By today’s standards, Paul Verhoeven’s 1992 s*x noir drama ‘Basic Instinct’ may not seem salacious; however, it was a very different story when it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, the film’s male lead Michael Douglas said on Wednesday, as reported by ‘Variety’.
According to Variety, the project was “unique, even for France,” as Douglas stated during a conversation at Cannes. Depending on who you ask, the project is either genre-defining or high entertainment.
“Seeing so many s*x sequences on the enormous screen of the Grand Palais was a little overpowering for a lot of people.
Michael Douglas received the Honorary Palm d’Or for his “brilliant career and commitment to cinema” during the festival.
The cast, which included Sharon Stone and Jeanne Tripplehorn, “had a very quiet dinner afterward, as if everyone was processing what had just occurred,” Michael Douglas recalled (the cast also included Jeanne Tripplehorn).
Michael Douglas attended the festival prior to receiving the Honorary Palm d’Or for his “brilliant career and dedication to cinema.”
Variety observes that in “Basic Instinct,” a weary homicide detective (Douglas) investigates a renowned crime writer (Stone). Following studio lobbying, the film’s NC-17 classification was downgraded to a R rating.
Stone’s flashing of detectives during a police interrogation is one of the most memorable sequences in contemporary film and is still referenced and parodied.
In addition to ‘Basic Instinct,’ Variety notes that Douglas has brought several memorable films to Cannes over the course of his career, including ‘The China Syndrome’, co-starring Jane Fonda; Joel Schumacher’s ‘Falling Down’; and his Oscar-winning Liberace project ‘Behind the Candelabra’.