Basic Instinct

Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner and Richard Gere were considered for the role of Nick Curran, which eventually went to Michael Douglas.[18] Douglas was cast in the project early on. He recommended Kim Basinger for the role of Catherine Tramell, but she declined.[19] He also suggested Julia Roberts,[20] Greta Scacchi,[21] and Meg Ryan,[22] but they all turned down the role. Debra Winger, Michelle Pfeiffer, Geena Davis, Kathleen Turner, Kelly Lynch, Ellen Barkin, and Mariel Hemingway all turned down the role as well when offered by Verhoeven and producers.[12][23]

Verhoeven considered Demi Moore,[24] but ultimately chose Sharon Stone, with whom he had previously worked on Total Recall. Verhoeven had been particularly struck by the way she quickly transitioned from evil to love in a couple of seconds before her character's death in that film.[25] Michael Douglas was upset that the relatively unknown Stone was cast in the role, determined to have another A-list actress star in the movie with him. Worried about taking the risk on his own, he said, "I need someone to share the risks of this movie. [...] I don't want to be up there all by myself. There's going to be a lot of shit flying around."[20] Stone was paid $500,000 for her role, while Douglas received $14 million.[26]

Professional ratings

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The musical score for Basic Instinct was composed by Jerry Goldsmith and earned him nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.[27] Goldsmith described the process as challenging, stating, "Basic Instinct was probably the most difficult [score] I've ever done. It's a very convoluted story with very unorthodox characters. It's a murder mystery, but it isn't really a murder mystery. The director, Paul Verhoeven, had a very clear idea of how the woman should be, and I had a hard time getting it. Because of Paul pushing me, I think it's one of the best scores I've ever written. It was a true collaboration."[28]

In terms of featured music, commercially released tracks played a minor role in the film. The club scene prominently features "Blue" by Chicago house music performer LaTour and "Rave the Rhythm" by the group Channel X, as well as "Movin' on Up" by Jeff Barry and Ja'Net DuBois. Chris Rea's "Looking for the Summer" is heard during a scene between Douglas and his partner at Mac's Diner.

The film's official soundtrack was released on March 17, 1992. In 2004, Prometheus Records issued an expanded version of Goldsmith's score, which included previously omitted sections and alternative compositions for certain elements.

Jeanne Tripplehorn, Michael Douglas, Martine Tours (wife of Verhoeven), Paul Verhoeven, Sharon Stone and Mario Kassar at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival

The film opened in North American theatres in March 1992, and after being entered into the 1992 Cannes Film Festival[29] continued on to a worldwide release.

Basic Instinct is rated R for "strong violence and sensuality, and for drug use and language". Initially, the film was given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA for "graphic depictions of extremely explicit violence, sexual content and strong language". However, under pressure from TriStar and Carolco, Verhoeven cut 35 to 40 seconds from the film to achieve an R rating.[12] Verhoeven described the changes in a March 1992 article in The New York Times:

Actually, I didn't have to cut many things, but I replaced things from different angles, made it a little more elliptical, a bit less direct.[12]

The European theatrical release did not require these cuts. The uncut version was later released in the USA on home video.

Following its theatrical version, an unrated version of the film was released on video in 1992, running at 129 minutes. In 1997, a "bare bones" DVD release containing only the R-rated version was issued, followed by a "collector's edition" DVD release in 2001. This edition contained the uncut version of the film along with a commentary by Camille Paglia and a small ice pick (which was actually a pen), the villain's weapon of choice. This version, which runs 127 minutes, was subsequently re-released twice in 2003 and 2006, respectively.

In March 2006, the unrated version, also known as the "director's cut", was re-released on DVD and labeled as the "ultimate edition". The film was released on Blu-ray in 2007 with the "director's cut" label.

