of 1987 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and hugely popular internationally. Critics were enthusiastic about the film, and it received six Academy Award nominations, including that for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
, Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
for Close and Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
for Archer.
Plot
Dan Gallagher (Michael DouglasMichael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
) is a successful, happily-married New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
attorney living in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
when he meets Alexandra "Alex" Forrest (Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
), an editor for a publishing company, through business. While his wife, Beth (Anne Archer
Anne Archer
Anne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
), and daughter, Ellen (Ellen Hamilton Latzen
Ellen Hamilton Latzen
Ellen Hamilton Latzen is an American actress who appeared as a child actor in television and film roles from 1987 to 1997, including Family Ties, The Equalizer, Mr. North, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...
), are out of town for the weekend, he has a passionate affair with Alex. Though he thought it was understood to be a simple fling, she begins clinging to him.
Dan explains that he must go home and Alex cuts her wrists in a suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempt. He helps her to bandage them and later leaves. He thinks the affair is forgotten, but she shows up at various places to see him. She waits at his office one day to apologize and invite him to the opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, but he turns her down. She then continues to telephone until he tells his secretary that he will no longer take her calls. She then phones his home at all hours, and then confronts him saying that she is pregnant and plans to keep the baby. Although he wants nothing to do with her, she argues that he must take responsibility. She shows up at his apartment (which is for sale) and meets Beth, feigning interest as a buyer. Later that night, he goes to her apartment to confront her about her actions which results in a violent scuffle. In response, she replies that she will not be ignored.
Dan moves his family to Bedford
Bedford (town), New York
Bedford is a town in Westchester County, New York, USA. The population was 17,335 at the 2010 census.The Town of Bedford is located in the northeastern part of Westchester County, and contains the three hamlets of Bedford Hills, Bedford Village, and Katonah...
, but this doesn't deter Alex. She has a tape recording delivered to him filled with verbal abuse. She stalks
Stalking
Stalking is a term commonly used to refer to unwanted and obsessive attention by an individual or group to another person. Stalking behaviors are related to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person and/or monitoring them via the internet...
him in a parking garage, pours acid on his vehicle, and follows him home one night to spy on him, Beth, and Ellen from the bushes in their yard; the sight of their family life literally makes her sick to her stomach. Her obsession escalates further. Dan approaches the police to apply for a restraining order
Restraining order
A restraining order or order of protection is a form of legal injunction that requires a party to do, or to refrain from doing, certain acts. A party that refuses to comply with an order faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against her (claiming that it is "for a client"), to which the lieutenant claims that he cannot violate her rights without probable cause
Probable cause
In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to make an arrest, to conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest, etc. when criminal charges are being considered. It is also used to refer to the...
and that the adulterer has to own up to his adultery.
At one point, while the Gallaghers are not home, Alex kills Ellen's pet rabbit, and puts it on their stove to boil
Bunny Boiler
Bunny boiler is a pejorative term for an obsessive and dangerous person, referring to a former lover who stalks the person who spurned them. The term is normally used for a woman who stalks a former male lover or his new female partner.-Etymology:...
. After this, Dan tells Beth of the affair and Alex's pregnancy. Enraged, she asks him to leave. Before he goes, he calls Alex to tell her that Beth knows about the affair. She gets on the phone and warns her that if she persists, she will kill her. Without Dan and Beth's knowledge, Alex picks up Ellen at school and takes her to an amusement park, buying her ice cream as well as taking her on a roller coaster. Beth panics when she realizes that she doesn't know where Ellen is. She drives around searching and rear-ends a car stopped at an intersection and is slightly injured and hospitalized. The film cuts the scenes between the roller coaster ride and the car collision. Alex later drops Ellen off at the Gallaghers' house, asking Ellen for a kiss on the cheek.
Dan barges into Alex's apartment and attacks her, choking her and not too short of strangling her. He stops himself, but as he does she lunges at him with a kitchen knife. He overpowers her, but puts the knife down and leaves, with Alex leaning against the kitchen counter, smiling. He approaches the police about having her arrested, and they start searching for Alex to bring her in for taking Ellen. Following her release from the hospital, Beth forgives Dan and they return home.
