Rent Basic Instinct (1992)

3.6 of 5 from 182 ratings
2h 3min
Rent Basic Instinct Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
San Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is investigating the murder of a once-celebrated rock star and he's made a few unsettling discoveries: a bloody ice pick, a white silk scarf tied to a bedpost and evidence of an otherwise romantic evening. As Nick digs into the case, lie becomes entangled in a deadly affair involving three intriguing women, each with an unexpected motive for the crime. Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) is a fast-living novelist whose fictional murders have a strange way of coming true. Roxy (Leilani Sarelle) is Catherine's street-wise, provocative girlfriend. Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn) is a police psychologist counselling Nick...
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
Alan Marshal
Writers:
Joe Eszterhas
Others:
Jerry Goldsmith, Frank J. Urioste
Studio:
Momentum Pictures
Genres:
Thrillers
Collections:
A Brief History of Lesbian Cinema, All the Twos: 1972-2012, Getting to Know Michelle Pfeiffer, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Emma Thompson, A Brief History of Film...
BBFC:
Release Date:
20/05/2002
Run Time:
123 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 5.1, English DTS 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 4.0
Subtitles:
Dutch, English, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Audio Commentary: (by Paul Verhoeven and Jan De Bont)
  • Audio Commentary 2: (with Feminist Critic Camille Paglia)
  • "Blonde Poison" (The Making of Basic Instinct)
  • "Cleaning Up Basic Instinct" (a Montage comparing The TV Version to the Theatrical Version)
  • Featurette
  • Photo Gallery
  • Storyboard Comparisons
  • Original Screen Tests
  • Theatrical Trailer
  • Theatrical Teaser
Disc 1:
This disc includes the main feature and special features:
- Audio Commentary: (by Paul Verhoeven and Jan De Bont)
- Audio Commentary 2: (with Feminist Critic Camille Paglia)
Disc 2:
This disc includes special features:
- "Blonde Poison" (The Making of Basic Instinct)
- "Cleaning Up Basic Instinct" (a Montage comparing The TV Version to the Theatrical Version)
- Featurette
- Photo Gallery
- Storyboard Comparisons
- Original Screen Tests
- Theatrical Trailer
- Theatrical Teaser
BBFC:
Release Date:
15/09/2008
Run Time:
128 minutes
Languages:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
BBFC:
Release Date:
14/06/2021
Run Time:
128 minutes
Languages:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 0 (All)
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.39:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
(0) All
Bonus:
  • Audio commentary with Camille Paglia
  • Audio commentary with Paul Verhoeven and Jan de BontBasic Instinct: Sex, Death and Stone
  • An unending story - Scoring Basic Instinct
  • Blonde Poison - The making of Cast and Crew interviews featurette
  • Storyboard comparisons (Love scene - Car Chase - Elevator murder)
  • Screen tests (Sharon Stone x 4 - Jeanne Tripplehorn x 1 )

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Reviews (2) of Basic Instinct

Great Erotic Thriller - Basic Instinct review by GI

Spoiler Alert
04/09/2021

Even today there are still debates about who actually is the killer in this fantastic erotic thriller. Controversial and gripping this film pushed the boundaries for its sex scenes and the murders are shocking even when you know they're coming! For a mainstream movie it still has power and it's wonderfully written even though you have to forgive a couple of very glaring plot holes. The fun though is that there are clues liberally spread throughout that are easily missed when you first see this so it's worth another watch so you can concentrate on spotting them. The grisly murder of a former rock star begins an investigation by flawed San Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) and his partner Gus (George Dzundza). Their main suspect is the victim's lover Catherine (Sharon Stone), a highly intelligent book writer whose last novel depicted a murder exactly the same. When Nick begins a dangerous affair with Catherine he begins to doubt her guilt and his investigation reveals other surprising suspects. The plot here twists and turns and Stone, in her first starring role, is especially good as the manipulative Catherine. Douglas, then a big box office star, took risks with this role as Nick is an immoral man who commits some despicable acts during the course of the story. Dutch director Paul Verhoeven was well known for being a film maker prepared to shock and he certainly did so here as the film contains some now very famous scenes not least the interrogation of Catherine. This is a great thriller, it's adult, complex and very entertaining. Certainly if you've never seen this then I highly recommend it and if you have then it is one that's worth a revisit.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

What a film written on cocaine looks like: totally unhinged, brilliant & absorbing. I loved it - Basic Instinct review by TB

Spoiler Alert
03/07/2023

This is totally off the wall filmmaking. A complete guilty pleasure. As much as I wasn't old enough to remember it being released, I can see why it made the massive impact that it did. Many people forget that in the late 80's to early 90's, there was still the enormous fear and paranoia over sex/intimacy due to the AIDS crisis. And Michael Douglas has stated that that's what made him committ to making this film, to push back against the fear and lack of sex on screen.

The story is a brilliant cat and mouse thriller. A record producer is brutally murdered and the prime suspect is his girlfriend Catherine Tramell, who also has links to many other people who have been involved in murder. The detective in charge, Nick Curran, who has plenty of skeletons in his closet, investigates and slowly begins to fall dangerously in love with Tramell, whilst all around him people start to die.

The biggest things which I loved about this film were its totally out-there craziness and the brilliance of the cast. Put simply, if either of these things were not fully committed to, the film would have failed. Douglas, who was a massive Hollywood star by the 90's, took an incredible risk by starring in this film. It could so easily have gone so badly wrong and destroyed his career. Likewise, as much as Stone wasn't a household name, she was at the beginning of her career & a point where most actors/actresses make very safe bets in order not to damage their images and potential. But both of them fully commit to not only the madness but also the sexuality of the film: there are no nervous looks or self-consciousness on display.

And at the center of it all, everything is masterfully directed by Paul Verhoeven. So easily this film could have descended into a schlocky mess with the sex simply used as a distraction from what was going wrong elsewhere in the story. But that it remains a pulpy, wonderfully crackers whirlwind is to everyone's credit.

It isn't just the acting which is great. The budget for this film was massive and it looks amazing. The cinematography, colour palette & lensing is beautiful, as are the locations and chase sequences. And remastered in 4K, it looks amazing.

This is a guilty pleasure, but more than that, it is a reminder of a time when films and established stars genuinely took risks. It's a shame that some of that cannot be applied today, with the sheer amount of turgid re-heated dreck that is released by movie studios and streaming services.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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