Customer Reviews

Basic Instinct

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(51)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Basic Instinct is certainly a film that has not only aged well with time, it makes you wish they could still make a sexy erotic thriller this good today. With so much political correctness going on these days, a film like Basic Instinct would never be made quite the same way, had it been made today. Attacked while it was being filmed for it's quote "negative depictions of the Gay community" as well as a so called "date rape" scene, the film became controversial practically the day it became green lit.

Sharon Stone became an overnight sensation portraying the rich, seductive & powerful Catherine Tramell, a role that seemed tailor made for the actress. But in fact director Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Starship Troopers) had to fight hard to prove to both Carolco Pictures and actor Michael Douglas that she was in fact the only person suited for the role. Having worked with Stone on his last picture, Total Recall (1990), Verhoeven knew that Stone had something special to give to the part and he finally got that message through to all those mentioned. I'd go so far to say that with the exception of her Oscar nominated performance in Martin Scorsese's Casino, Catherine Tramell is still Sharon Stone's best performance.

So what's the big deal between the R-rated & Unrated versions of Basic Instinct? Basically a little more violence and a little more sex. There's more stabs with the ice pick in the Unrated version (about 3 or 4), more shots of the victim actually being stabbed (courtesy of a man made puppet designed by Rob Bottin) and that's about it for the violence. The added sex has mainly to do with the first encounter between Michael Douglas's Nick Curran, and Sharon Stone's Catherine Tramell. The added scenes are hot & very well done, but overall, the result is still the same. The only other difference is the Unrated version includes an audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and director of photography Jan De Bont. This commentary is not available on the R-rated version. But both versions do include the 2nd commentary by Feminist critic, Camille Paglia, who praises the film as one of her all time favorite movies. Her commentary is quite informative and really gave me a lot of insight into the film that I never noticed before. Those of you who own the Special Edition Laserdisc that came out a few years back should be urged not to get rid of it. It's special features are quite different from those on these DVD versions. Even the Paul Verhoevan Commentary is different from the one on the DVD. Plus the DVD doesn't give you the option of viewing the final shot of the film with the alternate scoring conducted by Jerry Goldmith, although it is shown during the making of documentary. Still worth keeping.

I personally love how much the movie feels like an Alfred Hitchcock film. The dress Sharon wheres for the interrogation scene is very similar to the one Kim Novak wore in Vertigo. There are many references to Vertigo in the film, as well as The Birds, North By Northwest, Rear Window and a few others. This adds a lot of class to the picture that only enhances its creativeness. It may be a long time before another picture comes close to matching it.

Basic Instinct..destined to become a classic!

"I hate rugrats". - Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell

Basic Instinct is a guilty pleasure. I love this film, and have had the Unrated Director's Cut on VHS for many years. I bought the so-called Collector's Edition (included the ice pick pen) a while back and returned it because it missed quite a bit of footage. Recently, I tried again---and this time it was ice pick bingo! (Who needs the pen, anyway?) The Unrated Director's Cut is listed on Amazon as an unrated special edition (Special Edition - Unrated) which "contains scenes the director was forced to cut." There is no image available. You can identify the DVD as Artisan's release, ASIN B00005N919. Make no mistake, THIS IS THE VERSION TO BUY. I also highly recommend the soundtrack on compact disc. Jerry Goldsmith's music is haunting, and one of the best scores ever composed for film.

I will dispense with the standard plot synopsis and, for the most part, a review of this movie. 14 years later, most of us looking at a special edition "Basic Instinct" DVD already like it enough to at least show interest in possibly buying this. My question was, is it worth it to replace my old "Basic Instinct" DVD with a new one?

By my count this is the 4th DVD transfer of this film (there was a bare-bones DVD of the theatrical release, then a special edition with extras, then the unrated directors cut special edition with the same extras (that one had the dumb "ice pick box," but was eventually, and is now, available in a standard box whose cover art looks just like all the other releases (including the original VHS release): All white box, torso-and-up shot of Stone and Douglas whith her clawing his back), and now this one that still retains that same image of the stars, but now it is inside the lettering of the title).

I mention this for two reasons.

