Movie Description This steamy thriller to end all steamy thrillers stars Michael Douglas as Nick, a boozy San Francisco police detective who finds himself drawn to the prime suspect in a murder case--manipulative, sexually uninhibited novelist Catherine Trammell (Sharon Stone). Catherine's latest book features a murder uncannily similar to the one Nick is investigating, and as the pair engage in a mating dance of dangerous one-upmanship, more murders occur, all described in her current work, about a boozy cop in love with a killer. Nick's psychiatrist (Jeanne Tripplehorn), and cop partner (George Dzundza) are both worried about him, and Catherine's jealous lesbian lover (Leilani Sarelle) may be trying to kill him, but Nick is just too turned on to care.
Director Paul Verhoeven shows an admirable lack of restraint in this ludicrously enjoyable thriller, a sort of postmodern noir with Joe Eszterhas's script coming off like Mamet by way of Penthouse. Stone and Douglas exhibit fine chemistry (and most of their bodies), and there's some lovely Bay Area scenery courtesy of cinematographer Jan de Bont (who went on to direct films such as SPEED and TWISTER). Wayne Knight (Newman from SEINFELD) and Mitch Pileggi (Skinner from THE X-FILES) are precinct heads who question Catherine in the infamous leg-crossing scene.
| Credits | | Cast: | George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Leilani Sarelle, Mitch Pileggi, Wayne Knight |
| Details | | Edition: | Special Limited Edition - Unrated | | Sound: | Stereo Sound, Surround Sound |
Notes DVD Features:
Region 1 Special Packaging Widescreen - 1.78 Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 - English Dolby Digital Stereo - English Additional Release Material: Deleted Scenes Audio Commentary - 1. Camille Paglia - Feminist Critic 2. Paul Verhoeven - Director 3. Jan De Bont - Director of Photography Bonus Feature/Short - CLEANING UP BASIC INSTINCT - A Montage Comparing the TV Version to the Theatrical Version Documentary - BLONDE POISON - THE MAKING OF THE FILM Interactive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Access Text/Photo Galleries: Stills/Photos Production Notes Storyboards Biographies Filmographies
Editorial Reviews "...One charged-up erotic thriller - gory, lurid, brutally funny..." Rolling Stone - p.89-90 - Peter Travers (04/16/1992)
"...[A] red-hot, dangerously modern romance [that] will never be accused of not knowing how to get an audience's attention....[Stone is] chilling..." New York Times - p.C8 - Janet Maslin (03/20/1992)
"...Visually, it's edgy and impressive..." Entertainment Weekly - p.50-2 - Owen Gleiberman (03/20/1992)
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