Basic Instinct is a 1992 thriller film, directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, starring Sharon Stone, Michael Douglas, Jeanne Tripplehorn and George Dzundza. The film centres around police detective Nick Curran (Douglas), who is put in charge of the investigation of a brutal murder of a wealthy former singer, in which beautiful, wealthy and seductive writer Catherine Tramell (Stone) could be involved, and the relationship he developes with the mysterious woman.

Controversy surrounded Basic Instinct before it was even released. Gay rights activists strongly criticized the film and its depiction of homosexual relationships, especially the depiction of lesbians as psychotic mass murderers. In addition, the film reawakened arguments about censorship in the United States. It was initially given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA for its graphic content. However, the 1992 theatrical release was cut by about one minute in order to gain an R rating. The film was subsequently re-released in its uncut format on video and later on DVD.

Despite, or because of its controversy, Basic Instinct was a major hit and became one of the best box office performing films of 1992, collecting nearly $353 million worldwide and becoming one of the most well-known, iconic films of the 1990s. While receiving major commercial attention, it was also critically commended, Basic Instinct at blank">Rotten Tomatoes; accessed November 5, 2007. receiving two _Academy Award and two Golden Globe nominations—Jerry Goldsmith, the composer, was nominated for both awards for his original score, while Frank Urioste was nominated for an Academy Award for his editing and Sharon Stone was nominated for a Golden Globe as Best Actress. The cinematic success of the film was followed by a long-awaited release of a sequel, Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction (2006), which was poorly received critically and commercially. Multiple versions of the film have been released including a Director's cut, the most recent release being in 2006.

A former rockstar Johnny Boz is brutally killed during sex , and the case is assigned to the Detective Nick Curran of the SFPD . During the investigation , Nick meets Catherine Tramell , a crime novelist who was Boz's girlfriend when he died . Catherine proves to be a very clever and manipulative woman , and though Nick is more or less convinced that she murdered Boz , he is unable to find any evidence . Later , when Nilsen , Nick's rival in the police is killed , Nick suspects of Catherine's involvement in it . He then starts to play a dangerous lust-filled mind game with Catherine to nail her , but as their relationship progresses , the body count rises and contradicting evidences force Nick to start questioning his own suspicions about Catherine's guilt . Written by Soumitra

Former rock star and San Francisco nightclub owner Johnny Boz is found murdered in his bed. Detective Nick Curran is assigned to the case; he has a history of alcoholism and drug abuse although he is clean now. The prime suspect is Catherine Tramell, an attractive and manipulative novelist who had been seeing Boz for a while. Police psychiatrist Beth Gardner (who happens to be Nick's ex-girlfriend) is brought in on the case when it is discovered that Boz's murder was copied directly from one of Catherine's novels. Nick starts to get too involved and everyone seems to be a suspect. Written by Col Needham

Nick Curran (Michael Douglas) is in charge of the brutal murder of a rock star, who has been killed using an ice pick. All the evidence points to a beautiful woman, Catherine (Sharon Stone), as the main suspect of the crime. Catherine is a psychologist and she's written one crime novel, a story in which a similar crime is described. Curran goes to Catherine's house to interrogate her about the victim and what happened that night. Apparently, Catherine was a formal lover of the musician and she even spent that night with him, but she claims haven't killed him. Nick feels attracted immediately to Catherine, but she's a quite intelligent woman who manages to avoid his questions cleverly, using her physical attributes and seductive personality. Catherine has a romantic relationship with another woman, but that won't be an obstacle for Nick, who everyday seems to be much more interested in her. But Nick's been checked by a psychologist, Breth (Jeanne Tripplehorn), who was his girlfriend in the past, because the detective had an alcohol problem. But the sexual attraction that Nick feels for Catherine, seems to provoke the problem reappears again. Nick becomes Catherine's lover, fact that threatens to hindered the investigation and puts in danger his life, discovering a wild sexuality never experimented before. Nick's convinced that Catherine is innocent, but maybe love and sex are blinding him in his way of unfolding the truth. Written by Alejandro Frias