Paul Verhoeven
Encyclopedia
Paul Verhoeven (ˈpʌu̯l vərˈɦuvə(n); born July 18, 1938) is a Dutch
film director
, screenwriter
, and producer
who has made movies in both the Netherlands
and the United States
. Explicitly violent and/or sexual content and social satire are trademarks of both his drama
and science fiction film
s. He is best known for directing the American
feature film
s RoboCop
(1987), Total Recall
(1990), Basic Instinct
(1992), Starship Troopers
(1997), and Hollow Man
(2000).
Turkish Delight
(1973) received the award for Best Dutch Film of the Century at the Netherlands Film Festival
. His films altogether received a total of nine Academy Award nominations, mainly for editing and effects. Both RoboCop and Total Recall won an Academy Special Achievement Award
. In contrast, his film Showgirls
(1995) was poorly received and won seven Golden Raspberry Awards
, but has become a cult film
over time.
, the Netherlands
, the son of school teacher
Wim Verhoeven and hat maker Nel van Schaardenburg. Although born in Amsterdam, the family lived in the village of Slikkerveer
.
In 1943 the family moved to The Hague
, the location of the German headquarters in the Netherlands during World War II
. The Verhoeven house was near a German military base with V1 and V2-rocket launchers
, which was repeatedly bombed by allied forces. Their neighbours' house was hit and Verhoeven's parents were almost killed when bombs fell on a street crossing. From this period, Verhoeven mentioned in interviews, he remembers images of violence, burning houses, dead bodies on the street and continuous danger. As a small child he experienced the war as an exciting adventure and compares himself with the character Bill Rowan in Hope and Glory (1987).
His father Wim Verhoeven became head teacher
on the Van Heutszschool in The Hague and Paul Verhoeven attended this school. Sometimes they watched informative films at home with the school's film projector
. Paul Verhoeven and his father also liked to see American films, that were in the cinema after the liberation, such as The Crimson Pirate
(1952). They went as many as ten times to see The War of the Worlds
(1953). Paul Verhoeven was a fan of the Dutch comic Dick Bos, where the character Dick Bos is a private detective who fights crime using jujutsu
. Verhoeven himself liked comic drawing and created The Killer, a grey character in a detailed story full of revenge. Other fiction he liked were Frankenstein
and Rice Burroughs
' Barsoom
series.
He went to the public secondary school Gymnasium Haganum
in The Hague. After this he studied from 1955 at the University of Leiden, where he joined the students' corps. He graduated with a doctorandus
(M.Sc.) double majoring in both mathematics
and physics
.
Verhoeven made his first film A Lizzard Too Much for the anniversary of his students' corps in 1960. In his last years at university he also attended classes at the Netherlands Film Academy
. After this he made three more short films Nothing Special (1961), De Lifters (1962) and Let's Have a Party (1963).
Verhoeven received a doctorandus
degree in math and physics from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He never used his degree, opting instead to invest his energies in a career in film. After his studies he entered the Dutch Navy
as a conscript. He made the documentary "Het Korps Mariniers" (The Royal Dutch Marine Corps 1965) about the Navy, which won the French Golden Sun award for military films.
In 1967 he married Martine Tours, with whom he later had two daughters, Claudia (b. 1972), and Helen (b. 1974).
When he left the Navy, he took his skills into Dutch television. First he made a documentary about Anton Mussert
named Mussert (1968). His first major success was the 1969 Floris
television series, starring Rutger Hauer. The concept of Floris was inspired by foreign series like Ivanhoe
and Thierry La Fronde
.
, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven
. This film is based on a novel by bestselling Dutch author Jan Wolkers
and tells a passionate love story of an artist and a liberal young girl from a rather conservative background. The film received an Academy Award
nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
in 1974. In 1999 the film won a Golden Calf
for Best Dutch Film of the Century. Verhoeven's 1975 film Katie Tippel
was again featuring Hauer and van de Ven, but it would not match the success of Turkish Delight.
Verhoeven built on his reputation and achieved international success with his Golden Globe nominated film Soldier of Orange
. The film is based on a true story about the Dutch resistance in World War II
, written by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema
. Soldier of Orange received the 1979 LA Film Critics Award for best foreign language film. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe in 1980.