The theatrical release of the film was cut by 35 to 40 seconds to avoid an NC-17 rating,[12] with some violence and sexually explicit content removed. The missing or censored material, later released on video and DVD as the director's cut, included:

• The murder of Johnny Boz in the opening scene. In the director's cut, the killer is seen stabbing him in his neck, in the chest and through his nose. In addition, the killer is still having violent sex with him while stabbing him at the same time.
• The scene where Nick has sex with Beth is cut in the US theatrical version, as he is seen ripping off her clothes and forcing her over the couch, before a cut to the two of them lying on the floor. In the uncut version, they are seen having rougher sex.
• The scene where Nick and Catherine have sex after going to the club is longer and much more explicit in the uncut version.

Recently, in 2021, StudioCanal released a restored 4K Ultra HD 'collector's edition' of the film on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download in the UK (June 14), Australia (July 7), and New Zealand (July 14). The restoration was supervised by the director and completed in 2019–2020, using the original 35MM negative. Additionally, a new documentary titled "Basic Instinct, Sex, Death & Stone" was added as a special feature.[30]

Basic Instinct opened in theaters in the United States and Canada on March 20, 1992, and became one of the highest-grossing films of that year. It debuted at number one at the US box office, grossing $15 million in its opening weekend. After briefly dropping down the charts, it returned to number one in its fifth week, where it remained for four weeks. In total, the film grossed $117.7 million in the United States and Canada. Internationally, it grossed $352,927,224,[31] making it the fourth-highest-grossing film released in 1992 worldwide.[32] In Italy, it had a record opening of $5.44 million and remained number one for four weeks,[33] ultimately grossing $20 million and becoming the highest-grossing film for the year.[34] It was the highest-grossing film in Spain of all time, with a gross of $21.6 million,[35][36] and in the United Kingdom, it was number one for three weeks and the highest-grossing film for the year with a gross of £15.5 million.[37] It was also number one for the year in France ($27 million), Germany (4.5 million admissions), South Africa ($3 million), Iceland, and Ireland.[38][39] In Australia, it was number one for three weeks and the second-highest-grossing film for the year, grossing A$13.1 million.[40]

Basic Instinct's critical reaction was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 57% based on 74 reviews, with an average rating of 6.20/10 and the consensus that "Unevenly echoing the work of Alfred Hitchcock, Basic Instinct contains a star-making performance from Sharon Stone, but is ultimately undone by its problematic, overly lurid plot."[41] On Metacritic the film holds a score of 43 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[42] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[43]

Janet Maslin of The New York Times praised the film, saying "Basic Instinct transfers Mr. Verhoeven's flair for action-oriented material to the realm of Hitchcockian intrigue, and the results are viscerally effective even when they don't make sense."[44] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also praised the film, saying it was a guilty pleasure film; he also expressed admiration for Verhoeven's direction, saying his "cinematic wet dream delivers the goods, especially when Sharon Stone struts on with enough come-on carnality to singe the screen," and praised Stone's performance: "Stone, a former model, is a knockout; she even got a rise out of Ah-nold in Verhoeven's Total Recall. But being the bright spot in too many dull movies (He Said, She Said; Irreconcilable Differences) stalled her career. Though Basic Instinct establishes Stone as a bombshell for the Nineties, it also shows she can nail a laugh or shade an emotion with equal aplomb."[45]

Australian critic Shannon J. Harvey of the Sunday Times called it one of the "1990s['] finest productions, doing more for female empowerment than any feminist rally. Stone—in her star-making performance—is as hot and sexy as she is ice-pick cold."[46]

The film had many detractors.[47] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded it two out of four stars, saying the film was well crafted but died down in the last half-hour: "The film is like a crossword puzzle. It keeps your interest until you solve it. Then it's just a worthless scrap with the spaces filled in."[48] Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune also gave a negative review, calling it psychologically empty: "Verhoeven does not explore the dark side, but merely exploits it, and that makes all the difference in the world."[49]

The film generated controversy upon its release due to its explicit sexuality, violence against women, and its negative depiction of both a bisexual woman and homosexual relationships. In recent years, controversy over the film has become regenerated over Verhoeven's direction and the treatment of Stone and other women working on the film.

