Maps of Movies
Basic Instinct (1992)
Where Basic Instinct says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
A thriller shot on the real hills of San Francisco, but its police headquarters and its nightclub never stood there.
View on the mapScenes and places
The rock star's house, where it begins (1992)
Nick Curran and his partner Gus Moran reach the home of Johnny Boz, a retired rock star found dead in bed, killed with an ice pick. The last person seen leaving with him was his girlfriend.
Set in Johnny Boz's house — The house of retired rock star Johnny Boz, where the detectives arrive to find him dead in bed.
A residential house on Broadway in San Francisco, used for the film's opening.
Filmed at 2104 Broadway (Pacific Heights · Broadway, San Francisco, United States) — A single film-location page gives this address for the opening house; the coordinate is an address lookup, not a surveyed point.
How to get there:
The writer's house in the city (1992)
Nick and Gus come looking for Catherine, the dead man's girlfriend. They find only her friend Roxy, who answers every question with a shrug and says Catherine did not do it.
Set in Catherine Tramell's house — Catherine Tramell's house in the city, where her friend Roxy answers the questions.
A stately house on Vallejo Street, in the hills of San Francisco.
Filmed at 2930 Vallejo Street (Pacific Heights · Vallejo Street, San Francisco, United States) — A single film-location page gives this address for Catherine's city house; the coordinate is an address lookup.
How to get there:
The house on the beach (1992)
Nick and Gus finally meet Catherine Tramell on her own ground. She stays calm, answers with a challenge, and tells them to arrest her or leave.
Set in Catherine's beach house at Stenson — Catherine's beach house, called Stenson in the film's dialogue; the film's story place is not located by the sources.
A mansion by the sea, far from the city's streets, standing in for the beach house at Stenson.
Filmed at Beach house, Carmel-by-the-Sea (Monterey Peninsula, Carmel-by-the-Sea, United States) — The sources place this scene at a seaside mansion on the Monterey Peninsula near Carmel (two weeks of shooting); one film-location page gives 157 Spindrift Rd. The coordinate is Carmel's town centre, not the house.
How to get there:
The briefing at headquarters (1992)
The police team gathers around the case. They learn Catherine is a rich writer whose novel describes a retired rock star murdered with an ice pick, and a psychologist is brought in.
Set in San Francisco police headquarters (Hall of Justice) — The police building where the case is discussed. The film's scenes here were built as a set; the real building's position is not given by the cited sources.
The Hall of Justice scenes were not shot in the real building: they were built as a studio set in Los Angeles.
The detective's home (1992)
This is Nick's home, the detective at the centre of the case.
Set in Nick Curran's apartment — The apartment of the detective at the centre of the case, on Telegraph Hill.
A building at the corner of Montgomery and Green streets on Telegraph Hill.
Filmed at 1160 Montgomery Street (Telegraph Hill · Montgomery Street, San Francisco, United States) — A single film-location page gives this corner of Montgomery and Green streets for Nick's apartment. The coordinate is an address lookup.
How to get there:
The car chase down the hill (1992)
Nick drives a car chase over the steep streets of Telegraph Hill.
Set in The chase through San Francisco's hills — A chase through the hilly streets of the city.
A steep stretch of Kearny Street, where the road turns to steps.
Filmed at Kearny Street steps, Telegraph Hill (Telegraph Hill · Kearny Street, San Francisco, United States) — The film-location sources say the chase was shot on the steep Kearny Street steps, which Michael Douglas drove himself over four nights. The coordinate is the Telegraph Hill area, not the exact point.
How to get there:
The dance floor in a church (1992)
Nick meets Catherine and Roxy at a disco.
Set in The disco where Nick meets Catherine and Roxy — A disco in a former church. The sources do not say which church was used.
The sources say only that a church was turned into the disco; which one is not given.
The dead man's club (1992)
Catherine says she will be at Johnny Boz's club, and Nick goes there to meet her.
Set in Johnny Boz's club — The club on Fillmore that belonged to the dead rock star.
The club was a set built on a Hollywood sound stage, not a real club.
The Lotus over the pit (1992)
Nick is dragged into a police inquiry about the death of Roxy, whose car rolled off a hill; he is asked how he knew her, and his name is in the file.
Set in North Beach, San Francisco — The neighbourhood where, per the dialogue, a car goes off the edge. The film does not name the exact spot.
A crash shot at the Moscone Center, near a hotel construction pit.
Filmed at Moscone Center area (Moscone Center, San Francisco, United States) — The ASC article describes shooting a Lotus crash at the Moscone Center over a hotel construction pit; whether this is the film's crash is a guess. The coordinate is the Moscone Center.
How to get there:
The call from Oakland (1992)
A call comes in from the former roommate of Catherine Tramell, who says she knows what happened. Nick and Gus head across the bay to meet her.
Set in Oakland — The city across the bay where Catherine's former college roommate is said to be.
The city across the bay from San Francisco, used in the film's last stretch.
Filmed at Oakland (Oakland, United States) — AFI lists Oakland among the filming places; no building is named, so this is the city centre.
How to get there:
Characters
- Nick Curran — A San Francisco detective, on leave, who investigates the murder of a rock star.
- Catherine Tramell — A rich novelist and the dead man's girlfriend, whose book describes a very similar murder.