Fatal Attraction (1987) (Paramount Presents) [Blu-Ray]

Director: Adrian Lyne

Cast: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer

Release Date: April 21, 2020

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 7.5/10

Synopsis:

Stylish and sexy, FATAL ATTRACTION took audiences to terrifying new heights with its thrilling story of a casual encounter gone terribly awry. Newly remastered from a 4K film transfer supervised by director Adrian Lyne, this box office smash was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actress (Glenn Close).

The thrilling 80’s classic ‘Fatal Attraction’ tells the tale of a hardworking family man who has an affair with a beautiful stranger, only to discover she has no intention of ever letting him go and will seemingly go to any lengths necessary to make sure she keeps him. Directed by Adrian Lyne (Flashdance) and showcasing a powerful cast led by Michael Douglas and Glenn Close (even earning Close an Oscar nomination), ‘Fatal Attraction’ was initially unleashed upon unsuspecting moviegoers in 1987 and earned six Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Perhaps most impressive of all is just how remarkably well it holds up as a chilling, steamy and cautionary thriller more than three decades later.

The first entry in Paramount Home Entertainment’s new collectible ‘Paramount Presents’ numbered Blu-ray lineup of film classics celebrating noteworthy titles in Paramount’s expansive library with new transfers, collectible packaging and more; ‘Fatal Attraction’ kicks off the new lineup of famous films from over the decades. A tense, unpleasant and eerily plausible tale of desire and one unfortunate mistake that sets off a terrifying chain of events, shattering the world of one man and his family, the multiple Oscar nominated 1987 thriller ‘Fatal Attraction’ is a well-made classic that still delivers the creepy goods after more than thirty years; making a nice first installment in Paramount’s new line of film classics.

This new Paramount Presents Blu-ray release of ‘Fatal Attraction’ arrives sporting a quite gorgeous new high definition video presentation from a new 4K film transfer that was supervised by director Adrian Lyne, accompanied by a solid, albeit somewhat lackluster high definition audio presentation in order to offer the popular thriller in quality that shouldn’t disappoint the film’s diehard fans. Unfortunately, I don’t own any previous editions of the film (and in fact this release was also somehow my first checking out the movie itself) so I’m unable to offer any direct comparisons to the various prior Blu-ray editions released over the years. But for those hoping for a release with a new transfer, along with anyone who might be a fan of the film but doesn’t yet own it on Blu-ray, this release should definitely be worth picking up at some point.

Overall, the new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Fatal Attraction’ brings the unforgettable 1987 thriller starring Michael Douglas and Glenn Close to Blu-ray once again with a newly remastered film transfer, a new extra and collectible packaging; serving as the first entry in Paramount Home Entertainment’s new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line showcasing various classics from their expansive library over the decades. Many fans of ‘Fatal Attraction’ who already own a previous Blu-ray edition or two may want to determine whether the collectible packaging, new film transfer and that new bonus feature justify a double (or even triple) dip, but this new Blu-ray release is highly recommended for those fans who don’t already own this classic on Blu-ray, as well as the collectors intent on owning all of these numbered ‘Paramount Presents’ collectible Blu-ray releases included in the new line.

VIDEO:

The new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Fatal Attraction’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation of the film from a new 4K film transfer supervised by director Adrian Lyne, with a 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio. This newly remastered video presentation looks quite nice as a whole, providing a smooth, clean and nicely detailed presentation that still retains its share of grain, pops and other welcome elements representative of its source material. It holds up great even during the darkly lit and fast moving moments, never causing anything onscreen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, this is a pretty great new high definition video presentation of the classic thriller that’s almost certain to please fans.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a 5.1 channel Dolby TrueHD soundtrack. This multichannel soundtrack isn’t exceptionally aggressive and often doesn’t expand a great deal into the surround channels, although it does deliver a clean, crisp and highly competent audio presentation throughout that never falters or disappoints; mostly seeming to keep things limited as a result of the movie itself and not by any fault of this audio presentation. Based on what I was able to uncover, it appears this certainly isn’t the first Blu-ray edition of ‘Fatal Attraction’ to feature a 5.1 Dolby TrueHD audio presentation, although due to the fact that I don’t own any other releases of the movie I once again can’t offer any confirmation on whether it’s the same audio presentation as prior releases or not, although it wouldn’t be the slightest bit surprising. Overall, this 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack may not be anything overly memorable or extraordinary, but it definitely holds up in every way necessary and does its job quite well.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray release of ‘Fatal Attraction’ comes with collectible packaging which will be a standard for this Blu-ray line; featuring a slipcase that opens up with the original theatrical poster for the movie, plus more. A ‘Beauty Shot’ image of the packaging from the studio is also included below. As far as the disc’s bonus offerings are concerned, this new Blu-ray release features one brand new extra: ‘Filmmaker Focus: Adrian Lyne on Fatal Attraction’ with the director reflecting on the film and its impact (running approximately 8 minutes in length), in addition to some archival bonus features including an ‘Audio Commentary with Director Adrian Lyne’, plus the film’s ‘Alternate Ending with an Introduction by Adrian Lyne’ (running approximately 12 minutes) and ‘Rehearsal Footage’ (approximately 7 minutes). The film’s ‘Original Theatrical Trailer’ (approximately 90 seconds) is also included.

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 7.5/10

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‘Fatal Attraction’; Celebrate the 1987 Classic with the first entry in the new ‘Paramount Presents’ Blu-ray line – Now Available to Own from Paramount Home Entertainment

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