Favorite Femme Fatale movies

[Another Fan]

I like those late 80s/early 90s sort of erotic thrillers.  The movie didn’t do very well but I thought/think Madonna in Body of Evidence was the hottest thing ever.  Especially growing up.  I’m not a big Nicole Kidman fan but she was very beautiful/sultry/evil in To Die For.  Easily my favorite role she was ever in.

 

So those 2 films for me.  

[WhoTom]

I'm not sure if it qualifies as a pure femme fatal movie, but Into the Night with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer at least crosses into that territory.

[Bills4everNY]

"The Blue Angel" starring Marlene Dietrich (1930)

[Captain_Quint]

I have to say that Jessica Rabbit was the hottest 'toon around on Roger Rabbit. 

[DD4Bills]

Not sure if these are strictly speaking "femme fatale", but Body Double and Dressed to Kill were both very...effective.

[BillsPride12]

Basic Instinct is an absolute classic

[DrW]

Although she is not really trying to seduce anybody in this movie, I nominate Marlene Dietrich in "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957).

[ICanSleepWhenI'mDead]

"Body Heat" with Kathleen Turner.

[Dr. Who]

21 hours ago, DrW said:

Although she is not really trying to seduce anybody in this movie, I nominate Marlene Dietrich in "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957).

That's a great movie with many terrific performances: Charles Laughton and Elsa Lancaster in addition to Dietrich in particular. It's an adaptation of an Agatha Christie play. Femme fatale usually is an element in the noir genre, which I generally dislike. Two of the more classic roles are Lana Turner in The Postman Always rings Twice and Jane Greer in Out of the Past.

 

I very much like Mary Astor who is deliciously bad in The Maltese Falcon. The modern films many here reference seem to me lacking. When classic Hollywood had to use indirection because of the Hays Code, it often created much more interesting characters.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Dr. Who

[Dr. Who]

On 5/9/2023 at 3:08 PM, Captain_Quint said:

I have to say that Jessica Rabbit was the hottest 'toon around on Roger Rabbit. 

She looks like a femme fatale, but she doesn't act like one. She's a faux femme fatale.

[Jauronimo]

Jade

The Last Seduction

Poison Ivy

Single White Female

 

I don't remember anything about the plot of these movies but they all had some memorable scenes.

 

Does Species count?

[teef]

20 hours ago, ICanSleepWhenI'mDead said:

"Body Heat" with Kathleen Turner.

She was on a talk show recently…my god. 

[BillsPride12]

Fatal Attraction was pretty good....I see they did a modern take on the movie with a mini-series on Paramount.  I will probably check it out at some point once the playoff season is over.

[Saxum]

Jessica Rabbit was already taken.

 

Eihi Shiina in 1999 film Audition.  

A middle-age widower holds a fake audition and is attracted to actress Asami Yamazaki played by Eihi Shiina who ends up being a complete and total psychopath.

 

 

[Augie]

On 5/9/2023 at 9:49 AM, WhoTom said:

I'm not sure if it qualifies as a pure femme fatal movie, but Into the Night with Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer at least crosses into that territory.

 

I don’t care what the question is, Michelle Pfeiffer qualifies. 😋

[DrW]

3 hours ago, Dr. Who said:

That's a great movie with many terrific performances: Charles Laughton and Elsa Lancaster in addition to Dietrich in particular. It's an adaptation of an Agatha Christie play. Femme fatale usually is an element in the noir genre, which I generally dislike. Two of the more classic roles are Lana Turner in The Postman Always rings Twice and Jane Greer in Out of the Past.

 

 

I do not want to side-track this thread, but your post reminded me of the brilliance of Charles Laughton. While his accomplishments as actor are well-known, he also worked as director in theater, and in a single movie, "The Night of the Hunter", starring Robert Mitchum and featuring silent movie star Lilian Gish. It is one of the most imaginative movies I have ever seen (especially the kids' boat ride pursued by the Mitchum character), and it is a shame that Laughton did not direct any more movies because of bad contemporary reception the movie received.

[Dr. Who]

15 minutes ago, DrW said:

 

I do not want to side-track this thread, but your post reminded me of the brilliance of Charles Laughton. While his accomplishments as actor are well-known, he also worked as director in theater, and in a single movie, "The Night of the Hunter", starring Robert Mitchum and featuring silent movie star Lilian Gish. It is one of the most imaginative movies I have ever seen (especially the kids' boat ride pursued by the Mitchum character), and it is a shame that Laughton did not direct any more movies because of bad contemporary reception the movie received.

We may have similar tastes in movies. The Night of the Hunter is a unique film. Laughton synthesized many different elements. I write experimental fiction that tries to do similar things. It's hard to find an audience, but critical reception for Laughton's singular film has increased over the years. Below is a fine article that explains the allure and quality of the work.

 

https://www.slashfilm.com/1130769/the-night-of-the-hunter-ending-explained-the-age-old-battle-between-love-and-hate/