(Note: This was a viewing of the Director's Cut, which Artisan kind enough to release on DVD not very long ago.)

(Second note: I hereby declare that for the purposes of movielog entries, the day does not end at midnight. It ends either when I go to bed, or when the sun rises. This should clear up any confusion about the viewing dates on movies which may hav not ended (or gotten started) until after the clock struck 12. Yes, under this logic, Episode 1 was actually released on May 18, 1999 instead of May 19. But my first entry for it is still correct, because I first saw it the following evening.)

Ahem. Basic Instinct. Another Verhoeven classic. (Wasn't Artisan clever? Re-releasing 2 movies at the same time, both of which happen to have the same director, and same lead actress. "I'm onto you and your prickly marketing schemes, you sleazy bastards!" Wait a second. Who bought what from whom? Nevermind.)

Basic Instinct is best viewed, and better understood, after having read Anton LaVey's book The Satanic Witch. Trust me on that. (On the slim chance that any of the people who read this obscure page happen to have read said book, and seen said movie, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Right?)

What really got me on this viewing was the score. (And while we're at it, same composer.) Maybe it was because my subconscious remembered it from before, but that main theme just tingles the spine!

In the special features department (technically not part of the movie, but I like to babble about them sometimes anyway), I was again reminded why I (almost) never watch theatrically released movies on broadcast television. (This movie especially. On tv? I can't imagine there would be much of it left at all!) An amusing short with a bunch of side-by-side comparisons, which would first show few seconds from the original film, and follow it with the television version -- pan-and-scan, shots shortened or repeated double, and some absolutely godawful voice dubs over the "dirty" dialog. Ick! Amusing, but it does intensify my long-standing belief that tv censors should burn in hell.

As for the movie itself, well, it's just a wonderful piece of sleazy art. I like Paul Verhoeven's philosophy. A movie is a movie. It's not real life, and it's not supposed to be, so it is pointless to impose concepts such as "morality", regard for human life, and ethical behavior in the fantasy world that is created onscreen. In this movie there are indeed no such constraints.

Strictly speaking, the world of Basic Instinct is set in modern day San Francisco. But it's not. The colors are just a little bit too rich. Tantalizingly so. Everything in the movie exhudes the feeling of a hyper-exaggerated, twisted reality.

As an example, on the accompanying documentary, they mention one specific instance I never even consciously noticed while watching. While Catherine (Sharon Stone) is riding in the back of the police car to be questioned at the station, the instant she reveals the plot for her next book, the car goes around a curve, and a ray of direct sunlight shines through the window on her face, giving it an angelic quality. Prior to this, there had not been any sunlight inside the car during that scene, despite going around many curves. Continuity gaffe? Hardly. Just one of the many techniques this movie uses to fuck with the viewer's mind without conscious awareness.

This movie is not for everyone. It's psycho. There's lots (and lots) of nudity. Almost enough to make me classify it as a porn flick, except that it's got more class than that, and has a very well written plot and intriguing characters. Lots of blood, gore, and all that good stuff too. (Another sidenote: The only difference I noticed between my recollection of the R version and this director's cut was the brief cunnilingus shot. If there were any other differences, they were too small for me to consciously detect. There's probably some website somewhere which documents such details. Hmmm...)

Alrighty then. I'm done prattling on with this meandering babble. To sleep with me, where dreams and nightmares may come.