Paul Verhoeven

[RNL]

Paul Verhoeven (1938- )



1. Basic Instinct (1992) 7/10
2. Zwartboek (2006) 7/10
3. RoboCop (1987) 6/10
4. Total Recall (1990) 5/10
5. Starship Troopers (1997) 3/10
6. Hollow Man (2000) 2/10
7. Showgirls (1995) 1/10

[Capo]

1. Total Recall 1990
2. Robocop 1987
3. Showgirls 1995

[Pherdy]

Soldaat van Oranje
Basic Instinct
Total Recall
RoboCop
Vierde Man, De
Starship Troopers
Flesh + Blood
Hollow Man
Spetters
Showgirls

Yet to see his most succesful Dutch film, Turks Fruit (1973)

Though as a Dutchman I shall always be biased (or patriotic) concerning Verhoeven, I think the man (and a few of his films) is brilliant. There's no person of any fame I like to listen to more than him, or read interviews of. Got his authorized biography for Christmas, and attended an interview with him last year. Everything he says is interesting, most notably about his 'miss'-films as Capo puts it.

But does he have real misses? Hollow Man was a missed opportunity, sure, which he declares himself as well. But films that were crushed at first tend to grow over time, and become cult favorites - even the notorious Razzie favorite Showgirls has gotten some praise recently. The world will be ready for Verhoeven in a few decades, since he obviously was ahead of it's time. But it will.

[Pherdy]

Completed his oeuvre.

Soldaat van Oranje
Basic Instinct
Total Recall
RoboCop
Vierde Man, De
Turks Fruit
Starship Troopers
Keetje Tippel
Flesh + Blood
Wat Zien Ik?
Hollow Man
Spetters
Showgirls

With the exception of his first feature Wat Zien Ik?, most of his films have something to say about humans, though a few (like Hollow Man) didn't live up to this feat because of horrible writing, and some were overshadowed by excessive visuals (Turks Fruit, Spetters, Basic Instinct) or false critique (Starship Troopers).
one of few directors who managed to get his points across in Hollywood films, thus beating the influence of studio execs, producers, marketeers etc.
No compromises.

[RNL]

>>> twitchfilm.net

---

Today in the Netherlands we had the annual "Rain of Medals", when people get awards given to them in the name of the Dutch Royal Family.

There are of course many different flavors of these: you can get them by working for the government for a certain number of years, for bravery or for winning the Oympics in sports.

One of the highest honors you can get bestowed on you is to be made a knight, and today that happened to director (and Twitch favorite) Paul Verhoeven.

He was given a knighthood "In the Order of the Dutch Lion" which consists of people who have shown patriotism through exceptional achievements in arts and sciences. Making movies as "Soldier of Orange", "The Fourth Man", "Robocop", "Total Recall", "Basic Instinct", "Starship Troopers" and "Blackbook" is thankfully recognized as such.

He received the (not-so-baroque) 'baton' shown here. Look for it on his left chest in future photographs!

So there you have it: despite "Flesh & Blood" and "Showgirls" we've got to treat him with respect now, lest he starts an age of rape and plunder...

---

[Pherdy]

ironically, Showgirls has been receiving a sort of cult treatment of late, even praise.

Flesh + Blood is a film with mediocre production value and the ever annoying Jennifer Jason Leigh, but hardly a miss.

last year's Zwartboek, the most expensive Dutch film ever, was a huge succes here and more or less abroad too.

Don't know what to think of his 'knighting'. it is supposed to be an honor. and he has always been very royalistic. I would have rather seen him end up higher in the "Greatest Dutchman Ever" ranking on tv of a few years ago.


he is one of those directors who's list of "unmade movies" is about as impressive as his real work - on par with Terry Gilliam, I'd say.

[Capo]

And he looks like an ugly Richard Gere.

[Capo]

I was watching Basic Instinct t'other week on TV. It looked rather good.

[RNL]

I enjoyed the hell out of Basic Instinct, but Showgirls was really unbearably awful.

I'd love to see him make that Jesus biopic he's been talking about.

[Pherdy]

wetdog said:

I enjoyed the hell out of Basic Instinct, but Showgirls was really unbearably awful.

I'd love to see him make that Jesus biopic he's been talking about.

in recent years, he has been talking more about a Jesus-book rather than a movie. he also said making that film would be impossible now, at least in America, because he'd be lynched. out of real fear for his life he does not consider doing this the next ten years.

for a moment this week I thought "Azazel" (or The Winter Queen), a film he's been talking about since Hollow Man was gonna get made this year, because he had cast a famous actress (well, Milo Jovovich) and got the budget secured. the day after this was announced, Jovovich announced a pregnancy.

his projects keep getting setbacks over and over again. it was one of the reasons he took up Hollow Man, because that was a simple studio 'work' that was ready to go. he always said it was easy money and a way to get to work again after so many failed movies.

[RNL]

pherdy said:

wetdog said:

I enjoyed the hell out of Basic Instinct, but Showgirls was really unbearably awful.

I'd love to see him make that Jesus biopic he's been talking about.

in recent years, he has been talking more about a Jesus-book rather than a movie. he also said making that film would be impossible now, at least in America, because he'd be lynched. out of real fear for his life he does not consider doing this the next ten years.

I can understand that, but surely he could do it elsewhere, no?

That would be the ballsiest thing ever, though, to make a high-profile atheistic Jesus biopic in contemporary America. An anti-Passion.

[Pherdy]

well, God knows he wants to do it.

doing it outside of America is merely difficult for monetary reasons. such a picture would cast at least $30 million the way Verhoeven shoots films (he is not a man for small budgets).

he wants to make it a historical approach (calling it "Christ: The Man" in one interview) rather than an evangelical one. he detested The Passion.

[Anasazie]

1. RoboCop (1987) 8/10
2. Basic Instinct (1992) 8/10
3. Black Book (2006) 8/10
4. The Fourth Man (1983) 7/10
5. Starship Troopers (1997) 7/10
6. Flesh+Blood (1985) 6/10
7. Total Recall (1990) 5/10
8. Showgirls (1995) 3/10

[quentincompson]

1.Black Book(2006) 5/10
2.Starship Troopers(1997) 5/10

[RNL]

I heard Jacques Rivette wrote an impassioned defense of Showgirls. Anyone read it?

[Anasazie]

No, but i would like to see Showgirls again. There are a few people that rate it quite highly. Slant Magazine list it among their 100 Essential Films and there picks are always interesting to re-visit and pick up on the lovely subtext. I think they talk about Showgirls as the only film to take pop culture seriously!

[theundergroundman]

1. RoboCop (1987) - [blue]7.5/10[/blue]
2. Total Recall (1990) - [blue]5/10[/blue]
3. Hollow Man (2000) - [blue]3/10[/blue]