Beth prepares a bath for herself and Alex suddenly appears, again with the kitchen knife. She starts to explain her resentment of her, nervously fidgeting (which causes her to cut her own leg) and then attacks her. Dan hears the screaming and runs in, wrestles Alex into the bathtub and seemingly drowns her. She suddenly emerges from the water, swinging the knife. Beth, who went searching for Dan's gun, shoots her in the chest, killing her. The final scene shows police cars outside the Gallaghers' house. As Dan finishes talking with the cops, he walks inside, where Beth is waiting for him. They embrace and proceed upstairs as the camera focuses on a picture of Dan, Beth, and Ellen.
Cast
- Michael DouglasMichael DouglasMichael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
as Dan Gallagher - Glenn CloseGlenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
as Alexandra "Alex" Forrest - Anne ArcherAnne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
as Beth Gallagher - Ellen Hamilton LatzenEllen Hamilton LatzenEllen Hamilton Latzen is an American actress who appeared as a child actor in television and film roles from 1987 to 1997, including Family Ties, The Equalizer, Mr. North, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation...
as Ellen Gallagher - Stuart PankinStuart PankinStuart Pankin is an American film and television actor.-Early life:Pankin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Columbia University.-Career:...
as Jimmy - Ellen FoleyEllen FoleyEllen Foley is an American singer and actress, who has appeared on Broadway and television, where she co-starred in the sitcom Night Court. In music, she has released three solo albums but is best known for her collaborations with the singer Meat Loaf.- Early life and career :Foley was born in St....
as Hildy - Fred GwynneFred GwynneFrederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles: Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny...
as Arthur - Meg MundyMeg MundyMargaret "Meg" Mundy is an English-American actress. She was born in London, but moved to the United States in 1921.Mundy is the daughter of the Australian opera singer Clytie Hine who studied at the Elder Conservatorium of Music in Adelaide, South Australia...
as Joan Rogerson - Tom Brennan as Howard Rogerson
- Lois SmithLois SmithLois Smith is an American actress whose career in theater, film, and television has spanned five decades.Smith was born Lois Arlene Humbert in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Carrie Davis and William Oren Humbert, who was a telephone company employee...
as Martha - Mike NussbaumMike NussbaumMichael Nussbaum is an American actor and director.From the start of his acting career in the 1950s, Nussbaum has appeared in many of David Mamet's plays both on and off Broadway, as well as in Chicago...
as Bob Drimmer - J. J. JohnstonJ. J. JohnstonJ.J. Johnston is an American theatre and film actor and boxing historian and writer.-Books:Johnston, a former amateur boxer, is the author of several books on the history of boxing....
as O'Rourke - Michael Arkin as Lieutenant
- Jane KrakowskiJane KrakowskiJane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...
as Babysitter
Reaction
After its release, Fatal Attraction engendered much discussion of the potential consequences of infidelity. FeministsFeminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, meanwhile, did not appreciate the depiction of Alex as a strong career woman who is at the same time profoundly psychotic. Feminist Susan Faludi
Susan Faludi
Susan C. Faludi is an American feminist, journalist and author. She won a Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism in 1991, for a report on the leveraged buyout of Safeway Stores, Inc., a report that the Pulitzer Prize committee thought showed the "human costs of high finance".-Biographical...
discussed the film in her book Backlash
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women is the title of a 1991 nonfiction book by Pulitzer Prize winner Susan Faludi, which argues for the existence of a media driven "backlash" against the feminist advances of the 1970s...
, arguing that major changes had been made to the original plot in order to make Alex wholly negative, while Dan's carelessness and the lack of compassion and responsibility raised no discussion, except for a small number of fundamentalist men's groups who said that Dan was eventually forced to own up to his irresponsibility in that "everyone pays the piper".
