Rating: 
Summary: My basic instinct told me to leave...
Review: ... but I gave this movie a fair try. It came w/ my DVD player as some sort of promotional thing. I had seen the movie years ago and didn't remember it that well.. I was rather indifferent about it at the time. But a few years pass and I think that I have a definite opinion... nay, an equation (for all of you math folks):
Basic Instinct = Fatal Attraction = Disclosure. As undersexed people around the world cheer the "sheer brilliance" of this film, I must say it's predictable, typical Hollywood garbage. What's the difference between "soft porn" and "erotic thriller"? 2 names: Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. Basically, a detective falls in love w/ someone he is supposed to be digging up dirt on. Blah blah blah blah blah. I didn't see it as a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock or anything... But one redeeming factor in this movie is Sharon Stone's sense of style. When she has clothes on, she wears them nicely. And she does have a nice body. But clothes and body don't make a film great. It sure did not help this one. Hey, but at least I got a cool pen that looks like an icepick. Excuse me while I go stab a rock star....
Rating: 
Summary: A witless mismash of theatrical trash
Review: Once every four or five years, a movie comes along that is billed as being "very erotic," or something like that...1992 had "Basic Instinct," one of the singular most immoral pieces of theatrical crap ever put out.
Joe Eszterhas, the writer, is Hollywood's king of sleaze... This, however, is his magnum opus.
The plot is basically an excuse to see many women either nude or involved in lesbianic situations. Sharon Stone, in the role that sadly made her famous, plays Catherine Tramell, a novelist who is convicted of a murder. She's a shady character, she's a novelist, and she's a lesbian. Get those signs? SHE'S GUILTY! OTHER CHARACTERS - GET IT? GUILTY! However, the other characters are much slower to catch on than the audience, and thus we are presented with 120 minutes or Michael Douglas pining after Stone while the audience groans in disbelief at the rampant sexual activity and nudity.
The DVD is pretty nifty and has a good interface. However, the movie is terrible. I cannot give it a positive review simply for the extra features...
Rating: 
Summary: Sex, Lies, and an Ice pick
Review: It's hard to imagine that BASIC INSTICT is 10 years old already. It seems like yesterday that San Francisco Det. Nick Curran, (Michael Douglas) gets asked to investigate the brutal murder of a former rock star, John Boz. Teaming with his partner Gus, (George Dezundza) the trail leads to sexy femme fatale, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), who was sleeping with Boz. As the investigation proceeds, Curran falls in love with his prime suspect, now he must decide what to do. When it was released in 92, the film caused a lot of controversy, what with its steamy plot and bold script. There are some other reasons that it works. Chief among those other reasons for the film's success, is the fact that the film is a truly engaging mystery, with multiple suspects and an intracate narritive. Yes, sex is a major component to the film, but it is only one part of a larger canvas. Stone (in her best role to date) and Douglas sizzle in their scenes together Actress Jeanne Tripplehorn, as Beth Garner, a Police Psychologist (and former lover of Curran's), adds quite a bit to the mix. Director Paul Verhoven takes the proverbial ball and runs with it. The film is very well made and never dull. It also has a memorable score from Composer Jerry Goldsmith Turning to the Special Edition DVD, I must say first, that it has some of the worst packaging I have ever seen for any DVD, period. YUK! The bouns features are a mixture of old and new stuff. The extra footage is lifted from the unrated VHS edition. The commentary track with Verhoven and DP Jan De Bont is from the Laserdic edition There is a 2nd commentary from feminist critic Camille Paglia that is new. The documentary is new. Rounding it all out are the usual trailers, a photo gallery, and production notes. The Special Edition DVD is far better than the "movie only" version I have very few major complaints, save of course, for the poorly designed case.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic thriller from the director of SHOWGIRLS and ROBOCOP!
Review: This classic thriller can be thought of as a campanion piece to FATAL ATTRACTION. This is a mystery in the classic sense, despite the kinky eroticness of the story. Michael Douglas portrays a cop who is hot on the trail of a killer with an appetite for destruction. Sharon Stone portrays a seductive woman who is suspected of the murders. They finally end up together in bed, and he starts to believe she didn't do it... but nothing is as it seems, and you don't know if she is the killer or not until the very end. Is she the killer? Or is it someone else in Douglas' life, just waiting for the right moment to strike...? This is a riveting masterpiece that is definately not to be missed. The plot is styled genuinely after FATAL ATTRACTION and DRESSED TO KILL, although the stories in those films are much different. BASIC INSTINCT may offend some (such as the scene in the interrogation room where the police are questioning her and she uncrosses her legs), but this is sure to astound anyone who watches it-- keeping them on the edge of their seat and their eyes glued to the screen! Artisian's DVD of BASIC INSTINCT is a must-have in that it has plenty of extras to keep any DVD collector or fan of the film satisfied! There is an audio commentary with a critic who considers the film to be one of her favorites; theatrical trailers, storyboards, a documentary on the making of BASIC INSTINCT, and another featurette comparing the theatrical version from the TV version. The Unrated version of this DVD (R Rated also available) contains more sex and violence, but adds nothing more to the storyline. It is nice to have an Unrated version, though. The picture and sound quality is excellent, and this is the best BASIC INSTINCT has ever looked on DVD. All in all, this DVD of BASIC INSTINCT is a must-have for any collection-- it even contains an ice-pick pen just like the murder weapon from the film!!