In 1980 he made the film Spetters
with Renée Soutendijk
and again Rutger Hauer. The story is sometimes compared to Saturday Night Fever
, but the film has more explicit violence and sexuality (in this case also homosexuality
) which are sometimes seen as the trademarks of Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven's film The Fourth Man
(1983) is a horror film starring Jeroen Krabbé
and Renée Soutendijk
. It was written by Gerard Soeteman
from a novel by the popular Dutch writer Gerard Reve
. This film would be Verhoeven's last Dutch film production until the 2006 film Black Book.
(1985), which starred Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh
. Verhoeven moved to Hollywood for a wider range of opportunities in filmmaking. Working in the USA he made a serious change in style, directing big-budget, sometimes violent, special-effects-heavy smashes RoboCop
(1987) and Total Recall
(1990)—at the time the most expensive film ever produced. Both RoboCop
and Total Recall
won an Academy Special Achievement Award
, respectively for Sound Effects Editing and for Visual Effects.
Verhoeven followed those successes with the equally intense and provocative Basic Instinct
(1992), which was not science fiction. The 9th-highest grossing film of the year, the movie was a return to the themes Verhoeven had explored in Turkish Delight
and The Fourth Man
. The most notorious scene shows Sharon Stone's character in a police interrogation, where she uncrosses her legs, briefly revealing her vulva (she does not wear underwear underneath her skirt). The film received two Academy Awards nominations, for Film Editing and for Original Music.
Then he made the poorly received NC-17 rated film Showgirls
(1995), about a stripper in Las Vegas
trying to have a career as a showgirl. The film won seven Raspberry Awards
including the ones for worst film and for worst director. Paul Verhoeven was the first director to accept the award in person. Afterward, the film enjoyed success on the home video
market, generating more than $100 million from video rentals and became one of MGM's top 20 all-time bestsellers.
After Basic Instinct and Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven returned to the science fiction, graphic violence, and special-effects that had marked his earlier films with Starship Troopers
(1997), cinematic version of the noted and controversial science-fiction novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein
, and Hollow Man
(2000). Both films received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
he made Black Book (2006). The director was hailed by the host of the Netherlands Film Festival
with the words "The return of a hero". Black Book eventually won six Golden Calves
at this festival, including one for Paul Verhoeven as Best Director. When the shooting of Black Book was delayed due to financial issues, there were speculations about a new production. The film Beast of Bataan had been announced, but when the shooting for Black Book resumed, the film was never realized.
. He is the only member who does not have a degree in biblical studies
, although he graduated in mathematics and physics at the University of Leiden. Since he is not a professional biblical exegete, his membership in the Jesus Seminar has occasionally been cited by opponents of the Seminar as a sign that this group is less scholarly than it claims. On the other hand, some Jesus Seminar members were unhappy with Verhoeven's portrayal of Jesus as an eschatological
prophet
.
In 2007 Verhoeven authored the book Jesus of Nazareth about the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The book reviews the ideas of Jesus
of Nazareth
and the alleged corruption of these same ideas over the last 2,000 years. Co-written with Verhoeven's biographer Rob Van Scheers, the book is the culmination of the research Verhoeven conducted in prepration for Jesus: The Man, a motion picture about the life of Christ. The book tells about the Jewish uprising against Roman rule and characterizes Jesus as radical political activist, downplaying any supernatural events and miracles as unproved or unprovable.
"Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait," has been released in September 2008 in Dutch and was published in English in May 2010 by Seven Stories Press
.
Robert J. Miller, author of "Born Divine", said about "Jesus of Nazareth":
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
who has made movies in both the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Explicitly violent and/or sexual content and social satire are trademarks of both his drama
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
and science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
s. He is best known for directing the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
(1987), Total Recall
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
(1990), Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
(1992), Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
(1997), and Hollow Man
Hollow Man
Hollow Man is a 2000 American science fiction thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, and Josh Brolin. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible, a story inspired by H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. The film was nominated for an Academy...
(2000).
Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight (film)
Turkish Delight is a 1973 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and filmed by Jan de Bont. The film is a love story of an artist and a young woman, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. The story is based on the novel Turks fruit by Jan Wolkers...
