Has it really been six years since I last watched "Basic Instinct"? Wow! I
shouldn't have waited so long.
The Coronavirus has ravaged the film industry. Cinemas have closed for months
on end, and films that should have been made last year are still stalled
because of the danger of infection. It's a tragedy. Even when/if the virus has
been defeated, the film industry will never return to the way it used to be.
However, I thought about something yesterday while I was standing in front of
my bookcases looking at my film collection: even if no films are ever made
again, I have enough first class films on disc to watch and enjoy for the rest
of my life. Why do I need something new?
I have the habit of calling films made since 1996 new films and films
made before 1996 old films. That's not completely arbitrary. 1996 is
the year when the first DVDs were sold. That doesn't mean that the production
quality of films suddenly became better in this year. There were excellent
films in the 1980's and poor films in the 2000's. All I'm saying is that from
1996 on films were made taking into account that more people would watch them
on high quality discs at home than on a cinema screen.
By that definition, "Basic Instinct" is an old film, since it was made
in 1992. It's an incredible film, one of the first erotic thrillers, and still
the best erotic thriller ever made. It's a film that's loved for the wrong
reasons and hated for the wrong reasons. It's infamous for giving a glimpse of
Sharon Stone's naked vulva when she uncrosses her legs. Some people criticise
this for exploiting a woman, but they just don't get it. It has to be seen in
context. Sharon Stone plays Catherine Tramell, a powerful, self-confident
woman. She's sitting in a police interrogation room facing four policemen and
an assistant district attorney. This would intimidate any other woman, but not
Catherine. She's already revealing a lot of leg in a short dress, keeping the
men's minds off their work, but she gives the men a slow, deliberate flash in
the middle of the questioning. I almost feel sorry for the men. They're
sitting red-faced with embarrassment, trying to hide their erections while Catherine
mischievously grins at them. She's turned the tables.
Power.
It's all about power.
Female power.
The film isn't really about sex. There's a lot of sexual interaction, but sex
is merely a tool used by Catherine Tramall to remain in control. She flirts
with the men around her, teasing them, intimidating them. Her main focus is
the detective Nick Curran, played by Michael Douglas. Reading between the
lines we can assume that she's had him in her sights for years, long before
she commits the murder that he's investigating. She seduces him, but that
isn't enough for her. She puts him in a situation where he thinks she's about
to kill him. She wants to terrify him to keep him under her control.
Later in the film Nick tells Catherine he's in love with her. He isn't. It's
pure lust, but by this point Nick is so mixed up that he can't tell the
difference. Catherine is manipulating him, and he doesn't even notice.
The film is currently out of print in most countries, but I've read that a new
remastered version will be released next month. The new Blu-ray should include
the excellent commentary by the feminist critic Camille Paglia, which was only
included on the DVD releases until now.
Success Rate: + 5.2
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