its good if you can appreciate Paul Verhovens over the top story telling. Most people dont like it.
Plus its kind of a mean spirited movie.
Re: Basic Instinct
For a movie that "most people don't like" it's sure gotten a lot of mileage. Do you have any idea how many versions of this have come out on video? I read a very extensive review (could paste in here if anyone wants to see it) that among other things explains the many versions, the complexities of what they contain or don't contain, and it's so complex it's nearly incomprehensible. I doubt I've never seen or heard of a movie with that much attention paid to it. It's often regarded as a guilty pleasure. It's a one time achievement, never duplicated, they wouldn't/couldn't do this again in a million years. I think Henry Miller observed that we are as innocent of sex as we are of horror. This movie welds the two together. I have the Artisan Special Edition Unrated Director's Cut.
Edit... I'll paste in the portion of the extensive review I copped that deals with various versions' differences:
What about this latest incarnation, titled Basic Instinct: Ultimate Edition—Unrated Director's Cut? In the early days of the DVD format, the film appeared as a non-anamorphic bare bones edition, which looked pretty sketchy when viewed. Artisan released four variations of a collector's edition in 2002, and finally the transfer was improved and we had extras. This version from Lionsgate retains most of the same extras found on the Artisan release. The commentary with director Paul Verhoeven and cinematographer Jan de Bont sounds as good as ever, but it's nothing new if you own a previous edition. The documentary "Blonde Poison: The Making of Basic Instinct" is thirty minutes ported from the previous release as well, and even includes the old Artisan logo. Screen tests were found as Easter Eggs on the previous disc, but here they are shown in shorter form and included directly off the menu. "Cleaning Up Basic Instinct" is a comparison of the theatrical versions of the film and the television counterparts. It's silly fun with looped dialogue, drags on a little too long, and also was found on a previous edition. Storyboard comparisons round out the direct ports.
The only new items are a "DVD Introduction with Sharon Stone," which amounts to a whopping five seconds, and a more in-depth interview with the actress about her experience with the role. It's a nice conversation, but Stone doesn't say much that is insightful, other than how shopping for her clothes defined her character. There are quite a few special features found on other editions that are sorely missed on Basic Instinct: Ultimate Edition—Unrated Directors' Cut . Gone is radical feminist Camille Paglia's insightful scene-by-scene commentary on the importance of the film from the Artisan Unrated Special Edition. That rant was one of the most entertaining commentaries ever produced for DVD. Also missing are the insightful archival footage interviews of the cast and crew found on the laser disc and VHS editions, which explained the movie in depth and conclusively wrapped up the mystery once and for all.
The visual and audio transfers are indeed improved over the previous Artisan releases. The menus are far easier to navigate, with less cheeky interfaces (gone is the stabbing ice pick every time you make a selection). The clarity of the anamorphic widescreen transfer is improved, with less edge enhancement and less grain, but still some problematic black levels—which must be intentional artistic decisions from the source print. It's a decidedly better looking visual presentation on the whole, but still not enough of an improvement to alone justify a double dip. The sound mix is the same as before, with the Goldsmith score getting the most boost from the five channel treatment. Also included is the basic stereo mix, true to the original release. No DTS track, or anything else to warrant excitement. I'd say if you own the unrated collector's edition from Artisan, you should hold on to that one and skip this release. If you have not bought Basic Instinct, this one's fine, though it is missing the brilliant Camille Paglia commentary. You'll have to be the ultimate judge on which one is more important to you: a slightly better transfer, or more rich special features.