The first may not matter much to amazon and other on-line shoppers, but here's what happened to me while walking around Best Buy today: I already owned the "bare-bones" version (I picked it up for 5 bucks brand new at least 5 years ago, so this has never been a movie one needed to drop a lot on to own), but I wanted the unrated director's cut I saw advertised in the Best Buy weekend circular. I picked it up off the shelf and saw there was the older '02 special edition release right next to it for $5.99. I was not crazy about spending $15 (not that that is a terrible price, mind you) on a movie I already owned so I decided to go with the '02 version (I'll get to the comparison between the two in a moment - that is reason #2). I got home and found out it was the special edition alright, but it was the original theatrical version. It had extras and such, but the point of replacing the thing in the first place was to get the director's cut. So I went back to Best Buy and, sure enough, because the boxes look the same except for a tiny-worded "director's cut" in the bottom corner, I grabbed the wrong one. The director's cut was there and it to was also only $5.99 (and because of some additional sale I was unaware of it rang up as something like $4.40). So BE CAREFULl WHEN SELECTING A VERSION OF THE FILM. The ice-pick box, dumb as it looked on the DVD shelf, seems to be gone so there is no easy way to tell all these apart. You gotta do a little reading. "Special Edition" doesn't automaticly mean "director's cut." (Especially for a DVD that has had as many similar - and similar looking - releases as this one.)

That's my first point. The second is to inform you that, in comparing this new version "special edition director's cut" with the $5 version I got, the only difference, besides the newly arranged cover art, is that there is an interview and an introduction by Sharon Stone. That's it. Other than that, it has the same bonuses, commentaries, etc. And that is said if that even matters to you in the first place. If you just want the movie, there is no reason to opt for this new, more expensice release; or if you already have the director's cut, replace it with this one - unless you really want to hear from Sharon Stone (that's her now, mind you, not 1992 - I'm just sayin'...)

So why was this made then? "Basic Instinct 2" hits theatres in a few weeks. I'll reserve judgment on that move until I see it, but I can judge this as a cash grab. I'm not angry though. "Basic Instinct" is hardly the first film to pull this stunt and I almost wish that some of the movies I really loved had just one "special edition" or update from its first DVD incarnation, not to mention 4 or more. I would just hope there would be something that sets them apart from the previous version.

That's not the case here.

* One quick observation I could not resisit mentioning: It is ironic that a movie as notorious for its graphic sex and violence as "Basic Instinct" that the Amazon info lists its rating as simply "Unrated for drug use and laguage." :)

Forget the rated version of BASIC INSTINCT. It's white-washed and missing graphic scenes of sex and violence that make the movie what it is. Sharon Stone plays the devil ... yes, Paul Verhoven admits that she is the the devil incarnate as a blonde ice-pick weilding bisexual psychotic who tempts and outsmarts every single person in the cast! Priceless here in DVD land is Camille Paglia's radical feminist take on the movie. She's fast and funny describing BASIC INSTINCT as a movie where women take back their sexual power! Come inside and check out the steamiest erotic thriller ever! Political correctness means it could never be made today. Trashy, yes! But also very well done and stylish. Sharon Stone became a star, and Michael Douglas never quite recovered. See why!

A San Francisco detective named " Nick" ( Michael Douglas) is investigating the murder of a former pop-rock star, he suspects gorgeous bisexual novelist Catherine Tramell ( Sharon Stone) thinking that she murdered him as she seduces him. It's now a game of cat-and-mouse as Nick is caught in a sexual web of violence and trying to find who the killer is.

Intersting, controversial but enjoyable erotic suspenser from the director of "Robocop", " Total Recall" and "Starship Troopers" Paul Verhoeven is quite a puzzling movie that has steamy sex scenes, the famous interrogation scene, decent acting and violent scenes you won't forget such as the icepick murder.

The Unrated Director's Cut Special Edition DVD has very good picture & good sound quality with scenes that never made it into the R Rated cut to avoid an NC-17 rating especially the uncensored version of the interrogation scene. It's extras are good such as two audio commentaries, a featurette, Photo Gallery, Storyboard Gallery, an easy to find easter egg and Trailer with TV Spot.

I doubt that Artisan even bothered to remaster this DVD release -- it looks like it was either 1) taken directly from the Laserdisc master or (and most likely) 2) taken from a general release print (not the original print) of the movie. What a shame -- Artisan usually produces some great DVD packages, but not this time. Save your . . . money. . . and wait until a better DVD transfer hits the shelves...

I have read the other comments about this film and frankly....what's wrong with you people? The Directors UNCUT version is the BEST version of this film and it truly gives this film the due justice it deserves. I have seen the original version MANY times and this version just makes more sense. It's just like the Uncut/Unrated version of GIA. When you see the original version and then the UNCUT...it's like night and day. The film isn't "choppy" and you really get to understand the character development the writer intended. I highly recommend this version and suggest you purchase it and decide for yourself. If you're a Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas fan...this is some of their best work! REALLY.

This Ultimate Edition could have been the definitive edition, had it been produced a little differently.

First, with the exception of the two new Sharon Stone items, Intro and Commentary, it is the same as the "IcePick" Unrated Director's Cut that came out some years ago. When I mean "IcePick", I'm talking about the release that came in the clear plastic case with a little bonus metal icepick.

