Basic Instinct
1992 Directed by Paul Verhoeven
Synopsis
A brutal murder. A brilliant killer. A cop who can't resist the danger.
Basic Instinct is an erotic thriller from 1992 about a sex-crazed murderer and a police officer who’s getting a little too personal with one of the suspects in a murder. As tensions boil Sharon Stone, who plays the main suspect and an author, gives a powerful and sleek performance of a woman who knows her looks can get her off the hook and help her write and finish her book.
Cast
Michael Douglas Sharon Stone George Dzundza Jeanne Tripplehorn Denis Arndt Leilani Sarelle Bruce A. Young Chelcie Ross Dorothy Malone Wayne Knight Daniel von Bargen Stephen Tobolowsky Benjamin Mouton Jack McGee Bill Cable Stephen Rowe Mitch Pileggi Mary Pat Gleason Freda Foh Shen William Duff-Griffin
Studios
Popular reviews
More-
Rewatching this coincidentally was followed by seeing an interview with Paul Verhoeven on Dutch television. He was there to promote his book with a collection of columns he wrote in which he reviews and analyses a large amount of classic films that somehow influenced his work. He also spoke about his unreserved admiration of Hitchcock.
Hitchcock, and in particular Vertigo, is strongly linked to this film and hearing Verhoeven talk about it, it almost seems like an homage to the master. In the interview Verhoeven claimed that Hitchcock was as perverted as he is and I guess he's right, so it isn't that far fetched to claim that this is a modern Hitchcock, a film he could have made had…
-
If this movie were a person, it would be a fifteen-year-old boy- it's very, very horny, and very, VERY angry. I hadn't actually realised that until this most recent re-watch. Everybody's either shouting at each other, making some sort of snide remark or at times becoming physically violent with one another, often out of nowhere. And of course, king of all this is Michael Douglas, the angriest cock in the barnyard, a man who seems to be judging his performance by decibel levels more than anything else. And then of course you have Sharon Stone, sashaying through the movie with a permanent Trollface, an underwear-less she-devil who's every line is written to either draw blood or send it straight to…
-
From the age of 15, I have watched this film in bits and pieces ( needless to say which ones). And yesterday based on Mr. Hasselman's review, I decided to give this a full go. And I was not disappointed.
This film has one of the costliest scripts ever ( Joe Ezterhas was paid $ 3 million for this, which was a record at that time). I still do not know why it was worth so much, but the cat and mouse game between the leads was engaging.
But what really makes this film a stand out is the absolute scorcher of a chemistry between Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. It was unbelievable.
This single handedly raised the status of Michael Douglas as the most ENVIED actor and Sharon Stone as the most DESIRED actress, in the world.
-
It's impossible for me not to think of Hitchcock when I watch this film, maybe in particular Vertigo comes to mind. Or is it De Palma...?
No, I'm pretty sure it's Hitchcock. Of course, Hitch never did challenge the censors much, but could he have done this in a different time / age? I think it's close. First, it's the San Francisco locations of course, the driving along the coast, the glimpses of the Golden Gate bridge. Then it's the ice cool blonde. But most of all it is Jerry Goldsmith's score, making me think of Bernhard Herrmann, and it's a short link between him and Hitch. The score in Basic Instinct is arguably one of the best and most…
-
Ersatz Hitchcock in which the icy blonde and the mousy brunette snap the puppet strings and start playing for themselves. Michael Douglas has knocked his dick in dangerous dirt before but you really get scared for his dick in this one. I don't think anybody but Verhoeven could pull this off (he out DePalmas DePalma, for those keeping score at home); it's so repulsively slick and vulgar that it doesn't exactly circle back to taste but kind of spins off into its own private orbit. Imagine a hundred copies of this getting shipped to every Blockbuster in the great middle America of 1993.
-
men who hate women and the women they want to want to fuck them.
Recent reviews
More-
I have not seen this movie again since its appearance in 1992. The director is typically Verhoeven with a lot of close details of faces of actors and stuff around. The acting is good, the story is good and there are some memorable scenes in the movie which all in all easily can give it a cult status if it not already has one.
-
Empieza bien pero se vuelve repetitiva y predecible. Se me hizo larga y esperaba que pasara algo pero al final no pasa nada. Buenas actuaciones, mas que todo el duo protagonista.
-
This is a very entertaining thriller that reminded me very much of the great films of Hitchcock. It does get a little long at some parts, but an engaging story filled with great dialogue, characters, and an excellent score by Jerry Goldsmith managed to almost always keep me entertained. By the way, Sharon Stone is excellent in this. She truly deserved an Oscar nomination.
-
If this movie were a person, it would be a fifteen-year-old boy- it's very, very horny, and very, VERY angry. I hadn't actually realised that until this most recent re-watch. Everybody's either shouting at each other, making some sort of snide remark or at times becoming physically violent with one another, often out of nowhere. And of course, king of all this is Michael Douglas, the angriest cock in the barnyard, a man who seems to be judging his performance by decibel levels more than anything else. And then of course you have Sharon Stone, sashaying through the movie with a permanent Trollface, an underwear-less she-devil who's every line is written to either draw blood or send it straight to…
-
Can't believe this film is over 20 years old! Is it THE most neo of noirs? Fast, crackling dialogue; knowingly just-short-of over-the-top acting; the ultimate femme fatale; the authority-hating cop-on-the-edge; the wisecracking, loyal partner; the sudden bursts of graphic violence (although much tamer than I remembered); and, of course, the sweaty, smouldering sex. Add a brilliantly evocative score by Jerry Goldsmith, THAT Eszterhas script and a director unafraid to show the viewer everything, and you have Basic Instinct. One to rediscover!
-
men who hate women and the women they want to want to fuck them.
-
This is actually a really great movie. It's exciting, pretty, and it has a lot of tits. But, there is a but(t). The plot twist twist twisters at the end made me go crazy. I'm still not sure if they really found the actual murderer...
-
Usually I like to be able to say "I don't know why I decided to watch..." with stuff like this, but in this case I think I might*.
Actually, I was surprised by how good this is. There are a view moments where it borders on exploitation, but generally in good taste. I was more drawn in than I expected, although sometimes the supporting characters could get a little too dense. For instance, in my least favorite scene, toward the beginning, a supposed psychiatric expert is brought in, and in a minute or two of dialogue explains that anyone who kills based on a book is either the author and therefore crazy, or a fan and therefore crazy. Other than them, it's a pretty convincing tale of a man's descent—dragged by a woman—into madness.
*ruins the fun but the answer is "because it was on tv"
-
This film is about a detective who might have fallen in love with someone he shouldn't. It's sexy as hell, Sharon Stone is the Amber Heard of the 90's, to me they're equally gorgeous. The sex scene is the best scene throughout the film, it's the most orgasmic I've seen in a long time.
This movie is a completely impossible.
It seems as though everybody is a cold-blooded murderer.