Posted October 20, 2006.

Arkansas Trustees Reconsider Basic Instinct

A concerned patron of the Rogers (Ark.) Public Library has asked the board to remove the director’s cut of the 1992 box-office hit Basic Instinct from the collection. At an October 17 meeting, Nieves Egelkraut likened the movie about a police detective’s sexual involvement with a murder suspect to pornography, the Benton County Daily Record reported October 18. She also expressed fear that teenagers would borrow it, although RPL Director Judy Casey explained that library policy enables parents to bar their minor children from checking out movies.

Egelkraut is one of 22 people to borrow the film since it was donated to the library in December. “This is one of the movies I’d be hard-pressed not to add,” said reference librarian Robert Finch, who manages the video collection. Finch explained to trustees that Basic Instinct was nominated for two Academy Awards, stars award-winning actors, and received a three-star recommendation in Leonard Maltin’s 2007 Movie Guide. Trustee Sean Keith noted that the cover of the movie box states that the unrated director’s cut contains scenes “too hot to be shown” in the theatrical release.

While the board considers the film, it has been withdrawn from circulation and placed on reserve for staff and trustees. Casey said she would offer several options for labeling the movie at the November board meeting.

Posted October 20, 2006.