(1973) received the award for Best Dutch Film of the Century at the Netherlands Film Festival
Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.During the ten-day festival, all Dutch film productions of the previous year are exhibited. Besides feature films, the program also consists of short subjects, documentary...
. His films altogether received a total of nine Academy Award nominations, mainly for editing and effects. Both RoboCop and Total Recall won an Academy Special Achievement Award
Academy Special Achievement Award
The Special Achievement Award is an Academy Award given for an achievement that makes an exceptional contribution to the motion picture for which it was created, but for which there is no annual award category...
. In contrast, his film Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
(1995) was poorly received and won seven Golden Raspberry Awards
Golden Raspberry Awards
A Golden Raspberry Award, or Razzie for short, is an award presented in recognition of the worst in movies. Founded by American copywriter and publicist John J.B. Wilson in 1981, the annual Razzie Awards ceremony in Los Angeles precedes the corresponding Academy Awards ceremony by one day...
, but has become a cult film
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
over time.
Childhood
Verhoeven was born in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, the son of school teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
Wim Verhoeven and hat maker Nel van Schaardenburg. Although born in Amsterdam, the family lived in the village of Slikkerveer
Slikkerveer
Slikkerveer is a village in the municipality of Ridderkerk, South Holland, the Netherlands. In 2004, 8550 people lived in Slikkerveer.It is located about 6 km eastsoutheast of the city of Rotterdam...
.
In 1943 the family moved to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, the location of the German headquarters in the Netherlands during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The Verhoeven house was near a German military base with V1 and V2-rocket launchers
Vergeltungswaffe
V-weapons also, known in the original German as Vergeltungswaffen , were a particular set of long range artillery weapons designed for strategic bombing during World War II, particularly terror bombing and/or aerial bombing of cities. They comprised the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 rocket and the V-3...
, which was repeatedly bombed by allied forces. Their neighbours' house was hit and Verhoeven's parents were almost killed when bombs fell on a street crossing. From this period, Verhoeven mentioned in interviews, he remembers images of violence, burning houses, dead bodies on the street and continuous danger. As a small child he experienced the war as an exciting adventure and compares himself with the character Bill Rowan in Hope and Glory (1987).
His father Wim Verhoeven became head teacher
Head teacher
A head teacher or school principal is the most senior teacher, leader and manager of a school....
on the Van Heutszschool in The Hague and Paul Verhoeven attended this school. Sometimes they watched informative films at home with the school's film projector
Film projector
Film projection or Film projector may refer to:*Movie projector for projection of moving images from film*Slide projector for projection of still images from film...
. Paul Verhoeven and his father also liked to see American films, that were in the cinema after the liberation, such as The Crimson Pirate
The Crimson Pirate
The Crimson Pirate is a 1952 American adventure film directed by Robert Siodmak. It stars Burt Lancaster, who also co-produced the film, as Captain Vallo, the eponymous pirate, and is set in the Caribbean late in the 18th century, on the fictional islands of Cobra and San Pero...
(1952). They went as many as ten times to see The War of the Worlds
The War of the Worlds (1953 film)
The War of the Worlds is a 1953 science fiction film starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. It was the first on-screen loose adaptation of the H. G. Wells classic novel of the same name...
(1953). Paul Verhoeven was a fan of the Dutch comic Dick Bos, where the character Dick Bos is a private detective who fights crime using jujutsu
Jujutsu
Jujutsu , also known as jujitsu, ju-jitsu, or Japanese jiu-jitsu, is a Japanese martial art and a method of close combat for defeating an armed and armored opponent in which one uses no weapon, or only a short weapon....
. Verhoeven himself liked comic drawing and created The Killer, a grey character in a detailed story full of revenge. Other fiction he liked were Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
and Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic Mars adventurer John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.-Biography:...
' Barsoom
Barsoom
Barsoom is a fictional representation of the planet Mars created by American pulp fiction author Edgar Rice Burroughs, who wrote close to 100 action adventure stories in various genres in the first half of the 20th century, and is now best known as the creator of the character Tarzan...
series.
