Michael Douglas had a celebratory turn at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May when he was awarded an honorary Palme d'Or for his acclaimed work in film and TV.
While there, he had the chance to reflect on his past with the festival, and the first topic that came to mind was the controversial response to the hit erotic thriller Basic Instinct.
The Paul Verhoeven-directorial opened at the famed French film festival in 1992, although was met with shock, according to the 78-year-old actor, particularly in response to its bold sex scenes.
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"Normally, if you come here with a film and you're fortunate enough that it's been chosen, it's going to be something interesting," he said in his speech. "I've had different experiences here.
© Getty Images"I mean, Basic Instinct was unique, even for France. Seeing that sex scene on the Palais Festival's huge screen, biggest screen I've ever seen, was a little overwhelming, I think, for a lot of people."
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The film revolved around a police detective, Nick Curran (played by Michael), investigating the brutal murder of a rock star, eventually becoming involved in a passionate relationship with the main suspect, Catherine Tramell (played by Sharon Stone).
© Getty Images"We had a very quiet dinner afterwards," Michael continued. "Everybody was just sort of digesting it. But it was a lot of fun."
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The film received mixed reviews at the time, mainly for its explicit sexual content, although nabbed Sharon several prestigious honors, including a Golden Globe nomination, and was a box office smash.
© Getty ImagesIt has since been reevaluated as being a touchstone of the neo-noir genre of movies, particularly with respect to the mainstreaming of sexuality in Hollywood, and has been heaped with retrospective critical acclaim in the years since.
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A press release coming out of Cannes in 1992 from UPI reads: "The 45th annual Cannes Film Festival opened Thursday and immediately kept its promise as one of the most controversial in recent years with the screening of 'Basic Instinct.'"
© Getty ImagesIt outlined a lot of the backlash the film received at the time, for its sexual nature and its depiction of homosexuality, given that Sharon's character is bisexual.
The actress, for her part, has spoken about the way her sexualized appearance in the film damaged her reputation as a working actress and mother, but also celebrated it for showcasing a new, powerful kind of femme fatale on screen.
"I had to find a certain coping mechanism to play that part, with all kinds of resistance around myself and around the film happening simultaneously," she wrote in 2021 for Vanity Fair. "The ways that I had learned to disappear inside myself made it possible to disappear inside this character, who was as tough and smooth as the white silk scarf she wore.
© Getty Images"When I saw the film, I not only saw that I could make myself beautiful in this way – with the top talents in Hollywood highlighting all of my best parts and hiding my flaws – I could quite convincingly cover my vulnerabilities by removing the tender, fragile self at my exterior."
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