After the script was made available to gay rights activist groups in early 1991, concerns arose as to the film's depiction of homosexual relationships, and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous psychopath. Activists claimed that the film followed a pattern of negative depictions and stereotypes of homosexuals in film.[50] While Eszterhas was open to addressing these concerns, Verhoeven, Douglas, and producer Alan Marshall rejected the changes, claiming that they "undermined" Eszterhas' script and "lessen the integrity of the picture."[51] Upon resuming filming in San Francisco in late April 1991, gay and lesbian rights activists and demonstrators attended,[52] and the San Francisco Police Department's riot police were present at every location to manage the crowds. Protesters outside the filming locations held signs that said "Honk if you love the 49ers" and "Honk if you love men." On April 29, Marshall ordered a citizen's arrest and personally identified each protester he wanted arrested. However, this did not result in any action by the local police department.[4][50][51]

Members of the lesbian and bisexual activist group LABIA protested against the film on its opening night. Others also picketed theatres to dissuade people from attending screenings, carrying signs saying "Kiss My Ice Pick", "Hollywood Promotes Anti-Gay Violence" and "Catherine Did It!"/"Save Your Money—The Bisexual Did It".[53] Verhoeven himself defended the groups' right to protest, but criticized the disruptions they caused, saying "Fascism is not in raising your voice; the fascism is in not accepting the no."[54]

Film critic Roger Ebert mentioned the controversy in his review, saying "As for the allegedly offensive homosexual characters: The movie's protesters might take note of the fact that this film's heterosexuals, starting with Douglas, are equally offensive. Still, there is a point to be made about Hollywood's unremitting insistence on typecasting homosexuals—particularly lesbians—as twisted and evil."[48] Camille Paglia denounced gay activist and feminist protests against Basic Instinct, and called Sharon Stone's performance "one of the great performances by a woman in screen history", praising her character as "a great vamp figure, like Mona Lisa herself, like a pagan goddess."[55]

Women's rights groups also protested the film over its negative depiction of women and a brutal rape scene, with a branch of The National Organization for Women calling the film "the most blatantly misogynistic film in recent memory." Its Los Angeles branch president at the time claimed the movie sent a message "that women like violence, women like to be used, women like to be raped."[56] The film was also criticized for glamorizing cigarette smoking. Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas was later diagnosed with throat cancer and publicly apologized for glamorizing smoking in his films.[57]

Since the release of the film, Stone has alleged multiple times that a scene in which her vulva was exposed as she crossed her legs was filmed without her knowledge.[58] Stone later said she was told that her lack of underwear would only be alluded to and not shown.[59] She had been wearing white underwear until Verhoeven said they reflected light on the camera lens and asked her to remove them, assuring her that only a shadow would be visible. Stone stated that it was not until she saw the film in a screening room with a test audience that she became aware of the visible nudity, leading her to slap Verhoeven in the face and leave the screening.[58] In her 2021 memoir, Stone alleged once again that she was misled by Verhoeven with regard to the circumstance of the filming of the scene, even though she ultimately did not seek an injunction against it.[60] Verhoeven responded that it was "impossible" and "she knew exactly what we were doing." However, despite having a "radically different" memory about the particular scene, he praised Stone's performance and said they are on good terms.[61] However, in her 1998 Inside the Actors Studio interview, Stone said that while she was initially angry, she realized the director's decision was the right one, saying "And I thought about it for a few days and I knew in my heart, he was right. I hated that it existed, I hated it more than he stole it from me instead of allowing me to choose. But he was right."[62]

Jeanne Tripplehorn has also said that the notorious scene in which her character and Douglas' had brutal, bruising sex was somewhat "lighter" when described to her by Verhoeven before shooting.[63] During the trial of the murder of Jun Lin, the prosecution stated that Luka Magnotta was inspired by the film and Stone's character, Catherine Tramell.[64][65]

AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains

• Catherine Tramell - Nominated Villain