Basic Instinct overview

Basic Instinct

Synopsis:

This cold, stylish erotic-thriller grossed over $100 million at the box-office despite vigorous protests at its depiction of gays and women. The shocking opening sequence features a graphic sexual encounter involving a rock-star bound with a white Hermes scarf by an unidentified blond woman. Despite the fact that the scene ends with a bloody icepick murder (horrifyingly realized by makeup artist Rob Bottin), Hermes scarves quickly sold out at stores nationwide. This seeming paradox is at the heart of the film's appeal, as it mixes perverse sexuality and erotic bloodshed in a manner common to European thrillers (director Paul Verhoeven had done it himself in 1979's marvelous De Vierde Man) but mostly taboo in America.


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Movie Details:

  • Director: Paul Verhoeven
  • Studio: Canal Plus, LIVE Home Video, TriStar, Carolco Pictures
  • Year: 1992
  • Run Time: 123 minutes
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English
  • Set in: San Francisco, CA
  • MPAA Rating: R (for strong violence and sensuality, and for drug use and language)
  • Category: Feature
  • Genre/Type: Thriller
  • Filmed in: Color
  • Release: 1992 03 20 (USA)

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