“Controversial Scene in Basic Instinct: A Look Back 30 Years Later”

Released in 1992, Basic Instinct is a Paul Verhoeven classic, despite the interrogation scene which remains controversial. Back to this moment that marked the history of cinema. Because, in fact, the scene has been commented on ad infinitum and continues to cause ink to flow. Dutch director Paul Verhoeven has never shied away from depicting violence and sex in his films. And Basic Instinct is once again the proof.

From a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, Basic Instinct follows detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas, freshly crowned with an honorary Palme d’Or at Cannes) as he investigates a murder. In this case, Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) is the main suspect because the victim is her lover, and he was murdered with an ice pick, exactly like in a novel she wrote.

Nick Curran is far from being a saint himself and is very quickly attracted by the games of seduction and manipulation of his main suspect. And while the famous interrogation scene is the film’s most iconic moment, it wasn’t in the original script.

The idea came from Paul Verhoeven who remembered a party he had attended where he met a woman who was not wearing underwear. She told Verhoeven that she was aware of the effect it had on the other men present at the party, and that’s how the director took inspiration from this meeting, believing that Catherine Tramell would do the same . And here’s why 30 years later, this scene is still so controversial.

How the scene was filmed

For the record, Sharon Stone almost never got the role that made her famous around the world. She was chosen when she was not yet well known to the general public and after Michelle Pfeiffer and Demi Moore refused to play in the film. Verhoeven and Sharon Stone have previously worked together on Total Recall so the director looks no further.

Then this is where the versions differ. In the film, everyone remembers that the mysterious Catherine Tramell reveals her privacy during a police interrogation. A very brief crossed/uncrossed legs scene that had nothing to do with the plot, but unfortunately managed to overshadow practically everything else in the film.

In his autobiography titled The Beauty of Living TwiceSharon Stone revealed that she had not given her consent for this scene. Vanity Fair published excerpts in 2021:

“After shooting Basic Instinct, I was called to see him. Not alone with the director, as you might expect, but with a room full of agents and lawyers, most of whom had nothing to do with the project. This is how I saw my vagina filmed for the first time, long after I was told: ‘We won’t be able to see anything. I just need you to take your panties off, because white reflects light, so we know you’re wearing panties’. Yes, there have been many views on this topic, but since I’m the one with the vagina in question, let me tell you, the other views are bullshit.“

The actress is adamant that she didn’t consent to such an explicit scene. The outrage she felt upon realizing she had been cheated on even led her to consult a lawyer.

Also, director Paul Verhoeven often disrespected Sharon Stone backstage on Basic Instinct. According to him, he refused to call her by her real name on set, instead calling her Karen. So it’s understandable why the actress says she didn’t feel very safe or welcomed while filming Basic Instinct, years before the #MeToo movement reshaped the film industry.

Unfortunately, even some of the most iconic films in cinematic history are plagued with rumors, behind-the-scenes drama, and general controversy. The success of Basic Instinct is just one example among many. This film undoubtedly crossed certain limits by tackling taboo subjects for the time in a mainstream film. But many other limits were crossed during filming.

False Fittings of “Basic Instinct”: