4 June - 11 June

Growing up in the Nazi occupied Netherlands, Paul Verhoeven (b.1938) was exposed to the carnage of war at a young age. As a filmmaker he maintained a fascination with the extremes of human behaviour, not shying away from placing it on the screen. Turks Fruit (1973) is regarded as one of the best Dutch films ever made and, courted by Hollywood for several years, the slick, adrenaline pumping nihilism of his films seemed perfectly suited to the spirit of eighties. The three films presented here chart Verhoeven’s transition from one his country’s leading film directors to a major player in the US, while slyly becoming a prime satirist of American excess and advocate of strong female characters.

THE 4TH MAN || FLESH & BLOOD
ROBOCOP

Dir: Paul Verhoeven Netherlands 1983 103mins 35mm
In a forerunner to Verhoeven’s hugely successful Basic Instinct (1992), bisexual novelist Gerard Reve encounters the attractive Christine. Gerard becomes the lover of the thrice-widowed Christine but is plagued by horrific visions, and paranoid suspicions about this mysterious woman. Mary, mother of Jesus, appears before him to show that he is targeted as her fourth victim in this stylish, sexy and shocking thriller. Stars Jeroen Krabbé and Renée Soutendijk. Print courtesy of the Joe Dante and Jon Davison Collection at the Academy Film Archive.

Listed in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Dir: Paul Verhoeven Netherlands/Spain/US 1985 126mins 35mm
An unworldly maiden betrothed to a self-modelled Renaissance prince, finds herself in the clutches of a rogue mercenary and his motley band of warriors in this 16th Century adventure tale. Verhoeven’s audacious English language debut was always going to confound a US audience with its absence of traditional heroes, shifting sympathies, complex sexual politics and incredulous plot twists that delivered plenty of the flesh and blood that the title promised. Despite its flaws, the film is also sharply written, deftly directed and, above all, highly entertaining. Stars Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson and Jack Thompson.

Dir: Paul Verhoeven US 1987 102mins 35mm
Set in a decaying, crime-ridden Detroit of the near future, a brutally murdered police officer is resurrected as a cyborg crime fighting unit dubbed RoboCop. Programmed to protect and serve, RoboCop takes on the gangs with cold precision, but is haunted by fleeting memories of his former life. Verhoeven quickly established himself as a leading talent with his first Hollywood outing, scoring a critical and commercial hit in this smart, funny and ultra-violent satire on corporate American greed. Stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen and Ronny Cox.

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