Detective Nick Curren is investigating a sexually motivated murder case. Suspicion falls on the friend of the murdered Katherine – a writer, author of shocking novels, who in her last book described in detail an absolutely similar crime. But the charming, incredibly sexy writer has an amazing ability to manipulate men, awakening in them one of the most basic instincts.

4k movies reviews
This is not just a scandalous and cult erotic thriller of all times and peoples. This is a big, qualitative step forward and the present era in the development of the genre. This is not just a film – it is a style and an indescribable, mesmerizing atmosphere, literally saturated with intelligence, passion, sex, madness, fear, risk and excitement.

Excitement to the game, because in fact it is a film, first of all, about the game. The game is addictive, mesmerizing, chic, sensual and deadly. This is a confrontation between incredibly strong characters and remarkable intellects. And, even though the outcome is a foregone conclusion and is known in advance, watching this fight of two creatures for possession of each other is simply incredibly interesting. Largely due to the fact that the director of the picture is Paul Verhoeven.

The master with a capital letter, who confirmed his reputation with the masterpieces of science fiction – “Robot Policeman” and “Recall Everything” and in this rather unusual genre for himself, not only “did not hit the face in the dirt”, but, on the contrary, showed himself to be extremely talented, a skillful and multifaceted director who knows how to masterfully work with the most diverse genres and actors and at the same time remain true to his unique style.

What really distinguishes Paul and favorably separates him from just a good director is that behind every shot you can literally feel his handwriting, atmosphere, style and the “iron hand” of a stern and tough dictator, showing his authoritarianism, because he knows exactly what he wants! Every detail, every movement, every actor and even music is subordinated to a clear task to convey to the viewer only what the director wants to say. Nothing superfluous, no improvisation – just show it the way the director wants. In my opinion, this is exactly what an outstanding director should be. And I have seen similar methods of work only with Cameron.

The film captures literally from the first shots and does not let go until the very end, even despite the genre and the absence of breathtaking action games and hot shootings. All Verhoeven’s signature tricks and “tricks” are evident here, as well as the technical perfection of the film – a luxurious visual series (the film was shot very competently), despite the almost complete absence of special effects (which Paul’s previous paintings abounded), chic bed scenes, hypertrophied violence (an abundance of cruel and naturalistic scenes), a magnificent, very atmospheric soundtrack that fits perfectly into the concept of the picture, Goldsmith’s soundtrack, an excellent operator (Jan De Bont, by the way), excellent editing and a hurricane acting.

The performance of the actors is at the highest level – Tripplehorn and Dzundza played excellently, and Douglas and Stone, without question, “pull” the Oscars. Sharon performed here one of the best and, by far, the most famous and scandalous role. Catherine Tramell is a real devil in the flesh, a femme fatale, whose incredible charm and attractiveness are based on sexuality literally emanating from her, fatal beauty, depravity, sophisticated intellect and the ability to masterfully manipulate people. She has a passionate nature and, at the same time, the cold heart of a merciless killer. She is able to pull out the most terrible demons from the darkest corners of a person’s soul and subjugate him.

The final chord for her is the bed, where she skillfully and passionately performs her ritual, after which the death of the victim is only a matter of time and a certain stage of her playing. The essence of nature Tramell perfectly reveals the psychologist: “You are dealing with a person who is very dangerous and very sick.” She is not interested in simple and ordinary people, due to her irrepressible passion for everything abnormal and perverted, she is literally drawn to pathological maniacs and murderers – she makes them the main characters of her books and characters in her terrible game.

Her charm and mind cannot be resisted for a long time – sooner or later any man will be at her feet for the simple reason that he cannot restrain the basic instinct. It is these nets, skillfully and masterfully placed by the devilish villain, that Nick Curren falls. Despite his strong rebellious and unbalanced character, tenacious grip and bestial instinct of an excellent detective, he is not a rival to Katherine, and in this game he is doomed to defeat, since he initially plays according to her script and her rules, although in some places he is just a fine fellow. and replays it. For him, she is that light that indomitable attracts more and more to itself – towards death. Douglas with his negative magnetism and charm is magnificent in the role of Curren – he played talentedly, “juicy”, lively and very emotionally. In my opinion, one of his best roles.

There is not a single “sagging” or unnecessary moment in the picture, and the dynamics and drive are such that they will give odds to any action. I would like to say special thanks to Joe Esterhaz for a thoughtful and wonderful script – not a single superfluous storyline or an extra character, unexpected plot twists, brilliantly written characters, a very subtly and competently built detective line and rich, intellectual dialogues.

The ending of the picture is quite “transparent”, although it fits perfectly into the mainstream of the whole story.

The film looks in one breath, the erotic scenes are mesmerizing and literally take your breath away, and following the twists and turns of the plot and the fight between Nick and Catherine is incredibly exciting. “Basic Instinct” has become a cult classic since the time the film was released, it is a real example of high-quality eroticism and an excellent psychological thriller. What else can you add? Perhaps the fact that after the release of the film, Sharon Stone became a sex symbol of the 90s. and made all lingerie manufacturers absolutely bankrupt.

Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (56.0 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: LPCM 2.0

Subtitles
English SDH, French, German.