Basic Instinct [Blu-ray] [Region B]

This is the kind of film Hitchcock would love to have made with Grace Kelly. He approached it with Tippi Hedren in 'Marnie' where Sean Connery rapes her on their honeymoon, and he hints at it in 'Vertigo' when James Stewart kisses Kim Novak in the second coming of Madeleine. The closest he got with Grace Kelly is the attempted murder scene in 'Dial M For Murder' where Anthony Newland has her over the telephone table. It is a metaphor of a rape scene because he is on top of her on the table. In 'Basic Instinct' we get to dance with Sharon Stone, grope her, and have sex with her. This is what Hitchcock would have loved to have done with Grace Kelly, and it's no coincidence that Stone is a blonde dressed in classical costumes with classical beauty like Grace Kelly. The film is also set in San Francisco with overtones of 'Vertigo'. Catherine Trammell has echoes of Kim Novak who of course is a substitute for Grace Kelly. Apart from the Hitchcock references, this is a landmark for Sharon Stone. You totally believe her in the role, and even in her screen tests she was there emotionally in the character. (The same can be said for Jeanne Tripplehorn, although I didn't agree with the rape scene between her and Michael Douglas.) Even when she's not speaking, her eyes tell the story. There is depth to her eyes which were absent from Kim Novak. In Novak's eyes, she looked lost and wandering. In Sharon Stone's eyes she is enchanting, hypnotic and seductive. She has the right voice, but so did Novak.It is husky and seductive with layers of sex in each sentence. Surely this is what Hitchcock wanted to achieve with Grace Kelly, but probably would have done better with Kim Novak. If Sharon Stone had a successful job as an actress before this film, she had a successful career as a film star after this film. The Interrogation scene is a work of art in terms of performance, framing and direction. Sharon Stone is in control making the detectives sweat with sexual hunger. She has a profound effect on Michael Douglas who repeats her behaviour when he is interrogated later on. This shows how she is drawing him into her without him even realising it, almost like a black widow ready to swallow up her mate after sex, Now because the film runs over two hours, there are going to be some scenes that drag its feet. However, they are cancelled out by the phenomenally strong scenes such as the opening scene, the interrogation scene, the nightclub scene, the sex scene that follows and the Michael Douglas interrogation scene. Jeanne Tripplehorn is attractive and sexy in the scene that she is raped, but you kind of wonder where she goes from here because apart from 'Sliding Doors' she doesn't go on to do anything significant. Sharon Stone had a track record as a good actress in dull movies before making this film, and went on to do 'Sliver' and other movies after this film. Michael Douglas already had a track record with 'Fatal Attraction' for this sort of film, and would go on to do 'Disclosure' and 'A Perfect Murder'.

One of the movies you should see in your lifetime! The bit where Sharon Stone uncrosses her legs and 'flashes' her pubic hair is really well done, so daring, yet without vulgarity. And what a nice body she has! Michael Douglas plays this part fairly well: he's been typecast in this kind of role for most of his acting career. This DVD came with a really interesting interview of Paul Verhoeven and Mario Kassar about the context in which they were shooting this movie: protests by gay and lesbian people that the movie was homophobic. They would demonstrate outside the studios/places which had been selected for shooting, and do things like blowing shrill whistles, which interfered with sound recording. Two representatives (male and female) of these gay and lesbian people, who were demonstrating at the same time (I think one of them even got arrested for breaking through the police barriers) are also interviewed: it is really interesting to hear their side of the story as well. They do a swell job of it, especially as they are 'low-key', i.e. they don't wave their homosexuality in your face or try to shock. Their point was precisely that Catherine's sexuality is abnormal full stop, and that this has nothing to do with being homosexual, which is also what Mr Verhoeven claims the movie was about. This movie really helped me understand some of the cliches and fantasies that some straigth people carry about gay people, as in my hometown, Paris, homosexuality and bisexuality are just as normal as heterosexuality. I had met homophobic people in the past, but they were Roman Catholic or Russian or Romanian orthodox. It's not until I moved to the UK (Bristol) that I discovered how much homophobia there can be in non church-going people, and how vile and base their 'fantasies' can be. As a lesbian lady told me: 'my partner and I, between the 2 of us, have had far less casual sexual encounters than the average heterosexual person, yet we can't donate blood'.

`Basic Instinct' is a great crime movie! On its release nearly twenty years ago - yes! that many already - it broke new ground for violence, explicit sexual scenes and graphic close-ups of all kinds of nastiness - criminal and otherwise! Michael Douglas, who served a long apprenticeship on `The Streets of San Francisco' found himself in a peach of a role, one in which he could play to the limits of his talent and experience. With the female lead, Sharon Stone, another Hollywood `A' lister, a good story and great direction, not to mention the sinewy, creepy music that weaves its way throughout, the film rightly turned out to be a big hit at the box office. It remains an icon of its genre to this day, Stone plays a female crime writer, the plot of whose book curiously matches an actual murder event; and a pretty gruesome one at that! She immediately becomes a suspect. Cue Douglas who is assigned to investigate the case. His, shall we say, adventures, that follow are the gist of the film. This is a tense, gripping movie. Lots of twists and turns and scenes of extreme violence and brutality that are not for the squeamish. The scenes of sexual activity, though entirely necessary to the development of the film, leave little to the imagination. In one memorable scene where Stone is sitting facing her accusers during an interview, she crosses and uncrosses her legs, making it plain that she is wearing little under her skirt. Whether this particular, brief moment is gratuitous or not is arguable. I do not think the movie would have suffered by its absence. But it is this provocative, knickerless few seconds for which the movie has become renowned and from which it has garnered it's fame. In actuality the movie is a very good crime thriller, if not an excellent one, in it's own right. However, if ever a film deserved its `18' category, this one does!

un must film superbe

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.

Bought the unrated directors cut, and it came with almost of the special features did, but is missing a few tiny tidbits that aren't really that big of a deal. This is a great film, if you have never seen it, it is HARD R stuff (nudity and such), but a great film non-the-less. Digital code worked fine. It is one of Paul Verhoeven better films. Worth a watch and has a very iconic scene it. Sharon stone and Michael Douglas are great.

El blu ray contiene material extra y la calidad de imagen es excelente con audio dts y subtítulos en español esta es la versión original sin censura ampliamente recomendado para la colección

I'm a big fan of this movie. I wasn't ever allowed to see it under my parents, but now that they're out of my hair I finally got around to checking this one out. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love learning more about how our culture came to be, and I think this movie showed me some things about my parent generation. I guess I should be rating the delivery and packaging, though, instead of the actual film. I've popped in this version of Basic Instinct twice now and have no complaints to report! But, as long as the original is preserved, I'm pleased, so I guess I'm not a hard customer. Great movie, regardless, but I can't compare this packaging of it to another.