4k-UHD/Movie Review: Basic Instinct

 

Basic Instinct is the 1992 erotic thriller starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone. It was written by Joe Eszterhas and directed by Paul Verhoeven. The supporting cast includes George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Denis Arndt, Leilani Sarelle, Wayne Knight, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Mitch Pileggi. In the film, Stone plays a novelist named Catherine Tramell. Her boyfriend is killed with an ice pick at the beginning of the movie by a woman whose face we never see while having sex. Douglas and Dzundza play police detectives investigating the murder. Tramell begins playing mind games with Douglas' character, telling him that she is going to base the lead character in her new novel on him. The movie is essentially a who-done-it that throws a lot of misdirection meant to make it ambiguous as to whether Catherine is really the murderer or is being set up.

The 4k set is a three-disc set containing a UHD disc and two regular blu-ray discs. The A/V quality is excellent.  While some of the scenes still have some imperfections and grain, many of the scenes show a lot more detail than any prior physical media releases of the movie. The UHD disc and the first regular blu-ray have the same content, the movie and some bonus features. The second regular blu-ray disc just has additional bonus content. The bonus features include three commentary tracks on the film: the original 1993 commentary track by Verhoeven, a second commentary track that was created for the special edition DVD release featuring Verhoeven and the director of photography, Jan De Bont, and a third commentary track by Professor Camille Paglia. The first two contain a lot of good information about the movie, the casting processes (especially casting Stone to play Catherine Tramell), and all the controversy the movie's production garnered. Paglia's track is not as good. It seemed like she wrote a scene-by-scene breakdown of the movie for a college lecture and just read it word-for-word. It does not seem like she was giving an authentic reaction to just watching the film. 

The rest of the bonus content on the UHD (and first regular blu-ray) disc includes a couple of new featurettes featuring interviews with the cast and crew that were made for the 4k release, and some of the archival featurettes that were transferred over from earlier physical media releases (such as a featurette on how the movie was edited for television, original screen tests by Stone and Tripplehorn, a TV spot, and the trailers, as well as an archival interview with Stone). The rest of the bonus content on the second regular blu-ray disc is all archival content transferred from the prior physical media releases, including the original making-of featurettes (including one from the VHS release of the film), storyboard comparisons, and the like. Some of the material on this disc (such as the screen test and trailers) is duplicative of the material on the UHD disc. Note that some 4k sets are UK imports, meaning that the UHD disc is region-free and will play in the US, but the two regular blu-rays are region-locked, so you will need a region-free or Region-2 player to watch them. The Lionsgate Steelbook edition is a US release so all the discs will play in on Region-1 players.

The movie is a good thriller, but some things about it would probably be changed if it were made today. It is absolutely not family-friendly, as it contains a lot of nudity (including the infamous interrogation scene), swearing, and sexual content. The movie's ending is ambiguous as to whether Catherine is guilty or innocent, but Verhoeven definitively answers that question in the commentary tracks and other bonus material. The bonus material is where the set really shines. It has hours of bonus content, and even in the newly added bonus features, all the participants discuss all aspects of making the movie and the controversies surrounding making the film (including the reaction from the gay and lesbian community before and after the film came out). Verhoeven and Stone still wildly disagree as to whether she was made aware of what was going to be shown in the upskirt shot in the interrogation scene, but Stone admits, while she was pissed that she was never told that her crotch would be visible, that it worked for the movie. Ultimately, it is a good movie that is worth the time to watch, and if you like going through bonus content, the 4k version is a must-add to your collection.