The film has also had an effect on men. Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
was quoted in 2008 as saying, "Men still come up to me and say, 'You scared the shit out of me.' Sometimes they say, 'You saved my marriage.'"
The film grossed USD$156.6 million and was the second highest-grossing film of 1987 behind Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby
Three Men and a Baby is a 1987 comedy film starring Tom Selleck, Steve Guttenberg, Nancy Travis , and Ted Danson, and directed by Leonard Nimoy, in his first non-Star Trek movie directorial role. It follows the mishaps and adventures of three bachelors as they attempt to adapt their lives to...
.
Much of the movie's plot was spoofed in the 1993 comedy Fatal Instinct
Fatal Instinct
Fatal Instinct is a 1993 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner. It parodies the erotic thriller movie genre, which at the time had reached its commercial peak. The film stars Armand Assante as a lawyer and cop named Ned Ravine who has an affair with a woman named Lola Cain played by Sean Young...
.
The term "bunny boiler
Bunny Boiler
Bunny boiler is a pejorative term for an obsessive and dangerous person, referring to a former lover who stalks the person who spurned them. The term is normally used for a woman who stalks a former male lover or his new female partner.-Etymology:...
" has now passed into popular parlance as a term for a jealous mistress on the back of the infamous rabbit boiling scene from the movie.
Alternate ending
Alex Forrest was originally scripted to commit suicide at the end of the movie by slashing her throat. Her plan was to make it look as if Dan had murdered her, for which he would be arrested. Although Beth is shown to possibly have a way to free him when finding a revealing tape that Alex had sent him and taking it to the police, test audienceTest screening
A test screening is a preview screening of a movie or television show before its general release in order to gauge audience reaction. Preview audiences are selected from a cross-section of the population, and are usually asked to complete a questionnaire or provide feedback in some form. Harold...
s did not respond well.
This resulted in a three-week reshoot for the action-filled sequence in the bathroom and Alex's death by gunshot. Her shooting by Beth juxtaposes the two characters, with Alex becoming the victim and Beth taking violent action to protect her family.
In the 2002 Special Edition DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Close comments that she had concerns reshooting the movie's ending because she believed, and was backed by psychiatrists, that the character would "self-destruct and commit suicide." She gave in on her concerns, however, and filmed the new sequence after having fought against the change for two weeks. The movie was initially released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with the original ending. The original ending first appeared on a special edition VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and Laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
release by Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
in 1992, and was included on the film's DVD release a decade later.
Blu-ray release
Paramount released Fatal Attraction on Blu-ray DiscBlu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
on June 9, 2009 with several bonus features from the original 2002 "Special Collector's Edition" DVD, including commentary by director Adrian Lyne, cast and crew interviews, a look at the cultural phenomenon of the movie, a behind-the-scenes look, rehearsal footage, alternate ending, and original theatrical trailer (both in high definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
).
Awards
The film received six Academy Award nominations:- Best Picture
- Best Actress in a Leading Role - Glenn CloseGlenn CloseGlenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Anne ArcherAnne ArcherAnne Archer is an American actress who has performed in feature films, television, and stage and was named Miss Golden Globe in 1971. Among her best known roles is that of Beth Gallagher in the 1987 movie Fatal Attraction, for which she received a nomination for an Academy Award.-Career:Archer's...
- Best Director - Adrian LyneAdrian LyneAdrian Lyne is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for directing films that focus on sexually charged characters and often uses natural light, a fog machine and other effects to create eroticized atmospheres...
- Best Film Editing - Peter E. BergerPeter E. BergerPeter E. Berger was a film editor. He won the 1989 BAFTA for Best Editing for Fatal Attraction with Michael Kahn. He also received Academy Award and American Cinema Editors nominations in the previous year for that work....
and Michael KahnMichael KahnMichael Kahn is the name of:*Michael Kahn *Michael Kahn , Washington D.C. based Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company... - Best Adapted Screenplay - James DeardenJames DeardenJames Dearden is an English film director and screenwriter, the son of acclaimed English film maker Basil Dearden. He directed seven films between 1977 and 1999...