Rating: 
Summary: No Biggie
Review: I suggest you rent this movie before you go and buy it. It may not be as good as you first remembered it to be.
Rating:
Summary: A fun manipulative sexy thriller...
Review: I never tire of this film... An excellent story with some very fun characters. To this day, my friends and I still debate as to who the real killer is. In Paul Verhoeven's commentary, he says very plainly who the killer, but it is still fun to play "what ifs". Michael Douglas is perfect as the dark, recovering drug and alcoholic, edgy cop, Nick Curran, who falls for the wrong person... or does he? They both sure seem to have a lot in common. Nick is continualy in trouble with internal affairs and has a very bad habit of while on the job, shooting his weapon and killing people. He is nicknamed, with affection, by Catherine Tramell "Shooter". Sharon Stone's film career flew after the release of "Basic Instinct". What a great role for her. A sexy, manipulative, dominant, intelligent, and seductive woman. Director Paul Verhoeven calls her a devil. She might be. Her eyes are amazing. You never quite know what exactly she is thinking. The DVD has some great special features. Two commentaries, test reels, storyboards, deleted scenes, but the fake "ice pick" that comes with the DVD should be enough for any real fan to want to buy this film. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent Erotic Thriller
Review: A San Francisco Detective (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Micheal Douglas) invesgates the murder of a Ex-Rock Singer. The Suspect is a Attractive, Smart, Bi-Sexual novelist named Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone). The Detective find himself seduced (Repeartedly) by her. Directed by Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls, Starship Troopers, The Hollow Man) is a well made intense erotic suspense-thriller with a fine Screenplay by Joe Eszterhas (Jade). Stone is a Real-Light in this film. The film Oscar Nominated for Best Film Editing and Best Score by Oscar-Winner:Jerry Goldsmith. One of the highest grossing films of 1992, which have become a Cult Classic. A clever film, which is not for all tastes. DVD has an good non-anamorphic Widescreen (2.20:1) transfer (Also in Pan & Scan) and an great digitally remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The Lastest DVD from Artisan is Digitally Remastered in the Picutre Quality and Sound with Two Commentaries Tracks by the Director and Cinematographer:Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister, The Haunted-1999) and Film Critic:Camille Pagila, Alternative Scenes for T.V., Trailers and More. Do not miss this strong Erotic Thriller. Panavision. Grade:A-.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best mystery thrillers of all time.
Review: This film is a classic, in every sense of the word. The acting and writing is wonderfully intense. All of the technical work is very well done, and the music is perfect for the mood of this dark, violent drama. Sharon Stone's performance is definately the most outstanding factor, but everyone is great. If you could make any critism, I would say the dark ending ending put me off a little the first time I saw it. But in retrospect, it was a very clever way to end a complex plot in an interesting and stylish way. And I see nothing the least bit offensive to women or anyone else. To the contrary, it shows that a lesbian character and female characters in general can be strong and intelligent. This is one of the best mysteries ever.
Rating:
Summary: Great great movie
Review: The extra audio track featuring commentary by Verhoeven enhances this DVD, and offers insights which takes my understanding of the movie to a new level. This is an excellent thought provoking movie. Boiled down, Sharon Stone's character is best understood as the devil, preoccupied with murder and surrounded by murderous friends, all homicidal lesbians. Into this mix comes flawed (susceptible)police officer Michael Douglas (Nick)investigating the murder of her boyfriend with an icepick during sex, and whose murder was described precisely in her previously published novel. Open and shut case, or is it? The famous interrogation scene where she outmatches her interrogators has to be the best cinematic scene of female empowerment ever. Even though she passes a lie detector Nick is convinced of her guilt. She tells him she is working on a novel where the character is based on him and he gets killed too. Despite every alarm bell going off in his head, Nick gets into a highly charged sexual relationship with her, and a game of psychological cat and mouse ensues. He deludes himself thinking he can keep business and sexual matters separate. But she is always several steps ahead pulling the strings. As the movie reaches its climactic scene where he reads the proof of her novel where his partner gets killed and then it happens exactly as described, and he in turn kills the wrong person in self defense immediately afterwards, you expect he would go back to that clue and point to it as proof of her guilt. However, at this point he is under her control, when she appears mysteriously in his apartment. (How can she repeatedly get into his building without keys?) Having killed two innocent people previously and lost his partner he is either so in denial, or confused or grief stricken that he accepts her back almost without question, apparently accepting the circumstantial and planted evidence incriminating an innocent person at face value over the blatant and unpalatable truth. This, I am still trying to figure out. Anyway, a great movie. One of the extras included in this DVD are the audition tapes Sharon Stone did for the movie with Verhoeven, including the interrogation scene. Even on these tapes she had an overwhelming presence, and I think she was even toying with Verhoeven. A cruel and unusual woman.
Rating:
Summary: miserable movie
Review: I'm sorry, but this is just a ridiculous movie. To me, the writing is stilted and feels false, for lack of a better word. The acted is consistently overdone and the direction is so calculated and false (again) that, to my mind, this movie is simply a waste of time. As a study of supposedly "kinky" sex, again, just dumb; it feels to me to be so obviously done to titilate the mainstream. So many movies have been done so much better on so many levels than this thing. Just pathetic to see attention given to junk like this. As a comparison, I happened to see The Godfather just prior to this and the feel of the two movies in comparison was so striking that this utterly paled. Granted, few films stand a chance when put against The Godfather, but this was so abrupt I was astounded at the utter badness of Basic Instinct. Again, to me this is pure junk.
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