Plot
Basic Instinct is a 1992 thriller film, directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, starring Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Jeanne Tripplehorn and George Dzundza. The film centres around a police detective, Nick Curran (Douglas) who is put in charge of the investigation of a brutal murder of a wealthy former singer, in which a beautiful, wealthy and seductive writer Catherine Tramell (Stone) could be involved, and the relationship he developes with the mysterious woman.

Controversy surrounded Basic Instinct before it was even released. Gay rights activists strongly criticized the film and its depiction of homosexual relationships, especially the depiction of lesbians as psychotic mass murderers. In addition, the film reawakened arguments about censorship in the United States. It was initially given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA for its graphic content. However, the 1992 theatrical release was cut by about one minute in order to gain an R rating. The film was subsequently re-released in its uncut format on video and later on DVD.

Despite, or because of, its controversy, Basic Instinct was a major hit and became one of the best box office performing films of 1992, collecting nearly $353 million worldwide and becoming one of the most well-known, iconic films of the 1990s.[1] While receiving major commercial attention, it was also critically commended,[2] receiving two Academy Award and two Golden Globe nominations—Jerry Goldsmith, the composer, was nominated for both awards for his original score, while Frank Urioste was nominated for an Academy Award for his editing and Sharon Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress. The cinematic success of the film was followed by a long-awaited release of a sequel, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006), which was poorly received critically and commercially. Multiple versions of the film have been released including a Director's cut, the most recent release being in 2006.


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