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IMDbPro

Basic Instinct

  • 19921992
  • RR
  • 2h 7m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
206K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
546
252
Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
Home Video Trailer from Artisan
Play trailer1:10
3 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaMysteryThriller
A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.A violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
206K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
546
252
  • Director
    • Paul Verhoeven
  • Writer
    • Joe Eszterhas
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Sharon Stone
    • George Dzundza
  • Director
    • Paul Verhoeven
  • Writer
    • Joe Eszterhas
  • Stars
    • Michael Douglas
    • Sharon Stone
    • George Dzundza
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 420User reviews
    • 154Critic reviews
    • 43Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 5 wins & 23 nominations total

    Videos3

    Basic Instinct
    Trailer 1:10
    Watch Basic Instinct
    'Basic Instinct' | Anniversary Mashup
    Clip 1:29
    Watch 'Basic Instinct' | Anniversary Mashup
    Basic Instinct 2 Scene: Scene 3
    Clip 0:32
    Watch Basic Instinct 2 Scene: Scene 3

    Photos160

    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas, Mitch Pileggi, and Stephen Rowe in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Paul Verhoeven in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Sharon Stone and David Wells in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)
    Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michael Douglas
    Michael Douglas
    • Det. Nick Curran
    Sharon Stone
    Sharon Stone
    • Catherine Tramell
    George Dzundza
    George Dzundza
    • Det. Gus Moran
    Jeanne Tripplehorn
    Jeanne Tripplehorn
    • Dr. Beth Garner
    Denis Arndt
    Denis Arndt
    • Lt. Phil Walker
    Leilani Sarelle
    Leilani Sarelle
    • Roxy Hardy
    Bruce A. Young
    Bruce A. Young
    • Det. Sam Andrews
    Chelcie Ross
    Chelcie Ross
    • Captain Talcott
    Dorothy Malone
    Dorothy Malone
    • Hazel Dobkins
    Wayne Knight
    Wayne Knight
    • ADA John Correli
    Daniel von Bargen
    Daniel von Bargen
    • Lt. Martin Nilsen
    • (as Daniel Von Bargen)
    Stephen Tobolowsky
    Stephen Tobolowsky
    • Dr. Lamott
    Benjamin Mouton
    Benjamin Mouton
    • Detective Harrigan
    Jack McGee
    Jack McGee
    • Sheriff
    Bill Cable
    • Johnny Boz
    Stephen Rowe
    • Internal Affairs Investigator
    Mitch Pileggi
    Mitch Pileggi
    • Internal Affairs Investigator
    Mary Pat Gleason
    Mary Pat Gleason
    • Juvenile Officer
    • Director
      • Paul Verhoeven
    • Writer
      • Joe Eszterhas
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      No body doubles were used in any of the sex scenes.
    • Goofs
      (at around 45 mins) 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.
    • Quotes

      Catherine: You know I don't like to wear any underwear, don't you, Nick?

    • 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).
    • Connections
      Edited into Y2K (1999)
    • Soundtracks
      Movin' on Up
      Written by Jeff Barry and Ja'net DuBois (as Janet DuBois)

      Courtesy of ELP Communications

    User reviews420

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Problematic but Intelligent thriller about the the relationship between audience and cinema
    Basic Instinct was an entry into the neo-noir genre of the 90's (The Last Seduction, Fatal Attraction etc ) that tried to update 40's/50's American film noir as well as bringing in elements of Hitchcock's Vertigo. On this level Basic Instinct is a brilliant conveyor of noir themes that portrays an unstable detective out of control in an intricate unfathomable plot with a femme fatale, Hollywood mansions, dark shadowy rooms, smart cynical dialogue and smoking. It is also flawed on this level with its unnatural characterisation. However, the artificiality of the plot, genre, characterisations and the look creates a distance between the viewer and the film. When you take this into account along with the constant references to watching in the film, outlined below, the film moves to a different level. It is no longer about whether Catherine Tramell is the killer but is more about the spectatorial process of watching a (Hollywood) film.

    For example, Catherine Tramell(Sharon Stone) is a writer whose murder plots exactly follow the murders that occur in the film. Her coolness and openness about these killings gives her a sense of being in control of Nick Curran's(Michael Douglas) destiny. In this way, she is like cinema itself spinning a predetermined plot line that the audience represented by Douglas just follows.

    Throughout the film, the detective seems resigned to his lack of control, totally in awe of Catherine Tramell ready to go along with her. This is similar to the way the audience submits itself inside the cinema to the control that the screen exerts. However just as we do, Curran attempts to predetermine the plot with his own expectations. He tells Tramell that he has his own idea how it will end - "The cop survives" - The final question of "What do we do now, Nick?" is met with "F*** like minxes, raise rug rats, live happily ever after." another idealistic expectation of the cinema audience. However the ambiguous final shot reminds us that Douglas/the audience may not get the ending he wants - only cinema decides whether that ice pick under the bed will be used.

    Another parallel with the cinema experience is the way Nick Curran seems to identify with Tramell. At the start he is a recovered smoker and drinker and Tramell gets him to start again. Over the course of the film his attraction to Tramell's character makes him take on more and more of her traits - aggressive sexuality, risk taking, use of her dialogue and more and more leaps into fantasy. He is almost merging with her and this is reflected in his interrogation scene being shot identically to Tramell's earlier one. Again this development mirrors the way cinema audiences identify with the film narrative. The Hollywood ideal is that the viewer leaves his/her outside of the cinema in order to temporarily identify with the fantasy characters on screen.

    Another main aspect of the cinema experience touched on here is the voyeuristic process of watching itself. Curran is constantly in a spectatorial position. It is most obvious where he watches Tramell through a window that looks like a cinema screen itself. Another scene where he is trying to find out about Tramell on a computer sees him reprimanded by a colleague for "jacking off to the screen". This likens Douglas to an audience member watching the film in a similarly voyeuristic way. This is the reason why Hitchcock is such a strong influence on this film - these are classic Hitchcockian themes.

    My final comparison is the bi-directional aspect of cinema touched on in the film. The interrogation scene where Tramell manipulates the audience of detectives is the only time where Tramell has point of view, reminding us that cinema watches and manipulates us as well. Also the fact that throughout Tramell knows so much about Detective Curran's past is a similar device. Tramell uses what she knows about Curran to make her murder work, just as Hollywood exploits what it knows about our desires of movies in order to sell us their product. (And those desires may have been partly contrived by Hollywood).

    The female murderers (who look like old film stars) that Tramell hangs around with represent other archetypal Hollywood stories - maybe these could have been other films that Nick Curran watched before when he took up smoking before.

    Is it a coincidence that the words "cinema theatre" can be found in the name Catherine Tramell and the word "audience" can be found in "Detective Nick Curran" ?

    Probably.
    helpful•43
    11
    • longtake
    • Jan 30, 2005

    FAQ14

    • What is 'Basic Instinct' about?
    • Is 'Basic Instinct' based on a book?
    • What is the basic instinct?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 20, 1992 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • France
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Love Hurts
    • Filming locations
      • 2930 Vallejo Street, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, California, USA(Catherine Tramell's mansion)
    • Production companies
      • Carolco Pictures
      • Canal+
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $49,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $117,727,224
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $15,129,385
      • Mar 22, 1992
    • Gross worldwide
      • $352,927,224
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 7 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby SR
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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