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A former rock star, Johnny Boz, is brutally killed during sex, and the case is assigned to detective Nick Curran of the SFPD. During the investigation, Nick meets Catherine Tramell, a crime novelist who was Boz's girlfriend when he died. Catherine proves to be a very clever and manipulative woman, and though Nick is more or less convinced that she murdered Boz, he is unable to find any evidence. Later, when Nilsen, Nick's rival in the police, is killed, Nick suspects of Catherine's involvement in it. He then starts to play a dangerous lust-filled mind game with Catherine to nail her, but as their relationship progresses, the body count rises and contradicting evidences force Nick to start questioning his own suspicions about Catherine's guilt.Written by
Soumitra
Sharon Stone later said she had no idea they were going to show her vagina in that one infamous scene. "When we did it, it was going to be an innuendo and the director said, 'We're seeing the white of your underwear, I need you to take them off.' And I'm like, 'I don't want you to see anything and he's like, 'No, no you're not going to.'," she recalled. "When I saw it in the theatre, with a bunch of other people, I was like (in shock). When the film ended I went in the booth and I slapped him (Verhoeven) and I said, 'You could have showed me this to me by myself'." However the director strongly denied Stone's claim, saying she was fully aware that her vagina would be shown in the movie before the scene was filmed. See more »
Goofs
When Nick calls up Hazel Dobkin's police record it states that she was released from San Quentin in 1965. San Quentin has been men only since 1934. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Gus:
Who was this fuckin' guy?
Nick:
Rock and roll, Gus. Johnny Boz.
Gus:
Never heard of him.
Nick:
Before your time, cowboy.
See more »
Alternate Versions
The European release is much more explicit than the American release (which had to be submitted seven times to the MPAA in order to avoid an NC-17 rating). The European version is available unrated on video in the US. The US version uses alternate, less explicit takes of several scenes to tone down the sex content.
The murder of Johnny Boz in the opening scene is more graphic; we see the killer stabbing him in his neck, stabbing him repeatedly in the chest, in the face and we see the ice-pick passing through his nose.
The scene where Nick rapes Beth is severely cut in the US version (we see ripping off her underwear and forcing her over the couch, then there's a cut to the two of them lying in bed). In the uncut version Nick pulls down his pants, penetrates Beth from behind and he apparently has an orgasm.
The scene where Nick and Catherine make love after going to the disco is longer much more explicit in the uncut version (Nick is seen burying his face between her legs).
You know a movie achieves its objective when you think that a character is sexier than the person that plays her. That is exactly what Catherine Tremell does. She exudes sex and that is exactly her game. She knows that she can play with people's minds by using her beauty and her sex appeal. And she does it so well.
The epitome of this is the interrogation scene. Much has been made about nudity in film but this is one of those movies where every breast and every shot of someone's crotch is done so to further the plot. The famous scene that we have all witnessed now is a major part of Tremell's M.O. She knows there are a room full of men asking her questions and she uses that sexuality to play with them. And it works.
The cast and the script and the direction are top notch and the movie feels like it is one big game. And Catherine Tremell is the ultimate game master. I really loved this film and I rate it a perfect ten.
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You know a movie achieves its objective when you think that a character is sexier than the person that plays her. That is exactly what Catherine Tremell does. She exudes sex and that is exactly her game. She knows that she can play with people's minds by using her beauty and her sex appeal. And she does it so well.
The epitome of this is the interrogation scene. Much has been made about nudity in film but this is one of those movies where every breast and every shot of someone's crotch is done so to further the plot. The famous scene that we have all witnessed now is a major part of Tremell's M.O. She knows there are a room full of men asking her questions and she uses that sexuality to play with them. And it works.
The cast and the script and the direction are top notch and the movie feels like it is one big game. And Catherine Tremell is the ultimate game master. I really loved this film and I rate it a perfect ten.