He went to the public secondary school Gymnasium Haganum
Gymnasium Haganum
The Gymnasium Haganum is one of the oldest public schools in The Netherlands, located in the city of The Hague.The name gymnasium refers to the type of school, the Dutch gymnasium. This type of secondary school is comparable to English grammar schools and U.S. college prep schools...
in The Hague. After this he studied from 1955 at the University of Leiden, where he joined the students' corps. He graduated with a doctorandus
Doctorandus
Doctorandus is a Dutch academic title according to the pre-bachelor-master system. The title is acquired by passing the doctoraalexamen, traditionally a matriculation exam for admission to study at doctoral level....
(M.Sc.) double majoring in both mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
.
First films and TV series
Netherlands Film and Television Academy
The Netherlands Film and Television Academy was founded in 1958.The academy is the only recognised institute in the Netherlands that offers training to prepare for the work in the various crew disciplines...
. After this he made three more short films Nothing Special (1961), De Lifters (1962) and Let's Have a Party (1963).
Verhoeven received a doctorandus
Doctorandus
Doctorandus is a Dutch academic title according to the pre-bachelor-master system. The title is acquired by passing the doctoraalexamen, traditionally a matriculation exam for admission to study at doctoral level....
degree in math and physics from the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He never used his degree, opting instead to invest his energies in a career in film. After his studies he entered the Dutch Navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
as a conscript. He made the documentary "Het Korps Mariniers" (The Royal Dutch Marine Corps 1965) about the Navy, which won the French Golden Sun award for military films.
In 1967 he married Martine Tours, with whom he later had two daughters, Claudia (b. 1972), and Helen (b. 1974).
When he left the Navy, he took his skills into Dutch television. First he made a documentary about Anton Mussert
Anton Mussert
Anton Adriaan Mussert was one of the founders of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands and its de jure leader. As such, he was the most prominent national socialist in the Netherlands before and during the Second World War...
named Mussert (1968). His first major success was the 1969 Floris
Floris (TV series)
Floris is a 1969 Dutch television action series, written by Gerard Soeteman starring Rutger Hauer and Jos Bergman and directed by Paul Verhoeven.-Concept:...
television series, starring Rutger Hauer. The concept of Floris was inspired by foreign series like Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe
Ivanhoe is a historical fiction novel by Sir Walter Scott in 1819, and set in 12th-century England. Ivanhoe is sometimes credited for increasing interest in Romanticism and Medievalism; John Henry Newman claimed Scott "had first turned men's minds in the direction of the middle ages," while...
and Thierry La Fronde
Thierry La Fronde
Thierry La Fronde was a French television series that aired 1963-66 on the sole French TV station, ORTF. Dubbed into English, it was shown in the 1960s in Canada, where it was referred to both under the original name and as The King's Outlaw. It was shown as well in Poland as Thierry Śmiałek...
.
The Netherlands
Paul Verhoeven's first feature film Business Is Business was released in 1971 and was not especially well received. His first national success did not come until 1973 with Turkish DelightTurkish Delight (film)
Turkish Delight is a 1973 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and filmed by Jan de Bont. The film is a love story of an artist and a young woman, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. The story is based on the novel Turks fruit by Jan Wolkers...
, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven
Monique van de Ven
Monica Maria Theresia "Monique" van de Ven is a Dutch actress and director.From 1973 until 1988 she was married to Dutch cinematographer and director Jan de Bont, with whom she lived in Los Angeles for a number of years. She is now married to actor and writer Edwin de Vries.Her film debut as an...
. This film is based on a novel by bestselling Dutch author Jan Wolkers
Jan Wolkers
Jan Hendrik Wolkers was a Dutch author, sculptor and painter.Wolkers is considered one of the "Great Four" writers of post-World War II Dutch literature, along with Willem Frederik Hermans, Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve...
and tells a passionate love story of an artist and a liberal young girl from a rather conservative background. The film received an Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
in 1974. In 1999 the film won a Golden Calf
Golden Calf (award)
The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best actor, Best actress, Best film, Best Short film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention...
for Best Dutch Film of the Century. Verhoeven's 1975 film Katie Tippel
Katie Tippel
Katie Tippel is a 1975 film by Paul Verhoeven. The film is based on the memoirs of Neel Doff and was the most expensive Dutch film produced up to that time...
was again featuring Hauer and van de Ven, but it would not match the success of Turkish Delight.
