Basic Instinct
2 Oscar Nominations
Rent/Purchase
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were genuinely split on Basic Instinct at release: Sharon Stone's performance was almost universally acknowledged as a star-making turn, but the film's lurid plotting and Verhoeven's exploitation-over-exploration approach divided reviewers sharply. Audiences embraced it more warmly than critics did, and the film's reputation has proved more durable in popular memory than the mixed initial notices would suggest.
“Basic Instinct transfers Mr. Verhoeven's flair for action-oriented material to the realm of Hitchcockian intrigue, and the results are viscerally effective even when they don't make sense.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Though Basic Instinct establishes Stone as a bombshell for the Nineties, it also shows she can nail a laugh or shade an emotion with equal aplomb.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“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.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Verhoeven does not explore the dark side, but merely exploits it, and that makes all the difference in the world.”
Dave Kehr·Chicago Tribune
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Romance
Cast & Crew
DirectorPaul Verhoeven
StarringMichael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt
ComposerJerry Goldsmith
Basic Instinct
2 Oscar Nominations
Catherine, a novelist with an insatiable sexual appetite, becomes a prime suspect when her boyfriend is brutally murdered -- a crime she had described in her latest story.
What critics thought
DivisiveCritics were genuinely split on Basic Instinct at release: Sharon Stone's performance was almost universally acknowledged as a star-making turn, but the film's lurid plotting and Verhoeven's exploitation-over-exploration approach divided reviewers sharply. Audiences embraced it more warmly than critics did, and the film's reputation has proved more durable in popular memory than the mixed initial notices would suggest.
“Basic Instinct transfers Mr. Verhoeven's flair for action-oriented material to the realm of Hitchcockian intrigue, and the results are viscerally effective even when they don't make sense.”
Janet Maslin·The New York Times
“Though Basic Instinct establishes Stone as a bombshell for the Nineties, it also shows she can nail a laugh or shade an emotion with equal aplomb.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
“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.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Verhoeven does not explore the dark side, but merely exploits it, and that makes all the difference in the world.”
Dave Kehr·Chicago Tribune
Genres
Drama, Mystery, Romance
Cast & Crew
DirectorPaul Verhoeven
StarringMichael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt
ComposerJerry Goldsmith
Rent/Purchase