Basic Instinct (Unrated Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

Where most of the attempts to reinvent film noir fail, this film succeeds. The concept of transgression is translated into a modernized setting in a way that embraces film noir values, but at the same time feels utterly non-derivative. Much of the plotting and dialogue is wonderfully complex and subtle, and Verhoeven gives the whole thing a uniquely perverse spin. The music is worth a viewing by itself, as it is stunningly effective. In a film like this, you don't expect a score so lush and romantic, but it works. The film has perhaps two knocks. It is, when all is said and done, a whodunit, and carries all the negatives of that genre, the worst of which is the plethora of hints dropped to implicate this character or that. The other knock is more serious. There is a giant hole in the story which becomes apparent at the very end. From the get-go, Trammel tells Nick that he (the detective in her story) is going to fall in love with the wrong woman and she's going to kill him. And of course the ice-pick revelation at the very end of the film is meant to confirm that. But none of this works. Trammel has spent years orchestrating the perfect crime, committing a string of murders and drawing a net around Garner/Hoberman to implicate the psychologist and put herself in the clear. Having succeeded with all of that, Trammel cannot kill Nick at the end--especially not with an icepick. That would blow the whole thing. Irrespective of that, BI is a great achievement and worth many viewings. Update 11/10/19: After a number of additional viewings, I might soften my criticism of the hole at the end. Trammel is diabolically rational and devious in engineering the appearance of Garner's guilt. But at the same time, the film does a good job of persuading us that she is a wildly emotional creature and genuinely distraught that all the people around her die. It could be argued that, despite having committed the perfect crime, she's so sick that she might kill Nick anyway, without concern for the consequences.

Blu-ray review. Although I do not have the DVD version to compare to the Blu-ray version, I was satisfied with the Blu-ray transfer. It is not as data dense (12-22mbps) as say Avatar (20-50mbps), but it is enjoyable to watch both on the 2.35:1 letterbox setting and my HDTV's 1.85:1 zoom setting. DVD's generally do not zoom well, losing sharpness. Movie review: I previously avoided adding Basic Instinct to my film library because the theatrical version, though good, felt crimped by the obvious censorship. The timing and flow of the movie-house version reminded me of listening to a favorite vinyl record that skips during the best songs; you thoroughly enjoy the song right up to the distracting skip, then you get annoyed or upset. Hoping for the best I purchased the Unrated Director's Cut, praying it removed the skips and annoyances. It did. The uncensored scenes, though not necessarily any more graphic, play the movie's rhythm perfectly, leaving the viewer scene satisfied while building the segue to the next chapter. The Unrated Director's Cut is absolutely the erotic thriller we all wanted to see after watching the theatrical release.

Exactly as described.

the ice pick at the end is not like the others. this movie is not like the others, esp not basic 2, which sucks the grand cahuula big time. beautiful scenery, beautiful people, beautiful writting, in a pervert-directed movie which makes everybody's list as best 10, or best 100, or best 1000, depending on what you are gathering together. sharon stone very gifted and very beautiful. razor sharp film worth keeping and watching again time after time, like all the great ones, at least once every five years. evil women, men who are not whimps and therefore do not die of natural causes, and views into the very rich who are more fun to look at, and who live in better settings, often along the water. it's too bad more women do not review this film, or films like it, because every man will own this movie one day, and perhaps only every third woman. but maybe not. i was hoping rush limbaugh would play gus in basic instinct three, but after two, we all gave up. i recommend this adventure to all who have realized an instinct or two sometime in the recent past...........

Suspensful drama

Actually if you can take your eyes off the girls you will realize this is a great motion picture effort with great acting. Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic too. The lines are equal to those of an Arnold movie. Naughtily suggestive with great one-liners like: "Well sargent, what did you have in mind . . ."

I am so impressed with this movie. For one thing it kept me on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what was really going on. And it wasn't stupid but well written. A nice thing about it was that there was no clear cut black and white for good guys and bad guys, or girls. As in true life some times we aren't as nice as we'd like other people to believe. The shots were fantastic. The directing and acting superb. Sharon Stone was fantastic. It was just a movie that was so well done, which is a real rarity. It is for adults with adult themes: Murder, sex, naked bodies, bi-sexuality, and adult language. It was done with class and was impressive as well. It is very much worth watching.

Was not happy when i tried to watch it froze and was defrected and will not play plus it was lose when it got here.

El blu ray contiene material extra y la calidad de imagen es excelente con audio dts y subtítulos en español esta es la versión original sin censura ampliamente recomendado para la colección

Todo bien. Gracias.

Most of the DVD's I have purchased are compatible but this one (i.e. Region 1 ) can not be played in Australia

As expected.