Basic Instinct

Revealing mistake: When Michael Douglas pulls his car in front of Jonny Boz' house after the initial murder we hear him come to a screeching halt. If you look closely, perfect tire skid marks can be seen in the exact same spot on the road in front of his police car before it comes to a stop. (00:04:15)

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Revealing mistake: Michael Douglas almost has a head-on collision with a bus as he chases Sharon Stone down the highway. If you look closely as he slams on his brakes, there are many skid marks in that exact same spot in the road from previous takes. (00:41:05)

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Plot hole: This is another movie where the cops are too dumb to go out by themselves. The woman who icepicks the first victim (we see) to death would have left enough forensic evidence on the scene to convict her ten times over - skin, hair, sweat, saliva, vaginal fluid, possibly blood, and they all contain DNA in abundance. She had vigorous, sweaty sex with this man and she didn't clean up afterwards (and she couldn't have done so thoroughly enough anyway) so she's left calling cards all over the place. The killer also handled the icepick (which the police take away in an evidence bag) with bare hands - her prints would be all over it. She might as well have left a signed confession, but they can't even identify her. Sharon Stone, for instance, leaves her fingerprints (on the chair and fixtures in the police station) and her saliva (containing epithelial skin cells which are an excellent source of DNA) on the cigarette butt she discards, also in the police station. She went there of her own accord and these artifacts are legally accessible by the police. It is obvious to anyone that the women who had sex with the victim killed him, and Catherine is most certainly a suspect. They don't have enough to charge her but they would if they did a simple series of tests on the dead man's body - and if she didn't do it, that would eliminate her as a suspect. They don't even check.

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Beth Garner: Something's going on. You're sleeping with her, aren't you?
Nick: Why are you interested in her?
Beth Garner: My interest is in you, not her. She seduces and manipulates people. She'll do anything she can.
Nick: I thought you hardly knew her?
Beth Garner: I know the type. I'm a psychologist.
Nick: That means... you manipulate people too! You're a practicing psychologist. You're better at it than she is.

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Trivia: Director Paul Verhoeven actually has a PhD in mathematics. He received it back in the 1960's in Holland. He left the field and became a film director. (From Director's commentary on "Basic Instinct: The Original Director's Cut".).

Luna Negra

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Question: Why did Catherine change her mind about killing Nick at the end? Obviously she was planning on killing him anyway, but she changed her mind only hours after ending their relationship when her book was finished and was of no further use. So why did she spare him? Was it because she fell in "love" with him?

Movielover1996

Answer: There's no definitive answer to this and the ending is deliberately ambiguous and open to interpretation. The audience is left to speculate whether or not Catherine kills Nick, or if she intended to kill him but changes her mind because she loves him, or intends to kill him at a much later time, and so on.

raywest

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