American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
recognition
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 ThrillsAFI's 100 Years... 100 ThrillsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills is a list of the top 100 heart-pounding movies in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 12, 2001, during a CBS special hosted by Harrison Ford....
- #28 - AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and VillainsAFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and VillainsAFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest screen characters chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
: Alex Forrest - Villain - #7
Psychiatric diagnosis
The film's female lead has been discussed by psychiatrists and film experts, and has been used as a film illustration for the condition borderline personality disorderBorderline personality disorder
Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
. The character displays the behaviors of impulsivity, emotional lability, fear of abandonment, idealization/devaluation and self-mutilation consistent with the diagnosis, although generally aggression to the self rather than others is a more usual feature in borderline personality disorder.
As referenced in Orit Kamirs' Every Breath You Take: Stalking Narratives and the Law, "Glenn Close's character Alex is quite deliberately made to be an erotomaniac. Gelder reports that Glenn Close 'consulted three separate shrinks for an inner profile of her character, who is meant to be suffering from a form of obsessive condition known as de Clérambault's syndrome
Erotomania
Erotomania is a type of delusion in which the affected person believes that another person, usually a stranger or famous person, is in love with him or her. The illness often occurs during psychosis, especially in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar mania...
' (Gelder 1990, 93 - 94)".
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(1990, Rob Reiner) - Basic InstinctBasic InstinctBasic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
(1992, Paul Verhoeven) - Poison IvyPoison Ivy (film)Poison Ivy is a 1992 thriller and drama film directed by Katt Shea. Andy Ruben transformed Melissa Goddard's story into the screenplay. It stars Drew Barrymore, Sara Gilbert, Tom Skerritt and Cheryl Ladd. The original music score is composed by David Michael Frank. The film was shot in Los...
(1992, Andy Ruben, Katt Shea Ruben) - Single White FemaleSingle White FemaleSingle White Female is a 1992 American erotic thriller based on John Lutz's novel SWF Seeks Same. The film stars Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh and is directed by Barbet Schroeder.-Plot:...
(1992, Barbet Schroeder) - The Crush (1993, Alan Shapiro)
- Fatal InstinctFatal InstinctFatal Instinct is a 1993 comedy film directed by Carl Reiner. It parodies the erotic thriller movie genre, which at the time had reached its commercial peak. The film stars Armand Assante as a lawyer and cop named Ned Ravine who has an affair with a woman named Lola Cain played by Sean Young...
(1993, Carl Reiner) - Pyaar Tune Kya KiyaPyaar Tune Kya KiyaPyaar Tune Kya Kiya is a 2001 produced by Ram Gopal Varma and starring Fardeen Khan, Urmila Matondkar and Sonali Kulkarni. The soundtrack was composed by Sandeep Chowta and the songs are sung by Sonu Nigam, Sukhwinder Singh, Asha Bhosle, Alka Yagnik, Alisha Chinai, K. S. Chitra and Sowmya Raoh...
(2001, Rajat Mukherjee) - SwimfanSwimfanSwimfan, also known as Fanatica, is a 2002 erotic thriller film directed by John Polson and written by Charles Bohl and Phillip Schneider. Considered a Fatal Attraction for a teenage audience, the film stars Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen, and Shiri Appleby.-Plot:Ben Cronin is a a star swimmer...
(2002, John Polson) - ObsessedObsessed (2009 film)Obsessed is a 2009 American thriller film directed by Steve Shill. The Screen Gems production stars Idris Elba, Beyoncé Knowles and Ali Larter...
(2009, Steve Shill) - The HousemaidThe Housemaid (2010 film)The Housemaid is a 2010 South Korean melodramatic thriller film directed by Im Sang-soo. The story focuses on Eun-yi, played by Jeon Do-yeon, who becomes involved in a destructive love triangle while working as a housemaid for an upper-class family. Other cast members include Lee Jung-jae, Seo...
(2010, Im Sang-soo)