Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38644 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-05-20
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Dutch, English, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish
• Dubbed in: German, Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
With more than a decade of cinema in Basic Instinct's wake it's fascinating to look back at just how influential Paul Verhoeven's "erotic thriller" has been. The director's endless fight with censorship and unwillingness to kowtow to social mores meant his movies became notorious for graphically depicting sex and violence while pushing contemporary boundaries of taste. This whodunit about a bisexual femme fatale (Sharon Stone in a career-best performance) caused an enormous furore on its release; but after years of generally inferior imitations there's not much in it that seems quite so shocking now. It's perhaps best appreciated in retrospect more for its Hitchcockian style than the steamy sex.

On the DVD: one of the most welcome elements of the disc is an acknowledgement of the film's own influences--from Hitchcock's Vertigo to Verhoeven's own The Fourth Man. The print is far superior to the previous release, looking magnificent in 1:78.1. Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-nominated score sounds terrific in either 5.1 or DTS, as does Verhoeven's thick accent on the first commentary track alongside then Director of Photography Jan De Bont (Speed), who together reminisce on locations and manipulating their actors' performances. A second commentary from feminist critic Camille Paglia is a brave way of putting paid to the gay/feminist community uproar. There are some standard inclusions (trailer, production notes, photo gallery etc) but far more interesting are two mini-documentaries; "Cleaning Up Basic Instinct" shows how and why the TV version was so dull, while "Blonde Poison" focuses on the film's making and marketing. Finally, there are three storyboard comparisons and nine minutes of screen tests for Stone and Tripplehorn. This is the definitive release of an oft-cited modern classic. --Paul Tonks

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 5.1 English\DTS English
Dolby Digital 5.1
DTS
Audio Commentary
Making Of Documentary
Cleaning Up Basic Instinct And Comparison Of The TV Version To The Theatrical Version
Featurette
Photo Gallery
Storyboard Comparisons
Theatrical Trailer
Theatrical Teaser

Synopsis
This steamy thriller to end all steamy thrillers stars Michael Douglas as Nick, a boozy San Francisco police detective who finds himself drawn to the prime suspect in a murder case--manipulative, sexually uninhibited novelist Catherine Trammell (Sharon Stone). Catherine's latest book features a murder uncannily similar to the one Nick is investigating, and as the pair engage in a mating dance of dangerous one-upmanship, more murders occur, all described in her current work, about a boozy cop in love with a killer. Nick's psychiatrist (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and cop partner (George Dzundza) are both worried about him, and Catherine's jealous lesbian lover (Leilani Sarelle) may be trying to kill him, but Nick is just too turned on to care.
Director Paul Verhoeven shows an admirable lack of restraint in this ludicrously enjoyable thriller, a sort of postmodern noir with Joe Eszterhas's script coming off like Mamet by way of Penthouse. Stone and Douglas exhibit fine chemistry (and most of their bodies), and there's some lovely Bay Area scenery courtesy of cinematographer Jan de Bont (who went on to direct films such as SPEED and TWISTER). Wayne Knight (Newman from SEINFELD) and Mitch Pileggi (Skinner from THE X-FILES) are precinct heads who question Catherine in the infamous leg-crossing scene.

Customer Reviews

Sexy, Thrilling, Captivating...
Almost everyone has heard of Basic Instinct. However, its tag of 'erotic thriller' has put many people off watching it. To these people, I would say, get over it, and have a good look at this film, because it is superb. Yes, the sex scenes are very graphic, but the story is so captivating that you'll be able to get past them and anjoy this for what it is... a good suspense thriller.

Sharon Stone stars as Catherine Tramell, a novelist, whose boyfriend is stabbed to death with an ice-pick. This killing was exactly the same as one described in Catherine's latest book. You are then left wondering. Did Catherine recreate the events of her book and kill her lover, or did someone else, someone who wanted to ruin Catherine, carry out the deed in question?

Michael Douglas is the cop invstigating the murder, however, it is only too soon before he is seduced by Catherine. It's suspense all the way until the end, where, even then, you aren't sure, who really is the murderer.

If thrillers are your thing, then go and watch this DVD. A word of warning though. This is not one for kids and teenagers...

SENSATIONAL
This is a brilliant and breathtaking film. The film is infamous for it's graphic erotic scenes, but if you can manage to get through the film without being (ahem) distracted by Sharon Stone, then you will find that the characters are highly developed and fascinating, the plot is complex and intelligent and the delivery is fast, entertaining and absorbing from start to finish.
It's a pity that this film is famous for the wrong reasons. Dare to admit that Basic Instinct is one of you're favourite films and your liable to be sniggered at. This film should not be dismissed as pure eroticism. Admittedly some scenes are graphic but the eroticism is not gratuitous. Overall, i found it to be an intelligent thriller with two superb leads and a great supporting cast. The film is sensational.

worth a look ; not worth two
This film achieved notoriety on its release, largely because of its sex scenes and in particular a scene in which Sharon Stone uncrosses and recrosses her legs provocatively under interrogation by some cops. There are , in fact, sexier scenes in the film, though some of them present physical gymnmastics which are more likely to produce hernias or bad backs than orgasms (in the characters, I mean). In fact it is a film with a not-bad plot and quite a bit of atmosphere, it is fairly well acted by Stone, Michael Douglas, Jean Tripplehorn et al. (though we become aware that Douglas has a rather unexciting bottom and slightly bandy legs), and it has to be said that Stone often looks very good indeed. So it's a pot-boiler, but an unusual one, and worth seeing if you don't have anything better to do. On no account, however, spend time on the sequel, 'Basic Instinct 2' ; it is dire.