Basic Instinct - MPAA Rating

MPAA Rating

Basic Instinct is rated R for "strong violence and sensuality, and for drug use and language". It was initially given an NC-17 rating by the MPAA, but under pressure from TriStar, Verhoeven cut 35 to 40 seconds to gain an R rating. Verhoeven described the changes in a March 1992 article in The New York Times:

Actually, I didn't have to cut many things, but I replaced things from different angles, made it a little more elliptical, a bit less direct.

The film was subsequently re-released in its uncut format on video and later on DVD.