Basic Instinct [DVD] (1992)

More than a nod to Hitchcock - soundtrack, locations, dialogue, car chases, cool blond - Basic Instinct has everything. Movie panned by the critics now rightly accepted as an iconic movie. Douglas and Stone were perfect

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'.

OK - I'm a huge Verhoeven fan and I was only ever interested in upgrading my copy of Basic Instinct if I was getting the almighty director's original cut as opposed to the (admittedly slightly) tampered-with US version.Needless to say that, as usual, Optimum have released yet another fantastic release on Blu-Ray in the UK.Firstly we have the director's cut in all its gory glory as Verhoeven originally intended the audience to see it.Secondly the UK Blu-ray release sports a superior transfer over any previous DVD versions and (rumour has it) even the US Blu-Ray version.Lastly, the audio is an improvement presented here in a lossless 5.1 DTS Master Audio mix.I always enjoyed Basic Instinct for its unflinching honesty towards sex and violence. Verhoeven brings out the best and ultimately worst in all of the characters in his homage to Hitchcock. In another director's hands this could easily have ended up a mess; look at the sequel for proof.The photography is stunning and not just for those masters of 'bation' among us (see previous childish reviews), but mainly for the shots of LA, Tramell's sea-view house and the night-club scene to name only a few. The car chase that takes place on roads carved into the side of mountain looks and sounds great on Blu-Ray and is still my favourite scene in the film for reasons I can't quite explain!Gerry Goldsmith's stunning score (surely a career highlight?) breathes free and easy on Blu and thanks to the film's age is given a full overture during the opening credits setting the scene for what is to come.I am incredibly pleased with this Blu-Ray release of Basic Instinct, my only complaint is that there are absolutely no special features. Now, as a student of Verhoeven I do not need things explaining, but the director/writer's commentary would surely have been possible? Verhoeven is open and honest in all of his commentaries and for that alone to have been added to this release would have made it five out of five stars for me.Thank you Optimum for releasing another excellent quality release and for using the director's cut.TS