Verhoeven built on his reputation and achieved international success with his Golden Globe nominated film Soldier of Orange
Soldier of Orange
Soldier of Orange is a 1977 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and produced by Rob Houwer, starring Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé. The film is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, and shows how individual students have different roles in the war...
. The film is based on a true story about the Dutch resistance in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, written by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema
Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema
Siebren Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema DFC RMWO , was a Dutch wartime RAF-pilot, Dutch spy and writer. He was a Knight 4th class of the Military William Order....
. Soldier of Orange received the 1979 LA Film Critics Award for best foreign language film. It was also nominated for a Golden Globe in 1980.
In 1980 he made the film Spetters
Spetters
Spetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven.Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to...
with Renée Soutendijk
Renée Soutendijk
Renette Pauline Soutendijk, known as Renée Soutendijk, is a Dutch actress. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's films and is perhaps best known for her work in his 1980 release Spetters. Her good looks and striking blond hair secured her status as a Dutch sex symbol in the 1980s...
and again Rutger Hauer. The story is sometimes compared to Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever is a 1977 drama film directed by John Badham and starring: John Travolta as Tony Manero, an immature young man whose weekends are spent visiting a local Brooklyn discothèque; Karen Lynn Gorney as his dance partner and eventual friend; and Donna Pescow as Tony's former dance...
, but the film has more explicit violence and sexuality (in this case also homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
) which are sometimes seen as the trademarks of Paul Verhoeven. Verhoeven's film The Fourth Man
The Fourth Man
The Fourth Man is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the novel De vierde man by Gerard Reve. The film stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk in the lead roles.-Plot:...
(1983) is a horror film starring Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Krabbé
Jeroen Aart Krabbé is a Dutch actor and film director who has appeared in many Dutch and international films.-Biography:...
and Renée Soutendijk
Renée Soutendijk
Renette Pauline Soutendijk, known as Renée Soutendijk, is a Dutch actress. She was a favorite star of director Paul Verhoeven's films and is perhaps best known for her work in his 1980 release Spetters. Her good looks and striking blond hair secured her status as a Dutch sex symbol in the 1980s...
. It was written by Gerard Soeteman
Gerard Soeteman
Gerard Soeteman is a Dutch screenwriter. He worked together with Paul Verhoeven on several films, such as Turkish Delight and Black Book...
from a novel by the popular Dutch writer Gerard Reve
Gerard Reve
Gerard Kornelis van het Reve was a Dutch writer. He adopted a shortened version of his name, Gerard Reve in 1973, and that is how he is known today. Together with Willem Frederik Hermans and Harry Mulisch, he is considered one of the "Great Three" of Dutch post-war literature...
. This film would be Verhoeven's last Dutch film production until the 2006 film Black Book.
United States
Gerard Soeteman also wrote the script for Verhoeven's first American film, Flesh & BloodFlesh & Blood (film)
Flesh & Blood is a 1985 film directed by Paul Verhoeven. It is set in the year 1501 in Italy, and follows a group of mercenaries as they loot, rape and kill....
(1985), which starred Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
. Verhoeven moved to Hollywood for a wider range of opportunities in filmmaking. Working in the USA he made a serious change in style, directing big-budget, sometimes violent, special-effects-heavy smashes RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
(1987) and Total Recall
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
(1990)—at the time the most expensive film ever produced. Both RoboCop
RoboCop
RoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
and Total Recall
Total Recall
Total Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
won an Academy Special Achievement Award
Academy Special Achievement Award
The Special Achievement Award is an Academy Award given for an achievement that makes an exceptional contribution to the motion picture for which it was created, but for which there is no annual award category...
, respectively for Sound Effects Editing and for Visual Effects.
Verhoeven followed those successes with the equally intense and provocative Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct
Basic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
(1992), which was not science fiction. The 9th-highest grossing film of the year, the movie was a return to the themes Verhoeven had explored in Turkish Delight
Turkish Delight (film)
Turkish Delight is a 1973 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and filmed by Jan de Bont. The film is a love story of an artist and a young woman, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. The story is based on the novel Turks fruit by Jan Wolkers...
and The Fourth Man
The Fourth Man
The Fourth Man is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the novel De vierde man by Gerard Reve. The film stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk in the lead roles.-Plot:...
