Basic Instinct is a neo-noir [3] erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. The film follows San Francisco police detective Nick Curran Michael Douglas , who is investigating the brutal murder of a wealthy rock star. During the investigation Curran becomes involved in a torrid and intense relationship with the prime suspect, Catherine Tramell Sharon Stone , an enigmatic writer. Eszterhas developed the script in the s, which became a subject of a bidding war until Carolco Pictures acquired the rights to the film. From there, Verhoeven signed on to direct and Douglas and Stone joined the project, after many actresses were considered for the role of Tramell. Before its release, Basic Instinct generated heated controversy due to its overt sexuality and graphic depictions of violence, including a scene of rape. It was strongly opposed by gay rights activists, who criticized the film's depiction of homosexual relationships and the portrayal of a bisexual woman as a murderous psychopath. The film has contemporarily been recognized for its groundbreaking depictions of sexuality in mainstream Hollywood cinema , and has been referred to by one scholar as "a neo-film noir masterpiece that plays with, and transgresses, the narrative rules of film noir. In San Francisco , homicide detective Nick Curran investigates the murder of retired rock star Johnny Boz, who has been brutally stabbed to death with an ice pick during sex with a mysterious blonde woman.


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With some thrillers, that would be a damaging blow. This is not a movie where the outcome depends upon the personality or behavior of the characters. It's just a wind-up machine to jerk us around. Consider the last shot of the movie no, I will not reveal it. This shot allows us to discover whodunit - whether one of the characters is a murderer, or not.
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See the full list. Novelist Catherine Tramell is once again in trouble with the law, and Scotland Yard appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her. Though, like Detective Nick Curran before him, Glass is entranced by Tramell and lured into a seductive game. A married man's one-night stand comes back to haunt him when that lover begins to stalk him and his family. A wealthy Wall Street speculator discovers that his wife has a lover. He investigates him and uses the carrot and stick to make him murder his wife.