Erotic films: Basic Instinct

The crotch-shot that had made Sharon Stone the ultimate sex symbol of the nineties

 

 

 

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The scene that shocked the world

Sharon Stone, who had been almost unknown before Basic Instinct despite beating up Arnold Schwarzenegger in Total Recall, appeared as Catharine Tramell in 1992. A sexy and seductive calculating woman, she is the main suspect in a murder case investigated by detective Nick Curran, flawlessly portrayed by Michael Douglas, who falls for her charms. Somewhere in the middle of the film there’s a scene which will remain for ever written in the hall of fame of the film industry. It has shocked the world and made Sharon Stone the ultimate sex symbol of the nineties, a new Marilyn Monroe who captured the imagination of all men on the planet. Catherine Tramel is in the middle of an interrogation, wearing a white dress that would also suit the legendary Kim Novak. She lights up a cigarette, and all the detectives present there ask her to put it out. Her response is a provocative and sensual gesture- she crosses her legs, and since she’s sans-lingerie she offers them an unrestricted view of her crotch. This was a bit much even for this modern day and age where censorship isn’t as strong, and the scene was viewed as highly immoral so the angry conservatives went mad. Paul Verhoeven angered them and supposedly tricked Sharon Stone as well, as she claimed later in an interview that she had had no idea the scene would be so explicit and offer such a close-up view of her privates.

A role to die for

When Paul Verhoeven, a Dutch filmmaker who had already stirred up his home public with the film Turkish Delight in 1973 announced that he’s making a hot erotic thriller  with screenplay by the infamous  Joe Eszterhaz,  Hollywood stars fought tooth and nail for the role of the leading lady. Standing in line for the audition were Ellen Barkin who had starred in Sea of Love and Siesta, Kim Basinger who had already revealed all in 9 and a Half Weeks, Geena Davis, Linda Fiorentino, Jodie Foster, Carrie Fisher, Melanie Griffith, who had been brave in Body Double and Fear City, Linda Hamilton, Helen Hunt, Diane Lane, Jessica Lange, who had  made passionate love to Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was nude in Flesh and Blood , also directed by Paul Verhoeven, Andie MacDowell, even Madonna, who a year later shot her own Basic Instinct entitled Body of Evidence, Demi Moore, Virginia Madsen, Emma Thompson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, who probably wasn’t prepared to bare all, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meg Ryan and let’s say Lena Olin. But Verhoeven wasn’t satisfied with any of them and in the end Sharon Stone took the role and made it her own. She created a truly unforgettable and classic femme fatal and became the envy of all Hollywood divas.

Michael Douglas shied away from an erect penis

Michael Douglas, a master of  erotic thrillers and very hot in Fatal Attraction was just as convincing. However in the end he turned out to be a bit shy and he decided not to do full frontal nudity or scenes where he would have to show his erect penis. The director announced that this would be the first mainstream Hollywood movie with a close up shot of an erect male organ. Nevertheless, Douglas and Stone have given us some very steamy and sensual sex scenes to enjoy  and Jane Tripplehorn, Douglas’s wife in the movie , was just as forthcoming. Their marriage had been at a stalemate, but Douglas’s affair with murder suspect Catherine Tramell shook it up. Catherine Tramell is suspected of brutally murdering a rock-star during sex. Basic Instinct remains one of the best erotic films to date, a true film noir, which won’t be easily surpassed.

 

Read more about sex and sexuality in our Lover's Guide.

 

 

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