Search - Femme Fatale on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Strong Sexual Content, Not For Children, Profanity Movie Release: 2002 DVD Release: 03/25/2003 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Edition: Dual Layered Audio Tracks: English, French Subtitles: English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 54 mins Studio: Warner Home Video Total Copies: 17 Genres: Mystery, Crime Thriller, Erotic Thriller

Brian De Palma blends the emotional netherworld of film noir with a stylish portrayal of life among the wealthy and powerful in Paris in this glossy thriller. Laure Ash (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) is a beautiful but mysterious woman who has aligned herself with a small ring of jewel thieves, led by a man known as Black Tie (Eriq Ebouaney), who has planned a major score during the Cannes Film Festival. Sexy model Veronica (Rie Rasmussen) is scheduled to make a spectacular entrance for the screening of director Regis Wargnier's picture, wearing a body-hugging piece of jewelry worth a cool ten million dollars. Laure approaches the sexually adventurous Veronica and is able to seduce her, while at the same time stealing her diamond-studded outfit and replacing it with a carefully constructed counterfeit. Veronica, however, also makes off the loot without giving her partners their cut, and must go into hiding in order to avoid the wrath of Black Tie and his cohorts. Fate allows Laure to make her way to the United States, where in time she marries a powerful politician. Photographer Nicolas Bardo (Antonio Banderas), however, had snapped a picture of Laure while she was on the lam years before, and when he takes an assignment to get a photo of the camera-shy woman, Laure realizes Nicolas is in a position to reveal her new identity to the world -- and put the bloodthirsty Black Tie back on her trail. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Rebecca Romijn - Laure Ash
Antonio Banderas - Nicolas Bardo
Peter Coyote - Bruce Hewitt Watts
Eriq Ebouaney - Black Tie
Edouard Montoute - Racine

As seen in Brian De Palma's earlier film Carrie, his Femme Fatale also features a not-to-be-messed-with sociopath who uses her skills to achieve a goal. But here, instead of fire to wield respect, the main character uses her sex, beauty, and cunning skill to get -- and keep -- what she wants at whatever cost. Warner Bros. did a wonderful job with the digital transfer of this erotic thriller, creating a beautiful, color-rich disc in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround is also noteworthy, especially during high-volume scenes such as traffic jams and thunderstorms. Four featurettes that deal with basic plot lines, behind-the-scenes footage, casting, actors' performances, and De Palma's motivations dominate the list of extras. The longest of the bunch, "Femme Fatale: An Appreciation," weaves in many nuggets of filmmaking and the reasons why certain things were done in the movie. Basically, this is where De Palma's intentions are demonstrated. The short "Femme Fatale: Dressed to Kill" is a montage of how Rebecca Romijn-Stamos' character transformed throughout the film. Theatrical trailers and cast/crew filmographies round out the disc. ~ Kyra Kirkwood, All Movie Guide