| Basic Instinct | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Paul Verhoeven |
| Written by | Joe Eszterhas |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jan de Bont |
| Edited by | Frank J. Urioste |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 128 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $49 million |
| Box office | $353 million |
Basic Instinct is a 1992erotic thriller film directed byPaul Verhoeven and written byJoe Eszterhas. It followsSan Francisco detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) as he investigates the murder of a rock star, only to begin an intense relationship with the prime suspectCatherine Tramell (Sharon Stone).
The script was developed by Eszterhas in the 1980s and became the subject of a bidding war, whichCarolco Pictures won before bringing Verhoeven on board to direct. Stone was cast as Tramell after the role was rejected by several other actresses, and 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 byTriStar Pictures two days later.[2] It received mixed reviews; praise was given to the performances, score, and editing, while the script and character development were criticized. The film also generated controversy due to its depiction of sexually explicit content, violence, and homosexual relationships.[3][4] Despite public protest, it was a commercial success, grossing $353 million worldwide on a $49 million budget[5] and becoming thefourth highest grossing film of 1992.[6] Due to its success and controversy, it inspired many imitators and has been labelled as "perhaps the quintessential erotic thriller of the 1990s".[7][8]
Since its release,Basic Instinct has undergone a critical reevaluation. The film has been recognized for its groundbreaking depictions of sexuality in mainstreamHollywood cinema, and was described by one scholar as "a neo-film noir masterpiece that plays with, and transgresses, the narrative rules of film noir".[9] Numerous versions have been released on home video, including adirector's cut with extended footage previously unseen.[10]
The film was followed by the sequelBasic Instinct 2 (2006), which starred Stone but was made without the involvement of Verhoeven or Douglas. It received negative reviews and was relatively unsuccessful.[11][12]
InSan Francisco, a blonde woman ties retired rock star Johnny Boz to a bed with a silk scarf during sex, then stabs him to death with anice pick.SFPD Detective Nick Curran and his partner, Gus Moran, investigate the murder. The prime suspect is Boz's girlfriend, crime novelistCatherine Tramell, whose latest novel mirrors the details of the killing.
Catherine is uncooperative with the investigators, taunting them by smoking during questioning and exposing herself. Though released for lack of evidence, she becomes a person of interest when Nick learns that she has a history of close relationships with violent individuals. These include her girlfriend Roxanne "Roxy" Hardy, who killed her younger brothers as a teenager, and Hazel Dobkins, a convicted family murderer.
Nick, a recovering alcoholic with a history of drug abuse and a prior incident in which he accidentally shot two tourists, attends mandatory counseling with police psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Garner, with whom he has an unstable romantic relationship. He discovers that Catherine is using him as the inspiration for a new character—a detective who is murdered after falling for the wrong woman. When Nick suspects that his confidential psychiatric file has been leaked, he assaults internal affairs lieutenant Marty Nilsen, who had access to the file. Nilsen is later found murdered, and Nick is placed on administrative leave.
At Boz's nightclub, Nick sees Catherine and Roxy using cocaine. Later, at Catherine's home, she ties Nick to the bed during sex while Roxy watches. Moran expresses concern about Nick's involvement with Catherine and uncovers that Nilsen received a $50,000 payment months before Nick met her.
Roxy, jealous of Nick, attempts to kill him in a car attack but dies in the ensuing crash. Catherine reveals that she had an intense relationship with a woman in college who became obsessed with her. Nick suspects the woman was Garner, who claims the obsession went the other way. Investigating further, Nick finds that Nilsen had withdrawn a complaint Catherine filed against Garner years earlier. He also uncovers that a professor shared by Garner and Catherine was killed with an ice pick in an unsolved case resembling Catherine's fiction, and that Garner's former husband was murdered in another unresolved case investigated by Nilsen.
Nick finds the draft of Catherine's new novel, which depicts a detective discovering his partner's body in an elevator. Catherine abruptly ends their relationship. Later, Moran tells Nick he has arranged to meet Catherine's former college roommate inOakland to learn more about her and Garner. When Nick arrives, he finds Moran stabbed to death with an ice pick in an elevator, mirroring the novel. Garner arrives shortly afterward, claiming she was lured there by a message. Believing she is reaching for a weapon, Nick shoots and kills her, but she is found to be unarmed.
Police find evidence in Garner's apartment implicating her in multiple murders, including files and photographs related to Catherine. Nick is left confused and emotionally shaken. Later, Catherine returns to Nick's apartment and they have sex. As they lie in bed discussing their future, an ice pick lies unseen beneath the bed.
The screenplay, which was written in the 1980s, sparked a bidding war until it was finally purchased byCarolco Pictures for US$3 million.[13][14] Joe Eszterhas, who had previously been the creative force behind several blockbuster films such asFlashdance (1983) andJagged Edge (1985), managed to complete the script in just 13 days.[15] However, Paul Verhoeven had suggested changes to the script that Eszterhas strongly disagreed with, including a lesbian sex scene that Eszterhas deemed "exploitative".[2] With Verhoeven unwilling to budge, Eszterhas and producer Irwin Winkler left the production.
