Editing Fatal Attraction (section)

==Reception==
===Box office ===
''Fatal Attraction'' grossed $156.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $163.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $320.1 million.<ref name="boxofficemojo"/><ref>{{cite The Numbers|id=Fatal-Attraction|title=Fatal Attraction|access-date=December 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231121175915/https://m.the-numbers.com/movie/Fatal-Attraction|archive-date=November 21, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

The film spent eight weeks at [[List of 1987 box office number-one films in the United States|number one in the United States]], where it was the second-highest-grossing film of 1987, behind ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Abramovitch|first=Seth|date=April 30, 2023|title=Hollywood Flashback: In 1987, 'Fatal Attraction' Would Not Be Ignored|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fatal-attraction-glenn-close-michael-douglas-box-office-1235401888/|url-status=live|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028110628/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/fatal-attraction-glenn-close-michael-douglas-box-office-1235401888/|archive-date=October 28, 2023|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, it grossed a record £2,048,421 in its opening week and spent ten weeks at [[List of 1988 box office number-one films in the United Kingdom|number one]].<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|title=The Biggest Opening Week Ever in the UK and Ireland (advertisement)|pages=8–9|date=30 January 1988}}</ref> In Australia, it was the first non-Australian film to gross A$2 million in its opening week, second to ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|title=Records Fall to Fatal Attraction|page=11|date=16 January 1988|last=Urban|first=Andrew}}</ref> ''Fatal Attraction'' eventually became the highest-grossing film worldwide in 1987.<ref>{{cite news|last=Scott|first=Ryan|date=March 19, 2022|title=Tales From The Box Office: How Fatal Attraction Became 1987's Biggest Movie|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/804068/tales-from-the-box-office-how-fatal-attraction-became-1987s-biggest-movie/|url-status=live|work=[[/Film]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930215439/https://www.slashfilm.com/804068/tales-from-the-box-office-how-fatal-attraction-became-1987s-biggest-movie/|archive-date=September 30, 2023|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref>

=== Nominations ===
''Fatal Attraction'' received 6 nominations at the [[60th Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]] (for Lyne), [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] (Close) and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] (Archer), but failed to win any. At the [[42nd British Academy Film Awards]], the film won [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]], while earning nominations for [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] (Douglas) and [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] (Archer). It also received four nominations at the [[45th Golden Globe Awards]], including [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]], [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director]] (Lyne), [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]] (Close) and [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]] (Archer).

===Critical response===
{{Rotten Tomatoes prose|74|6.8|61|consensus=A potboiler in the finest sense, ''Fatal Attraction'' is a sultry, juicy thriller that's hard to look away from once it gets going.|ref=yes|access-date=December 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929224203/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1007141-fatal_attraction|archive-date=September 29, 2023|url-status=live}} {{Metacritic film prose|67|16|ref=yes|access-date=December 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103230949/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/fatal-attraction/|archive-date=November 3, 2023|url-status=live}} Audiences polled by ''[[CinemaScore]]'' gave the film an average grade of "A" on an F to A+ scale.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-12-20|title=Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search|url=https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/|access-date=2020-07-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/|archive-date=2018-12-20}}</ref>

[[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' lauded Lyne's direction, writing that he "takes a brilliantly manipulative approach to what might have been a humdrum subject and shapes a soap opera of exceptional power. Most of that power comes directly from [[visual imagery]], for Mr. Lyne is well versed in making anything{{snd}}a person, a room, a pile of dishes in a kitchen sink{{snd}}seem tactile, rich and sexy."<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|date=September 18, 1987|title=Film: 'Fatal Attraction' With Douglas and Close|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/movies/film-fatal-attraction-with-douglas-and-close.html|url-status=live|work=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406083051/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/18/movies/film-fatal-attraction-with-douglas-and-close.html|archive-date=April 6, 2023|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref> [[Richard Schickel]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' stated that Close and Douglas "gives the film some of its fatal attractiveness. So do James Dearden's plausible, nicely observant script, Adrian Lyne's elegantly unforced direction, and Close's beautifully calibrated descent into lunacy. Together they bring horror home to a place where the grownup moviegoer actually lives."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Schickel|first=Richard|date=September 28, 1987|title=Cinema: The War Between the Mates|url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965628,00.html|url-status=live|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419210722/https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965628,00.html|archive-date=April 19, 2019|access-date=December 17, 2023}}</ref>

Author [[Susan Faludi]] discussed the film in ''[[Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women]]'', 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 men's groups who said that Dan was eventually forced to own up to his irresponsibility in that "everyone pays the piper".<ref>See "Fatal and Foetal Visions: The Backlash in the Movies", Chapter 5 of ''[[Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women]]'', published by Chatto & Windus, 1991</ref> 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.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite news | title = Close says boiling that bunny saved marriages | url = https://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article79973.ece/ | work = [[The Times]] | date = 2008-01-06 | access-date = 2010-07-16 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180418032741/https://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article79973.ece/ | archive-date = 2018-04-18 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Critic [[Barry Norman]] expressed sympathy for feminists who were frustrated by the film, criticized its "over-the-top" ending and called it inferior to [[Clint Eastwood]]'s ''[[Play Misty for Me]]'', which has a similar plot. Nonetheless, he declared it "strong and very well made, excellently played by the three main characters and neatly written."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9nhrRYAHMs|title=Barry Norman Reviews Fatal Attraction|date=18 June 2018 |via=www.youtube.com|access-date=2019-04-28|archive-date=2019-04-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404134347/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9nhrRYAHMs|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Fatal Attraction'' has been described as a [[neo-noir]] film by some authors.<ref>[[Alain Silver|Silver, Alain]]; Ward, Elizabeth; eds. (1992). ''Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style'' (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: [[The Overlook Press]]. {{ISBN|0-87951-479-5}}</ref>

