Paul Verhoeven has always been a pioneering director. He WAS Dutch cinema for many years and back in the 1970s, he pushed sexual explicitness boundaries along with a strong taste for violence and social satire. His film Turkish Delight was voted best ever Dutch film in the 20th century. A passionate and fruity tale of a Dutch Sculptor's affair with a girl from a bourgeois background, it shocked audiences with its boldness and was nominated for an Oscar in 1974. Verhoeven really made Hollywood sit up and listen with his fantastic war film Soldier of Orange. When Verhoeven made his way in to Hollywood with Flesh + Blood in 1985, he took Rutger Hauer with him for his American debut. It was an entertaining romp in plague ridden Italy in the 1500s but again, Verhoeven had to push the boundaries by showing Hauer rape Jennifer Jason Leigh and her character appears to enjoy it. Robocop and The Terminator were a change in direction from Verhoeven into sci fi. Big budget, violent films, they are not my cup of tea but they are extremely popular and cemented Verhoeven's status as a major player in Hollywood. With Basic Instinct, Verhoeven stepped back into the drama arena and produced one of the most buccaneering shots in Hollywood history - Sharon Stone uncrossing her legs during a police interrogation - to reveal she is knickerless. Further smut was to follow with Showgirls which hit new heights of sordid sex scenes and silliness. The film was roundly derided by critics and it flopped at the box office, but its goofy charms have won it a legion of cult movie fans. Fed up with Hollywood, Verhoeven returned to his native Holland to make Black Book in 2006, a World War Two drama. It was critically well received and was remarkably devoid of smut laden sex and extreme violence. Not, just a film buccaneer, Verhoeven published a biography of Jesus called Jesus of Nazareth which depicts Jesus as a political radical and played down his miracles and supernatural events as told in the bible. Paul Verhoeven has proved his credentials in many areas of cinema and has not been afraid to dip into different genres. He is a true pioneer and he is never boring in the projects he chooses.
My first film watched was Carrie aged 2 on my dad's knee. Educated at The University of St Andrews and Trinity College Dublin. Fan of Arthouse, Exploitation, Horror, Euro Trash, Giallo, New French Extremism. Weaned at the bosom of a Russ Meyer starlet. The bleaker, artier or sleazier the better!