Second, the movie's video and audio quality are also the same as that IcePick version. Which means passable, but not great.

This is where my biggest gripe with this item is located. The video and audio quality.

What would have made this a truly "Ultimate" Edition would have been if they had made it a 2-disc edition, one disc with only the movie, and the other all the bonus features. Many current releases do it this way.

As it stands, a one-disc version of a movie that is slightly over two hours (2 hours 8 minutes more exact) along with all the bonus material means that the video bitrate of the movie is limited to no more than an average of 5.0 Mbps.

A 2 hour movie can be encoded at 9.8 Mbps (almost the theoretical maximum) if placed entirely on a DVD-9 RSDL disc.

The difference between 9.8 Mbps and 5.0 Mbps is huge, as long as the source material is high enough quality to take advantage. Since this edition says "newly remastered widescreen version" I would think the original video quality would be such.

In addition, we are still stuck with Dolby Digital 5.1 448 Kbps for the audio. But with the extra storage that comes with a two-disc edition, they could have increased the audio quality to DD-EX 6.1 and DTS 6.1 formats.

Had they done that with this "Ultimate" edition, making it a two-disc extravaganza and increased the video and audio bitrates, this would have truly been the final, must-own version of this film.

So therefore, if you already have an Unrated Director's Cut version of this film, there is no need to purchase this "Ultimate" edition, unless you absolutely have to have those two extra Sharon Stone features. The movie itself is the exact same material.

As a child, future director Paul Verhoven's playground was the recently bombed out homes of his neighbors. The absurd violence in the world seems to be reflected in all his movies. I have been involved with four Verhoven films while on the Rob Bottin effects crew. Verhoven made a name for himself directing the edgy and funny "Robocop" originally receiving an X-Rating for the violence in his director's cut. Total Recall and Starship Troopers are other wild examples of his romance with ultra violence. He has always made films that push limits of acceptable social boundaries. Before he directed Showgirls he tested the public's tolerance for a sex with buckets of blood with his thriller Basic Instinct.
Basic Instinct is a Hitchcock style murder thriller featuring Sharon Stone who is "dressed to kill" as famous author Catherine Trammel (a dead ringer for Kim Novak in Vertigo) A violent icepick murder seems to have been taken right out of her recent novel. Arrogant and cool, she actually invites the police investigators to wonder if she did it in the now legendary interogation scene where she crosses her legs and shoots Detective Curran (Michael Douglas) an eyeful of her unpantied intimate territory. Curran is investigates her a little too closely and compromises his integrity by getting ensnared in her sexual web. Did she do it or is it the copycat work of a crazed fan? Even intimately close to the suspect Detective Curran doesn't really know for sure.
Even though this is the unrated director's cut you won't find some of the most extremely gory footage. Stone shot a scene in the nude where she straddled a realistic torso of a victim repeatedly plunging the icepick into the chest and face. Splattered with fake blood and feeling in her arm the sensation of the pick piercing this rubbery body, the illusion was all too real. Sharon became nauseous and had to leave the set. Also missing Gus (George Dzunza) takes a nasty icepick in the cheek. Basic Instinct is a stylish and dark film that can be frustrating and uncomfortable as it never quite fully allows you to know all its secrets. But it is intriguing none-the-less.
Personally I was always uneasy with the boundaries Verhoven likes to push but this is a better film than expected. Verhoven has had several unfulfilled dreams to push even harder but so far has been thwarted. For example "Crusade" Another Arnold movie quashed in negotiations "Crusades" had a scene where Scharzenneger is found with his head sticking out of the backside of a donkey's rear end. Verhoven often joked with Rob Bottin about making a film designed to enrage his critics called Jesus 2000. Rob thinks he would have seriously done it if he was given the money.
Overall if you are a fan of Basic Instinct there is a lot for you on this disc. Two commentaries. One by Verhoven and the other by a feminist author as well as deleted scenes and some behind the scenes featurettes. The novelty plastic case with plastic ice pick was probably a bad idea as the hinges break very easily. Be careful when opening or you will be pretty ticked off.

I know that this is like the 4th DVD release of the classic 90s film "Basic Instinct" but this is really the best edition you can buy. It has nice packaging as well as video and audio. It also includes all the pervious bonus features from the regular Special Edition release and adds more. Along with the Director's Cut of the film, the main reason to pick this up if you have yet to get it, is the commentary from the director and the director of photography. They discuss all the points of the film you had in question and its a great addition. There are also featurettes and documentaries and intreviews to waste time. Yes, I know this is a shameful way to promote the release of "Basic Instinct 2", but its nice to have a definitve edition of the film on DVD. "Basic Instinct" is not an amazing film, but it is fun and sexy. It was revolutionary for its time and if you are a film buff I suggest you pick up a copy.