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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Fatal Instinct (1993)

Fatal Instinct (1993)

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Released 16-Nov-2004

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Comedy Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 1993
Running Time 91
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding 2,4 Directed By Carl Reiner
Studio
Distributor

MGM
Starring Armand Assante
Sherilyn Fenn
Kate Nelligan
Sean Young
Christopher McDonald
James Remar
Tony Randall
Clarence Clemons
Michael Cumpsty
John Witherspoon
Blake Clark
Edward Blanchard
David Greenlee
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $14.95 Music Richard Gibbs
Philip Giffin


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Auto Pan & Scan Encoded English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
German Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired
German for the Hearing Impaired
French
Italian
Spanish
Dutch
Swedish
Norwegian
Danish
Greek
Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    Fatal Instinct is a spoof of late 80s and early 90s suspense thrillers and murder mysteries, such as Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Sleeping With The Enemy and Cape Fear. Armand Assante plays Ned Ravine, a police officer who also happens to be a defense attorney on the side - get it? The plot (what little there is of it) involves Ravine being seduced by a mysterious woman (Sean Young) while his philandering wife plans his murder with a local mechanic. Will Ravine be seduced into corruption or assassinated by his bride? Basically, Fatal Instinct is the Naked Gun of sex thrillers.

    This type of slapstick humour is very subjective. The Zucker brothers, along with Mel Brooks, are the undisputed masters of this particular genre, with classics like the aforementioned Naked Gun, Flying High, Top Secret, Blazing Saddles, History Of The World Part One, Young Frankenstein and Spaceballs, so you either love films like these that throw gags at you by the hundreds or you don't. I happen to be in the former group and found that there was quite a bit of stupid fun to be found in this Carl Reiner yuck fest.

Don't wish to see plot synopses in the future? Change your configuration.

Transfer Quality

Video

    Fatal Instinct is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:85:1 and is 16x9 enhanced for widescreen TV viewing. Sharpness throughout the transfer is first rate, and shadow detail is consistent, with strong blacks and plenty of depth. There were no grain or low level noise problems.

    Colours were strong and natural.

    There were some minor film artefacts during the film but they were mostly superficial and not distracting.

    MGM have provided a great transfer for this budget priced DVD.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The film has been given five 2.0 Dolby Digital surround tracks. The tracks are in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.

    Dialogue is audible at all times with no audio sync issues to complain of.

    The film's music by Richard Gibbs and Philip Giffin is fairly nondescript, but ultimately does its job and supports the on-screen events without becoming intrusive.

    Surround channel usage was minimal at best. The only consistent sound occupying the rear channels was the film's score. Directional sound effects were absent, with the majority of sound occupying the front speakers.

    The subwoofer has the requisite bass to support the 2.0 sound field.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

Theatrical Trailer

    A non-anamorphic trailer.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The R4 misses out on an audio commentary with Carl Reiner and deleted scenes.

    The R1 misses out on an anamorphic 1:85:1 transfer.

    Personally I would opt for the R1 disc, simply for the extras. Apparently the commentary is quite entertaining.

Summary

    If you are in the mood for a stupid slapstick take on the more infamous thrillers of the last decade, Fatal Instinct is for you. The disc looks and sounds fine, but is a resounding flop in the extras department.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Greg Morfoot (if interested here is my bio)
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, using Component output
DisplayLG 76cm Widescreen Flatron Television. Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderSony HT-K215. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationSony HT-K215
Speakers fronts-paradigm titans, centre &rear Sony - radio parts subbie

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