In San Francisco, retired rock star Johnny Boz is found dead in bed after a night of passion. Detective Nick Curran and his partner, Gus Moran, take on the case. The main suspect is Catherine Tramell, a wealthy crime novelist whose latest book seems to mirror the killing. She meets the detectives with defiance and cool detachment, and although she is released for lack of evidence, Nick uncovers a past full of close ties to violent people. Meanwhile, Nick attends mandatory sessions with police psychologist Beth Garner, with whom he has an unsteady relationship, and his own personal history leaves him increasingly exposed. The investigation becomes a game of crossed suspicions in which nothing is quite what it seems.

How it was made

Joe Eszterhas wrote the screenplay in the late 1980s, and it set off a bidding war before Carolco Pictures bought it for around three million dollars, a sum then regarded as a record. Paul Verhoeven came on to direct and proposed changes that Eszterhas strongly opposed, including a lesbian sex scene the writer considered exploitative. Eszterhas and producer Irwin Winkler left the project, and Gary Goldman rewrote the script several times until the fifth draft returned to Eszterhas's original concept with only minor adjustments. Michael Douglas took the male lead after several actresses had turned down Catherine, and Sharon Stone was eventually cast in the role. For the car chase, Douglas spent several nights driving up steps on Kearny Street in San Francisco. The house belonging to Catherine was filmed at a mansion near Carmel-by-the-Sea. Jerry Goldsmith's score and Jan de Bont's cinematography give the film its polished, controlled look.

Reception and legacy

Basic Instinct opened in March 1992 to mixed reviews. Critics praised the performances, the score and the editing, but often found fault with the script and the characterisation. The film drew controversy for its graphic violence and its depiction of gay relationships, and it faced public protests. Even so, it was a substantial commercial hit, earning far more than its production budget and ranking among the year's biggest releases. It received Academy Award nominations for film editing and original score. Its success and notoriety prompted many imitators, and it is often cited as a defining erotic thriller of the 1990s. A sequel, Basic Instinct 2 (2006), returned Stone to the role without Verhoeven or Douglas, and was poorly reviewed and commercially disappointing.