A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family.
- Nominated for 6 Oscars
- 10 wins & 24 nominations total
- Ellen Gallagher
- (as Ellen Hamilton Latzen)
- Fuselli
- (as Sam J. Coppola)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaGlenn Close still has the knife she used in the movie hanging in her kitchen, stating: "It's beautiful, made of wood and paper. It's a work of art! And it's nice for our guests to see it. It lets them know they can't stay forever."
- GoofsWhile Dan is in his attic study listening to a tape, Beth can be seen reflected in the window, waiting just out of shot for her cue.
- Quotes
Telephone Operator: Operator. May I help you?
Alex Forrest: Operator, I've been trying to get 555-812-9212? The recording says its been disconnected.
Telephone Operator: Just a moment please.
[pause]
Telephone Operator: I'm sorry, the number's been changed to an unlisted number.
Alex Forrest: Operator, this is a real emergency .You need to give me that number.
Telephone Operator: I'm sorry. We're not allowed to give out that information.
Alex Forrest: Well, fuck you!
Telephone Operator: My place or yours?
[Alex slams phone]
- Crazy creditsBarbara Harris is sometimes credited under the name Barbara Iley. In the final credits here, under 'Party Guests,' she is credited under both names.
- Alternate versionsIn the network version shown on TNT in the scene where Alex phones Dan at 2:13 a.m., there is additional dialogue between Dan and Beth after Dan hangs up the phone that is not in the theatrical/DVD version. Beth asks, "Who in the hell was that?" Dan says that it was a client calling and that this happens when you're a lawyer (being called at odd hours). Beth says that it's the middle of the night, still wondering why someone would call at 2:15 a.m. Dan justifies this by saying it's only 11:00 or so in L.A.
- SoundtracksSelections from Puccini's Madama Butterfly
Music by Giacomo Puccini (as Puccini)
Performed by Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, and Christa Ludwig
Conducted by Herbert von Karajan (as Herbert Von Karajan)
Courtesy of London Records, a division of Polygram Classics, Inc.
The story itself (of the spurned woman seeking revenge) is hardly original, and even the twists and turns seem typical and predictable, and more than a few things in the story made little sense. First, given that Gallagher seemed to have a good relationship with his wife Beth (Ann Archer) and a happy family life as the father of Ellen (Ellen Hamilton Latzen) it seemed to me that he fell too quickly and too easily under the spell of Alex. Their relationship didn't come across as believable to me. Then, setting up the last confrontation of the movie, Gallagher is shown locking the doors to his house, with his body language suggesting that he had forgotten to lock them before. What? After everything he and his family have been through at Alex's hands, he didn't think to keep the doors locked at all times?! How did this guy get through law school? Finally, the ending was predictable, and for about the 914th time in the movies we see a villain who seems to be dead come back to life. There's no shock to this anymore, although I suppose when "Fatal Attraction" was actually released (in 1987) it was actually only the 674th time this had happened. In short, there really wasn't much imagination at the end.
This movie is all right as a way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon, but except for a few scenes (the thought of the boiling pot in the kitchen - and its contents - will remain in your mind after the movie's over) this is hardly edge of your seat stuff. Watch it for the excellent performance by Close, though.
6/10
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Fatal Attraction
- Filming locations
- 135 Mianus River Road, Bedford, New York, USA(exteriors: Gallagher country-house)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $14,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $156,645,693
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $7,602,740
- Sep 20, 1987
- Gross worldwide
- $320,145,693
- Runtime1 hour 59 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1