. The most notorious scene shows Sharon Stone's character in a police interrogation, where she uncrosses her legs, briefly revealing her vulva (she does not wear underwear underneath her skirt). The film received two Academy Awards nominations, for Film Editing and for Original Music.
Then he made the poorly received NC-17 rated film Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
(1995), about a stripper in Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
trying to have a career as a showgirl. The film won seven Raspberry Awards
1995 Golden Raspberry Awards
The 16th Golden Raspberry Awards were held on March 24, 1996 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to recognize the worst the movie industry had to offer in 1995. The list of nominees follows, with recipients denoted in bold...
including the ones for worst film and for worst director. Paul Verhoeven was the first director to accept the award in person. Afterward, the film enjoyed success on the home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
market, generating more than $100 million from video rentals and became one of MGM's top 20 all-time bestsellers.
After Basic Instinct and Showgirls, Paul Verhoeven returned to the science fiction, graphic violence, and special-effects that had marked his earlier films with Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers (film)
Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
(1997), cinematic version of the noted and controversial science-fiction novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
, and Hollow Man
Hollow Man
Hollow Man is a 2000 American science fiction thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, and Josh Brolin. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible, a story inspired by H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. The film was nominated for an Academy...
(2000). Both films received an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects.
Return to the Netherlands
After about 20 years of working and living in the United States Paul Verhoeven returned to the Netherlands for the shooting of a new film. Together with his screenwriter Gerard SoetemanGerard Soeteman
Gerard Soeteman is a Dutch screenwriter. He worked together with Paul Verhoeven on several films, such as Turkish Delight and Black Book...
he made Black Book (2006). The director was hailed by the host of the Netherlands Film Festival
Netherlands Film Festival
The Netherlands Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in September and October of each year in the city of Utrecht.During the ten-day festival, all Dutch film productions of the previous year are exhibited. Besides feature films, the program also consists of short subjects, documentary...
with the words "The return of a hero". Black Book eventually won six Golden Calves
Golden Calf (award)
The Golden Calf is the award of the Netherlands Film Festival, which is held annually in Utrecht. The award has been presented since 1981, originally in six categories: Best actor, Best actress, Best film, Best Short film, Culture Prize and Honourable mention...
at this festival, including one for Paul Verhoeven as Best Director. When the shooting of Black Book was delayed due to financial issues, there were speculations about a new production. The film Beast of Bataan had been announced, but when the shooting for Black Book resumed, the film was never realized.
Crew
- Jost VacanoJost VacanoJost Vacano is a German cinematographer. He was the cinematographer of Das Boot and he also worked together with director Paul Verhoeven on seven films, including RoboCop and Total Recall.-Filmography:...
has worked as the cinematographer on seven of his films, including many of the American ones. The first movie they did together was Soldier of Orange in 1977. - Jerry GoldsmithJerry GoldsmithJerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
wrote the scores for Total Recall, Basic Instinct, and Hollow Man. He said that he considered Total Recall one of the best movie scores he wrote. - Basil PoledourisBasil PoledourisVassilis Konstantinos "Basil" Poledouris was a Greek-American music composer who concentrated on the scores for films and television shows...
scored three of Paul's films: Flesh & Blood, RoboCop, and Starship Troopers. - Ed Neumeier wrote both RoboCop and Starship Troopers. Ed had a cameo as the condemned man in Starship Troopers.
- Jon DavisonJon DavisonJon Davison is a film producer.-Biography:His producing credits include Airplane! , RoboCop , RoboCop 2 , Starship Troopers , The 6th Day and Phasma ex Machina ....
was an executive producer on RoboCop and a producer on Starship Troopers. He provided the voice of the ED-209 in RoboCop. - Phil TippettPhil TippettPhil Tippett is a movie director and an award-winning visual effects supervisor and producer, who specializes in creature design and character animation.-Early career:...
provided special effects for RoboCop and Starship Troopers. He also served as a producer on those films. - Rob BottinRob Bottin-Early life:He was born in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, California. His father was a foreman for a van and storage company.-FX artist career:...