''Fatal Attraction'' was the first American film to be distributed by [[United International Pictures]] in South Korea. In September 1988, Korean film distributors protested this release by "releasing snakes, setting fire in the theatres, and tearing off the screens."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cultural and creative sectors |url=https://www.oecd.org/country/korea/thematic-focus/cultural-and-creative-sectors-1573f603/ |access-date=2022-05-30 |website=OECD |language=en |archive-date=May 30, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530120942/https://www.oecd.org/country/korea/thematic-focus/cultural-and-creative-sectors-1573f603/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Psychiatrists and film experts have analyzed the character of Alex Forrest and used her as an illustration of [[borderline personality disorder]].<ref name="RobinsonFG">{{cite book | last = Robinson | first = David J. | title = The Field Guide to Personality Disorders | publisher = Rapid Psychler Press | year = 1999 | pages = 113 | isbn = 978-0-9680324-6-6 }}</ref> She exhibits impulsive behavior, emotional instability, a fear of abandonment, frequent episodes of intense anger, [[self-harm]]ing, and shifting between [[idealization and devaluation]] of others, all of which are characteristic of the disorder. The degree to which she displays these traits is not necessarily typical, and aggression in people with borderline personality disorder is often directed toward themselves rather than others.<ref name="illness">{{cite book | title = Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathology |vauthors=Wedding D, Boyd MA, Niemiec RM | year = 2005 | publisher = Hogrefe | location = Cambridge, MA | isbn = 978-0-88937-292-4 | page = 59 }}</ref> [[Slant Magazine]] named her role one the "15 Famous Movie Psychopaths", and [[WhatCulture]] included it in top "10 Most Convincing Movie [[Psychopathy|Psychopath]] Performances"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill |first=Ryan |date=2014-10-13 |title=10 Most Convincing Movie Psychopath Performances |url=https://whatculture.com/film/10-most-convincing-movie-psychopath-performances |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=WhatCulture.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Osenlund |first=R. Kurt |date=2012-10-13 |title=15 Famous Movie Psychopaths |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/15-famous-movie-psychopaths/ |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Slant Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

