Basic Instinct

This article is about the 1992 film. For other uses, see Basic Instinct (disambiguation).

Basic Instinct
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Verhoeven
Written byJoe Eszterhas
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJan de Bont
Edited byFrank J. Urioste
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 18, 1992 (1992-03-18) (Los Angeles)
  • March 20, 1992 (1992-03-20) (United States)
  • May 8, 1992 (1992-05-08) (France and United Kingdom)
Running time
128 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$49 million
Box office$352.9 million[2]

Basic Instinct is a 1992 neo-noir[3] erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Wayne Knight, the film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran (Douglas) as he investigates the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the course of the investigation, Curran becomes entangled in a passionate and intense relationship with Catherine Tramell (Stone), an enigmatic writer and the prime suspect.

The script for Basic Instinct was developed by Eszterhas in the 1980s, and it became the subject of a bidding war. Carolco Pictures secured the rights to the film and brought Verhoeven on board to direct. Stone was cast as Tramell after the role was rejected by several actresses. Production was plagued by protests and intense conflict between Eszterhas and Verhoeven.

Basic Instinct premiered in Los Angeles on March 18, 1992, and was theatrically released in the United States by TriStar Pictures on March 20, 1992.[4] The film received mixed reviews upon its release, with praise for the performances of the cast, score, and editing, while its writing and character development were criticized. It also generated controversy due to its sexually explicit content, violence, and depiction of homosexual relationships.[5][6] Despite the public protest, Basic Instinct was a commercial success, grossing $352.9 million worldwide and becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film of 1992.[7] Due to its success and controversy, it inspired many imitators, and has been labelled as "perhaps the quintessential erotic thriller of the 1990s."[8][9]

Since its release, Basic Instinct has undergone a critical reevaluation. The film has been recognized for its groundbreaking depictions of sexuality in mainstream Hollywood cinema, and was described by one scholar as "a neo-film noir masterpiece that plays with, and transgresses, the narrative rules of film noir."[10] Numerous versions of the film have been released on videocassette, laserdisc, DVD, and Blu-ray, including a director's cut with extended footage previously unseen in North American cinemas.[11]

A sequel, Basic Instinct 2, was released 14 years later in 2006. The film stars Stone, but was made without the involvement of Verhoeven or Douglas. It received negative reviews and was relatively unsuccessful.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Basic Instinct (18)". British Board of Film Classification. March 18, 1992. Archived from the original on September 19, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  2. ^ "Basic Instinct (1992)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  3. ^ Silver, Alain; Ward, Elizabeth, eds. (1992). Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style (3rd ed.). Woodstock, New York: The Overlook Press. p. 424. ISBN 978-0-87951-479-2.
  4. ^ "Basic Instinct". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on June 9, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  5. ^ Leistedt, Samuel J.; Linkowski, Paul (January 2014). "Psychopathy and the Cinema: Fact or Fiction?". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 59 (1): 167–174. doi:10.1111/1556-4029.12359. PMID 24329037. S2CID 14413385.
  6. ^ "Dr. Fredricks Cinema Therapy Blog - Narcissistic personality disorder". Dr. Randi Fredricks, PhD. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
  7. ^ "Basic Instinct (1992) - Box Office Mojo". Boxofficemojo.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  8. ^ Raftery, Brian (March 17, 2022). "The Rise and Fall of the Erotic Thriller". The Ringer.
  9. ^ Hudson, David (March 27, 2023). "Erotic '90s". The Criterion Collection.
  10. ^ Murray, Terri (2008). Feminist Film Studies: A Teacher's Guide. Auteur.
  11. ^ Basic Instinct (1992) - IMDb, archived from the original on April 7, 2017, retrieved October 8, 2020
  12. ^ "Moviefone Top 25 Box Office Bombs of All Time". Moviefone.com. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  13. ^ "Worst of the Worst 2009 - Dragonfly". Rotten Tomatoes. March 16, 2010. Archived from the original on March 16, 2010. Retrieved November 22, 2017.