Fatal Attraction (Special Collector's Edition) (1987)

Variety
"...The screws are tightened expertly in this suspenseful meller....Glenn Close throws herself into the physical abandon of the early reels with surprising relish, and becomes genuinely frightening..." 09/16/1987

Los Angeles Times
"...Glenn Close is infernally brilliant....Lyne's direction here is the tightest and most effective of his career..." 09/18/1987 p.C1

Premiere
3 stars out of 4 -- "[An] iconic 80s movie....Close gives a career performance..." 06/08/2009

TV Guide Online 8 of 10
...the performances are excellent. Playing against type, Close is overtly libidinous, while at the same time making her obsession and slide into madness convincing and pathetic. Douglas also gives a performance of reasonable depth, and Archer does a nice turn as his implicitly frigid but alluring wife.
 
Apollo Movie Guide 9 of 10
Overflowing with artistic flair and piercing sexuality, director Adrian Lyne's Fatal Attraction is a psychological horror film that dwells on reality instead of fantasy. It's a film that broaches the subject of relationships and casual sex with precise candour and eerie truth. Since its theatrical release in 1987, Fatal Attraction has become a pop-culture reference synonymous with psychologically disturbed dating partners and the phenomenon of "stalking". What makes it such a hard-hitting film is the reality that most relationships end on a sour note, and chances are that you or someone you know has come across people like the ones in this movie. It's the kind of film people talk about after they watch it, and its themes have been infamously copied in numerous cinematic interpretations since, including, Mr. Vincent, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, The Crush and even Scream, while the story actually stems from Clint Eastwood's Play Misty For Me and co-writer James Dearden's original British short film...Douglas is effective as Dan. His character is not a decent man, but that's what makes the role work. The fact that we despise him most of the time for treating his wonderful wife so horribly is a sign of great acting as Douglas envelops all that is callous and despicable about his role...Lyne (9 1/2 Weeks, Indecent Proposal, Unfaithful) pulls this film off in grand fashion, utilizing great style and flair, as his ability to draw tension from the slightest noise or image is an attribute well-suited for this film. Also, the refined soundtrack by Maurice Jarre adds just the right amount of audible musing without becoming overbearing...While this film is worthy of praise and criticism, its power is undeniable, and its message is timeless. Fatal Attraction is only as profound as its first impressions, but if you look close enough, you might just realize that life is enough to scare anyone. - Patrick Byrne
 
Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
"Fatal Attraction" is a spellbinding psychological thriller that could have been a great movie if the filmmakers had not thrown character and plausibility to the winds in the last minutes to give us their version of a grown-up "Friday the 13th."...Because the good things in the movie - including the performances - are so very good, it's a shame that the film's potential for greatness was so blatantly compromised. The movie is so right for so long that you can almost feel the moment when the script goes click and sells out...The early and middle passages of the movie are handled with convincing psychological realism; James Dearden's dialogue sounds absolutely right, especially the way he allows the Close character to bait her hook with honeyed come-ons and then set it with jealousy, possessiveness and finally guilt (after she says, inevitably, that she is pregnant). With the exception of the silly sex scenes, "Fatal Attraction" never steps wrong until its third act - and then it steps very wrong..."Fatal Attraction" was produced by Stanley R. Jaffe and Sherry Lansing, and it seems to repeat a pattern for them. In 1984 they made "Firstborn," with Teri Garr as a divorced mother who falls in love with Peter Weller as a man who is very wrong for her family. The first two-thirds of that film also are psychologically sound and dramatically fascinating, and then it degenerates into a canned formula of violence and an idiotic chase scene. Now they throw away the ending of "Fatal Attraction."...What's the matter here? Do they lack the courage to follow their convictions through to the end? They seem to have a knack for finding thoughtful, sensitive screenplays about interesting adults and then adding gruesome Hollywood horror formulas to them. "Fatal Attraction" clearly had the potential to be an Oscar contender. I walked out feeling cheated and betrayed. - Roger Ebert