As referenced in Orit Kamir's ''Every Breath You Take: Stalking Narratives and the Law'', "Glenn Close's character Alex is quite deliberately made to be an [[erotomania]]c." Gelder reports that Close "consulted three separate shrinks for an inner profile of her character, who is meant to be suffering from a form of an obsessive condition known as [[de Clérambault's syndrome]]" (Gelder 1990, 93–94).<ref>{{cite book | last = Kamir | first = Orit | title = Every Breath You Take: Stalking Narratives and the Law | publisher = University of Michigan Press | year = 2001 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/everybreathyouta00kami/page/n169 256] | isbn = 978-0-472-11089-6 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/everybreathyouta00kami }}</ref> The term "[[wikt:bunny boiler|bunny boiler]]" is used to describe an obsessive, spurned woman, deriving from the scene where it is discovered that Alex has boiled the family's pet rabbit.<ref>{{cite news|last=Singh|first=Anita|title=''Fatal Attraction'': My sympathy for the bunny-boiler|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/10712272/Fatal-Attraction-My-sympathy-for-the-bunny-boiler.html|newspaper=The Telegraph|access-date=20 July 2014|archive-date=11 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811005614/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/10712272/Fatal-Attraction-My-sympathy-for-the-bunny-boiler.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The meaning and origin of the expression: Bunny boiler|url=https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/bunny-boiler.html|website=phrases.org.uk|access-date=2020-12-10|archive-date=2020-11-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125085907/https://phrases.org.uk/meanings/bunny-boiler.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fretts|first=Bruce|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/movies/fatal-attraction-oral-history.html|title=''Fatal Attraction'' Oral History: Rejected Stars and a Foul Rabbit|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 14, 2017|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-date=July 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722020730/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/14/movies/fatal-attraction-oral-history.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Alexander|first=Bryan|url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/09/14/fatal-attraction-30-glenn-close-has-empathy-her-bunny-boiler-alex-forrest/664546001/|title=''Fatal Attraction'' at 30: Glenn Close has empathy for her bunny boiler Alex Forrest|work=USA Today|date=December 17, 2019|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112024914/https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/09/14/fatal-attraction-30-glenn-close-has-empathy-her-bunny-boiler-alex-forrest/664546001/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Accolades and honors ===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| rowspan="6"| [[60th Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Stanley R. Jaffe]] and [[Sherry Lansing]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="6"| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1988 |title=The 60th Academy Awards (1988) Nominees and Winners |publisher=[[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]] |access-date=July 31, 2011 |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004300/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1988 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| [[Adrian Lyne]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]]
| [[Glenn Close]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]]
| [[Anne Archer]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| [[James Dearden]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Michael Kahn (film editor)|Michael Kahn]] and [[Peter E. Berger]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[American Cinema Editors|American Cinema Editors Awards]]
| [[American Cinema Editors Award for Best Edited Feature Film – Dramatic|Best Edited Feature Film]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[Casting Society of America#Artios Awards|Artios Awards]]
| [[Artios Award for Outstanding Achievement in Casting – Big Budget Feature (Drama)|Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama]]
| Risa Bramon Garcia and Billy Hopkins
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/1988 |title=1988 Artios Awards |publisher=[[Casting Society of America]] |access-date=February 7, 2019 |archive-date=January 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190105201007/http://www.castingsociety.com/awards/artios/1988 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers|ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards]]
| Top Box Office Films
| [[Maurice Jarre]]
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[42nd British Academy Film Awards|British Academy Film Awards]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Actor in a Leading Role]]
| [[Michael Douglas]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1989/film |title=BAFTA Awards: Film in 1989 |publisher=[[British Academy Film Awards]] |access-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=April 8, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220430/http://awards.bafta.org/award/1989/film |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]]
| Anne Archer
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]]
| Michael Kahn and Peter E. Berger
| {{won}}
|-
| rowspan="2"| [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]]
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor|Best Foreign Actor]]
| Michael Douglas
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="2"| 
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress|Best Foreign Actress]]
| Glenn Close
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[40th Directors Guild of America Awards|Directors Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature Film|Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures]]
| Adrian Lyne
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1987.aspx?value=1987 |title=40th Annual DGA Awards |publisher=[[Directors Guild of America Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |archive-date=February 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216175630/http://www.dga.org/Awards/History/1980s/1987.aspx?value=1987 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[DVD Exclusive Awards]]
| Original Retrospective Documentary, Library Release
| Jon Barbour
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| rowspan="4"| [[45th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama|Best Motion Picture – Drama]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center" rowspan="4"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/fatal-attraction/ |title=Fatal Attraction |publisher=[[Golden Globe Awards]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |archive-date=June 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614093907/https://www.goldenglobes.com/film/fatal-attraction |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama|Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama]]
| Glenn Close
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture]]
| Anne Archer
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Director|Best Director – Motion Picture]]
| Adrian Lyne
| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="3"| [[Goldene Kamera]]
| colspan="2"| Golden Screen
| {{won}}
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 
|-
| Best International Actor
| Michael Douglas
| {{won}}
|-
| Best International Actress
| Glenn Close
| {{won}}
|-
| [[31st Annual Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Album of Original Instrumental Background Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television]]
| Maurice Jarre
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/31st-annual-grammy-awards |title=31st Annual GRAMMY Awards |publisher=[[Grammy Awards]] |access-date=May 1, 2011 |archive-date=July 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713084323/https://www.grammy.com/awards/31st-annual-grammy-awards |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Japan Academy Film Prize]]
| colspan="2"| [[Japan Academy Film Prize for Outstanding Foreign Language Film|Outstanding Foreign Language Film]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[National Board of Review Awards 1987|National Board of Review Awards]]
| colspan="2"| [[National Board of Review: Top Ten Films|Top Ten Films]]
| {{draw|7th Place}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1987/ |title=1987 Award Winners |publisher=[[National Board of Review]] |access-date=July 5, 2021 |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227021459/https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1987/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[14th People's Choice Awards|People's Choice Awards]]
| colspan="2"| Favorite Dramatic Motion Picture
| {{won}}
| align="center"| 
|-
| [[15th Saturn Awards|Saturn Awards]]
| [[Saturn Award for Best Writing|Best Writing]]
| rowspan="2"| James Dearden
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html |title=Past Saturn Awards |publisher=[[Saturn Awards]] |access-date=May 7, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914184217/http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html |archive-date=September 14, 2008 |df=mdy}}</ref>
|-
| [[40th Writers Guild of America Awards|Writers Guild of America Awards]]
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium]]
| {{nom}}
| align="center"| <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |title=Awards Winners |publisher=[[Writers Guild of America Awards]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121205095022/http://www.wga.org/awards/awardssub.aspx?id=1551 |archive-date=December 5, 2012 |access-date=June 6, 2010}}</ref>
|}

'''[[American Film Institute]] recognition'''
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills]]—#28<ref>{{cite web|title=America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies|url=https://www.afi.com/Docs/tvevents/pdf/thrills100.pdf|publisher=AFI|access-date=14 February 2012|archive-date=14 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514033323/http://www.afi.com/Docs/tvevents/pdf/thrills100.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains]]: Alex Forrest—Villain—#7<ref>{{cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-heroes-villians/|publisher=AFI|access-date=14 February 2012|archive-date=21 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321084339/https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-heroes-villians/|url-status=live}}</ref>