HOT GALLERY: Basic Instinct—a Look Back at the Sexual Thriller on Its 20th Anniversary
It’s been 20 years since this steamy sexual thriller hit the big screen and caused loads of controversy with all the sex and violence that writer Joe Eszterhas could dream up and director Paul Verhoeven could get on camera. Take a look back at the cast of Basic Instinct and beware of sharp objects that break ice—especially if you’re a male! By Romi StepovichThis isn’t the first time Michael Douglas has seen the seedy side of San Francisco. He’s played a cop before, Inspector Steve Keller in The Streets of San Francisco. Twenty years later he’s Detective Nick Curran, a.k.a. “Shooter”—a name he earned when he accidentally gunned down two tourists while undercover and high on cocaine. Curran, we discover, is a liar as well as a murderer. But they don’t come any more appealing than Douglas. His greatest strength as a detective is that he is also a criminal, and identifies readily with his suspect, Catherine Tramell. He explains to his partner Gus, “I’m not afraid of her.” And he certainly couldn’t be, considering those steamy scenes where he almost begs to be ice-picked. Somebody has a death wish…