contributed special effects for RoboCop, Basic Instinct, and Total Recall, most notably the design of the Kuato puppet in Total Recall. - Alan MarshallAlan Marshall (producer)Alan Marshall is a British film producer.In 1967 Marshall was working as a film editor at Signal Films in Berwick St London. He left to be a commercials producer at CDP ....
produced four of Verhoeven's films: Basic Instinct, Showgirls, Starship Troopers, and Hollow Man. - Jan de BontJan de BontJan de Bont is a Dutch cinematographer, producer, and film director.-Early life and career:De Bont was born, one of 17 children, to a Roman Catholic family in Eindhoven, Netherlands. His earliest work after studying at the Amsterdam Film Academy was with the Dutch avant garde director Adriaan...
was the cinematographer for all of Paul's Dutch films except Spetters and Soldier of Orange. His last film as a cinematographer was Basic Instinct. - Joe EszterhasJoe EszterhasJózsef A. "Joe" Eszterhas is a Hungarian-American writer, best known for his work on the pulp erotic films Basic Instinct and Showgirls. He has also written several non-fiction books, including an autobiography entitled Hollywood Animal.-Early life:Eszterhas was born in Csákánydoroszló, Hungary,...
wrote the scripts for Basic Instinct and Showgirls. - Rob HouwerRob Houwer-Awards:*1999 Bavarian Film Awards, Best Production -Selected filmography:* Hunting Scenes From Bavaria * Man on Horseback * Business Is Business * Turkish Delight * Katie Tippel * Soldier of Orange...
produced five of Paul's Dutch films. - Gerard SoetemanGerard SoetemanGerard Soeteman is a Dutch screenwriter. He worked together with Paul Verhoeven on several films, such as Turkish Delight and Black Book...
wrote all of Paul's major Dutch projects starting with Floris and ending with Flesh & Blood. They reunited again for Black Book in 2006. - Frank J. UriosteFrank J. UriosteFrank Jospeh Urioste is an American film editor with about 30 film credits. He has been nominated three times for the Academy Award for Film Editing, for RoboCop , Die Hard , and Basic Instinct .In addition to his work as an editor, Urioste served on the Board of...
was the film editor on Robocop, Total Recall and Basic Instinct (the first and latter were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Film Editing). - Mark GoldblattMark GoldblattMark Goldblatt is an Academy Award nominated, American film editor, and director. A graduate of the London Film School, he is a member, and a former president, of the American Cinema Editors, or ACE society, as well as, a member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and...
was the film editor on Showgirls, Starship Troopers and Hollow Man.
Cast
- Rutger Hauer appeared in five of Paul's Dutch films as well as the Verhoeven-directed TV miniseries Floris. The last time the two worked together was in 1985 on Flesh & Blood
- Sharon StoneSharon StoneSharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
featured in two of his highest grossing films Total RecallTotal RecallTotal Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
and Basic InstinctBasic InstinctBasic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
. - Jake BuseyJake BuseyWilliam Jacob "Jake" Busey is an American actor, musician and film producer. He is sometimes credited as "Jacob Busey" or "William Busey".-Personal life:...
featured in Starship Troopers and was a stunt-double in Robocop - Michael IronsideMichael IronsideMichael Ironside is a Canadian-born actor. He has also worked as a voice actor, producer, film director, and screenwriter in movie and television series in various Canadian and American productions. He is best known for playing villains and "tough guy" heroes, though he has also portrayed...
appeared in both Total RecallTotal RecallTotal Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
and Starship TroopersStarship Troopers (film)Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
and had been considered for the main role in RoboCopRoboCopRoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
.
Other activities
Paul Verhoeven is a member of the Jesus SeminarJesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 150 critical scholars and laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk under the auspices of the Westar Institute....
. He is the only member who does not have a degree in biblical studies
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
, although he graduated in mathematics and physics at the University of Leiden. Since he is not a professional biblical exegete, his membership in the Jesus Seminar has occasionally been cited by opponents of the Seminar as a sign that this group is less scholarly than it claims. On the other hand, some Jesus Seminar members were unhappy with Verhoeven's portrayal of Jesus as an eschatological
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
.