Gary Goldman was subsequently brought on board to rewrite the script four times at Verhoeven's suggestion. However, by the fourth draft, Verhoeven himself acknowledged that his proposals were "undramatic" and "really stupid". By the fifth and final draft, the script had returned to Eszterhas' original vision, with only minor tweaks to visuals and dialogue.[16] As a result, Eszterhas received sole writing credit for the film. In preparation for the car chase scene, Michael Douglas drove up the steps onKearny Street in San Francisco for four nights by himself.
The home of Sharon Stone's character, prominently featured in the film, is said to be inStinson Beach, California, just north of San Francisco. The scenes were shot at a mansion nearCarmel-by-the-Sea, about 120 miles (190 km) south of San Francisco. The property had been previously owned by the late adventurerSteve Fossett and his wife until her death in 2017.[17] In 2018, the residence was purchased by software engineer Gary Vickers, who combined it into an estate with four adjoining cottages he also owned; he put the entire property on sale the following year for $52.4 million.[18][19] By 2022, the asking price had been lowered to $29.6 million.[18]
After numerous actors turned down the lead role, Carolco worried they would not be able to cast a suitable male lead.[20] CAA's agentRonald Meyer called Carolco and said that he knew the script had been turned down by actors; Meyer saidMichael Douglas would agree to star in the film if Carolco could meet his salary requirement, and Carolco quickly agreed.[20] Douglas was cast in the project early on. He recommendedKim Basinger for the role of Catherine Tramell, but she declined.[21] He also suggestedJulia Roberts,[22]Greta Scacchi,[23] andMeg Ryan,[24] but they all turned down the role.Debra Winger,Michelle Pfeiffer,Geena Davis,Kathleen Turner,Kelly Lynch,Ellen Barkin, andMariel Hemingway all turned down the role as well when offered by Verhoeven and producers.[13][25]
Verhoeven consideredDemi Moore,[26] but ultimately chose Sharon Stone, with whom he had previously worked onTotal 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.[27] Stone wanted the role but they refused to send her the script, until her manager broke into the studio's office locker to give her the script.[28] Verhoeven tested with Stone as Douglas first refused to test with her. Verhoeven kept playing her test after testing everyone else, and Douglas later agreed to test with Stone after 12 other actresses turned down the role.[29] Michael Douglas was initially 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."[22] He later remarked that "we had a fabulous actress in Sharon. She was just perfect for the role".[30] Stone also suspected that a heated argument between Douglas and herself at a Cannes Festival party sometime earlier was a contributing factor.[31] Ultimately, Stone was paid $500,000 for her role, while Douglas received $14 million.[32]
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Themusical score forBasic Instinct was composed byJerry Goldsmith and earned him nominations for anAcademy Award and aGolden Globe Award.[33] 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."[34]
In terms of featured music, commercially released tracks played a minor role in the film. The club scene prominently features "Blue" by Chicagohouse music performerLaTour and "Rave the Rhythm" by the group Channel X, as well as "Movin' on Up" byJeff Barry andJa'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.
The film opened in North American theatres in March 1992, and after being entered into the1992 Cannes Film Festival[35] 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 anNC-17 rating by theMPAA 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.[13] Verhoeven described the changes in a March 1992 article inThe 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.[13]
The theatrical release of the film was cut by 35 to 40 seconds to avoid an NC-17 rating,[13] 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:
In 2021,StudioCanal released a restored4K 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.[36]
Basic Instinct opened in theaters in the United States and Canada on March 20, 1992, and became one of thehighest-grossing films of that year. It debuted atnumber 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,[37] making it the fourth-highest-grossing film released in 1992 worldwide.[38] In Italy, it had a record opening of $5.44 million and remained number one for four weeks,[39] ultimately grossing $20 million and becoming thehighest-grossing film for the year.[40] It was the highest-grossing film in Spain of all time, with a gross of $21.6 million,[41][42] and in the United Kingdom, it wasnumber one for three weeks and thehighest-grossing film for the year with a gross of £15.5 million.[43] It was also number one for the year in France ($27 million), Germany (4.5 million admissions), South Africa ($3 million), Iceland, and Ireland.[44][45] In Australia, it wasnumber one for three weeks and thesecond-highest-grossing film for the year, grossing A$13.1 million.[46]
Basic Instinct's critical reaction was mixed. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 56% of 79 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "Unevenly echoing the work ofAlfred Hitchcock,Basic Instinct contains a star-making performance from Sharon Stone but is ultimately undone by its problematic, overly lurid plot."[47] OnMetacritic the film holds a score of 43 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[48] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[49]
Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times praised the film, saying "Basic Instinct transfers Mr. Verhoeven's flair for action-oriented material to the realm ofHitchcockian intrigue, and the results are viscerally effective even when they don't make sense."[50]Peter Travers ofRolling 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 ofArnold Schwarzenegger in Verhoeven'sTotal Recall. But being the bright spot in too many dull movies (He Said, She Said;Irreconcilable Differences) stalled her career. ThoughBasic Instinct establishes Stone as a bombshell for the Nineties, it also shows she can nail a laugh or shade an emotion with equal aplomb."[51]
