Fatal Attraction appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Taken from a new 4K transfer, this became a more than satisfactory presentation.
Sharpness appeared positive, as only minor instances of softness occurred. Some of those related to 80s film stocks, while others came from photographic choices. Either way, the image largely appeared well-defined and concise.
I noticed no signs of jagged edges or shimmering, and edge haloes remained absent. Grain felt natural, and I saw no instances of print flaws.
Although Attraction maintained a fairly subdued palette, the various colors appeared well-rendered. Sporadic instances of brighter tones looked appealing, and the rest of the semi-somber presentation appeared appropriate for the story.
Blacks were tight and dark, and shadows tended to appear appropriately dense as well. Even with the movie’s inherent “80s-ness”, this became a quality transfer.
I also felt fairly pleased with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack of Attraction, though for the most part, the soundfield offered a subdued affair. Music showed nice stereo imaging, and the movie featured a decent sense of ambience.
Not too many scenes broadened beyond that general feeling of environment, but the track opened up to a reasonable degree when appropriate. Various street/nature scenes worked well, and a club sequence became the most engaging aspect of the mix.
Audio quality felt good. Speech seemed natural, and music showed positive clarity and range.
Effects appeared clear and accurate, though they also never stood out as especially memorable. Though nothing here dazzled, the mix worked well for a character drama.
How did the 2020 “Paramount Presents” Blu-ray compare to the original 2009 version? Because that disc came with problematic visuals, I expected improvements here.
And I got them, as the 2020 BD offered obvious upgrades in terms of picture. The 2020 disc looked better defined and cleaner, and it also came without the edge haloes, muddy blacks and dull colors of its predecessor.
Though I anticipated both discs would boast the same audio, to my surprise the track with the 2020 release felt more expansive and dynamic. Given the nature of the source, this didn’t turn into a huge step up, but I thought the 2020 soundtrack came across as more engaging and higher quality.
The 2020 Blu-ray mixes old and new extras, and we launch with an audio commentary from director Adrian Lyne. He offers a running, screen-specific look at story/characters, cast and performances, music, editing, sets and locations, and reactions to the film.
For the most part, Lyne brings a pretty good commentary. He can simply narrate the movie a little more than I’d like, but overall, he gives us a fairly useful overview of production topics.
New to the 2020 Blu-ray, Filmmaker Focus runs seven minutes, 43 seconds and provides more notes from Lyne. He gives us some retrospective thoughts about the flick in this mildly interesting chat.
Next comes seven minutes, nine minutes of Rehearsal Footage. One part shows Douglas and Close together, while the other pairs Archer with an unnamed off-screen performer as Dan. Both are fun to see.
In addition to the film’s trailer, we conclude with an Alternate Ending. The clip fills 12 minutes, four seconds and shows a less crowd-pleasing finale.
I prefer the “Alternate Ending”, as it gives the movie a darker conclusion, one that actually seems to make Dan pay for his actions. I get why the studio opted for something more rousing, but this ending works better for the story.
Note that the 2020 Blu-ray drops three featurettes from the prior release. It perplexes me that we lose these, as they offer good information.
Back in 1987, Fatal Attraction became a major critical and commercial hit. Today it seems like a relic, misogynistic and out of whack with reality. The Blu-ray boasts erratic picture and audio as well as a small set of bonus materials. Attraction doesn’t hold up well, but fans will appreciate the visual and sonic improvements on this Blu-ray, even if it loses some supplements from the original disc.
To rate this film visit the original review of FATAL ATTRACTION