In 2007 Verhoeven authored the book Jesus of Nazareth about the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The book reviews the ideas of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
of Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
and the alleged corruption of these same ideas over the last 2,000 years. Co-written with Verhoeven's biographer Rob Van Scheers, the book is the culmination of the research Verhoeven conducted in prepration for Jesus: The Man, a motion picture about the life of Christ. The book tells about the Jewish uprising against Roman rule and characterizes Jesus as radical political activist, downplaying any supernatural events and miracles as unproved or unprovable.
"Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait," has been released in September 2008 in Dutch and was published in English in May 2010 by Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press
Seven Stories Press is an independent publishing company. Located in New York City, the company was founded by editor Dan Simon in 1995 after he parted company with Four Walls Eight Windows. The company was named for its seven founding authors: Annie Ernaux, Gary Null, the estate of Nelson Algren,...
.
Robert J. Miller, author of "Born Divine", said about "Jesus of Nazareth":
Director
- Business Is Business (1971)
- Turkish DelightTurkish Delight (film)Turkish Delight is a 1973 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and filmed by Jan de Bont. The film is a love story of an artist and a young woman, starring Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. The story is based on the novel Turks fruit by Jan Wolkers...
(1973) - Katie TippelKatie TippelKatie Tippel is a 1975 film by Paul Verhoeven. The film is based on the memoirs of Neel Doff and was the most expensive Dutch film produced up to that time...
(1975) - Soldier of OrangeSoldier of OrangeSoldier of Orange is a 1977 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and produced by Rob Houwer, starring Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé. The film is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, and shows how individual students have different roles in the war...
(1977) - SpettersSpettersSpetters is a Dutch film released in 1980 directed by Paul Verhoeven.Spetters led to many protests across the board about the caricatural manner in which Verhoeven portrayed gays, Christians, the police, and the press. Although Verhoeven made one more film in the Netherlands, the response to...
(1980) - The Fourth ManThe Fourth ManThe Fourth Man is a 1983 Dutch suspense film directed by Paul Verhoeven, based on the novel De vierde man by Gerard Reve. The film stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk in the lead roles.-Plot:...
(1983) - Flesh & BloodFlesh & Blood (film)Flesh & Blood is a 1985 film directed by Paul Verhoeven. It is set in the year 1501 in Italy, and follows a group of mercenaries as they loot, rape and kill....
(1985) - RoboCopRoboCopRoboCop is a 1987 American science fiction-action film directed by Paul Verhoeven. Set in a crime-ridden Detroit, Michigan in the near future, RoboCop centers on a police officer who is brutally murdered and subsequently re-created as a super-human cyborg known as "RoboCop"...
(1987) - Total RecallTotal RecallTotal Recall is a 1990 American science fiction action film. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Sharon Stone, Michael Ironside, Ronny Cox & Mel Johnson, Jr.. It is based on the Philip K. Dick story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”...
(1990) - Basic InstinctBasic InstinctBasic Instinct is a 1992 erotic thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas, and starring Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone....
(1992) - ShowgirlsShowgirlsShowgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...
(1995) - Starship TroopersStarship Troopers (film)Starship Troopers is a 1997 American military science fiction film, written by Edward Neumeier , directed by Paul Verhoeven, loosely adapted from Starship Troopers, a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It is the only theatrically released film in the Starship Troopers franchise...
(1997) - Hollow ManHollow ManHollow Man is a 2000 American science fiction thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, and Josh Brolin. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible, a story inspired by H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. The film was nominated for an Academy...
(2000) - Black Book (2006)
Writer
- Soldier of OrangeSoldier of OrangeSoldier of Orange is a 1977 Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven and produced by Rob Houwer, starring Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé. The film is set during the German occupation of the Netherlands during World War II, and shows how individual students have different roles in the war...
(1977) - Flesh & BloodFlesh & Blood (film)Flesh & Blood is a 1985 film directed by Paul Verhoeven. It is set in the year 1501 in Italy, and follows a group of mercenaries as they loot, rape and kill....
(1985) - Black Book (2006)
External links
- Time Out Interview
- Paul Verhoeven 2002 critique by professor Dan Shaw on the Senses of Cinema website
- Literature on Paul Verhoeven