Australian critic Shannon J. Harvey of theSunday Times called it one of the "1990s['] finest productions, doing more for female empowerment than anyfeminist rally. Stone—in her star-making performance—is as hot and sexy as she is ice-pick cold."[52]
The film had many detractors.[53]Roger Ebert of theChicago 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."[54]Dave Kehr of theChicago 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."[55]
I had no pressure from anybody, not from Carolco, not fromTri-Star, not from anybody to change anything about the so-called gay issue. I did it the way I wanted. I was, you might say,politically correct. The gay characters are positive. And the reaction is totally unwarranted. Have they seen the film? No. They read the script. They read the script like fundamentalists read thebible. They could not visualize the film.[56]
— Paul Verhoeven on the film's controversy before release
After the script was made available togay rights activist groups in 1990, concerns arose as to the film's depiction of homosexual relationships, and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderouspsychopath.[57] Activists claimed that the film followed a pattern of negative depictions and stereotypes of homosexuals in film.[58] 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."[59] Upon resuming filming in San Francisco in late April 1991,gay and lesbian rights activists and demonstrators attended,[60] and theSan 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 the49ers" and "Honk if you love men." On April 29, Marshall ordered acitizen's arrest and personally identified each protester he wanted arrested. However, this did not result in any action by the local police department.[2][58][59]
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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".[61] 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."[62]
Six protestors disrupted the filming ofSaturday Night Live on April 11, 1992, while Stone was hosting.[63] The protestors attempted to rush the stage, but they were apprehended by security; two women and four men were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and harassment.[64][65] The live version of Stone's interrupted monologue was replaced in repeat broadcasts with footage from the dress rehearsal.[63]
Film criticRoger 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."[54]Camille Paglia denounced the gay activist and feminist protests againstBasic Instinct, and called Sharon Stone's performance "one of the great performances by a woman in screen history", praising her character as "a greatvamp figure, likeMona Lisa herself, like apagan goddess."[66]
Women's rights groups also protested the film over its negative depiction of women and a brutal rape scene, with a branch of TheNational Organization for Women calling the film "the most blatantlymisogynistic 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."[67] The film was also criticized for glamorizing cigarette smoking. ScreenwriterJoe Eszterhas was later diagnosed withthroat cancer and publicly apologized for glamorizing smoking in his films.[68]
In 1992, inLes Herbiers, France, the mayor Jeanne Briand banned the movie in her municipality, claiming that this movie was "apologism for crime and violence, which exacerbates impulses that can lead torape."[69][70][71][72]
Stone has alleged multiple times that a scene in which hervulva was exposed as she crossed her legs was filmed without her knowledge.[73] She said she was told that her lack of underwear would only be alluded to and not shown.[74] She had been wearing white underwear until Verhoeven said it reflected light on the camera lens and asked her to remove it, assuring her that only a shadow would be visible. She said it was not until she saw the film in a screening room with atest audience that she became aware of the visible nudity, leading her to slap Verhoeven in the face and leave the screening.[73]
In her 2021 memoir, Stone again stated 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.[75] 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.[76] In a 1998Inside the Actors Studio interview, Stone said that while she was initially angry, she realized Verhoeven'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 that he stole it from me instead of allowing me to choose. But he was right."[77]
In a 1993Entertainment Weekly interview,Jeanne Tripplehorn stated that the notorious "brutal, bruising sex" between her and Douglas's character was somewhat "lighter" when described to her by Verhoeven before shooting.[78]
During the trial for Luka Magnotta for themurder of Jun Lin, the prosecution stated that Luka Magnotta stabbed Lin to death with a screwdriver painted silver in order to resemble the ice pick used by Stone's character, Catherine Tramell.[79][80]
In July 2025, it was announced thatAmazon MGM Studios' labelUnited Artists, headed byScott Stuber, had paid $2 million to buy rights to a currently untitled reboot of the film, with Eszterhas returning to write the script.[86]
In August 2025, Sharon Stone said she was not involved with the project and questioned the need for a reboot, telling US TV’sToday: "I don't know why you'd do it ... good luck," and later adding that "there's not going to be aBasic Instinct reboot."[87]
But the sexual content of the film helped determine the choice of its female star. Ms. Stone, who played Arnold Schwarzenegger's wife in 'Total Recall', was cast in 'Basic Instinct' only after better-known actresses like Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger, Geena Davis, Ellen Barkin and Mariel Hemingway rejected her part, largely because it demanded so much nudity and sexual simulation.
pas correct [...] une apologie du crime et de la violence, qui exacerbe des pulsions qui peuvent conduire au viol [...] Si la criminalité est en hausse en France, c'est à cause de ces films.
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