Paul Verhoeven Film Restrospective - The Hitchhiker: Last Scene

The Hitchhiker was a 30 minute anthology TV series from the mid-80's and was also one of the first programs to appear on the newly created American cable TV channel, HBO. Being an anthology series, each week a different story was told with a different cast playing different characters. The only connecting thread was that of The Hitchhiker, who did no more than provide bookends to the story in the same way Rod Sterling did with The Twilight Zone.

Although largely forgotten now, the series does feature a considerable number of actors and directors who have gone onto far better things. Bill Paxton (Aliens, Twister, Titanic), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man, Finding Nemo), and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Thelma And Louise) have all appeared in episodes while Phillip Noyce (Salt, Patriot Games) directed 4 of them.

Paul Verhoeven directed a single episode of The Hitchhiker titled Last Scene. In it, Peter Coyote (E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Erin Brockovich) plays a movie director, trying to get an actress into the correct emotional state to shoot the last scene of his slasher movie. Even though many people have never heard of it, and even less have seen it, Last Scene may very well be the most important thing Paul Verhoeven ever directed. 

When he started his career, it was relatively easy for him to make the films he wanted in Holland, but by the time of Spetters and The 4^th Man, it was proving increasingly difficult to find financing. Verhoeven dabbled with Hollywood by making Flesh+Blood, but even then, he managed to do so without ever leaving Europe. Unsure whether he'd have the freedom to make the films as he wanted to, and also nervous about leaving behind the country he knew and loved, he agreed to go to America and direct an episode of The Hitchhiker as a trial run for a Hollywood career as he'd only be required for a few weeks. If he hated it, he could easily return to Holland.

As it turned out, he had a fantastic time, quickly deciding before production had even finished to make the transition to Hollywood full time. Had he not made this episode of a TV show, he would have stayed at home and there would be no Robocop, Total Recall or Basic Instinct, or at least in the forms that we all know and love.

So, how is his first stab at Hollywood? Is Last Scene any good? Well, yes and no. It's OK but not great. Verhoeven had a choice of what episode he wanted to direct, and he chose this episode as it blurred the lines between fantasy and reality. There are many moments where you think you are watching the actress being chased by serial killer, only to find you are watching the film that they are making. This is deliberately confusing and Verhoeven is having great fun twisting our sense of reality. In that sense, this episode could easily be seen as a forerunner to Total Recall, where you also don't know what is real and what isn't.

As this is a TV show, Verhoeven does hold back on his usual style of full on sex and violence, but as this is an HBO show, there he doesn't hold back entirely. What I did find amusing, and I presume this was deliberate, was a moment later in the episode where the characters go to a night club on fancy dress night. The club has many references to other horror films on display, including a recreation of an important and horrific moment from The 4^th Man. Despite this though, the episode seems rather bland and cheap, which can only be expected given the limited budget available.

All in all, it was one of the better episodes of an OK TV show but nothing too special. I'd give it a 5.5 as the only real things of interest is that Verhoeven directed it and what it allowed to happen after filming had been completed. That makes it an interesting footnote in an interesting career.

Talking of footnotes, when I started this retrospective, I thought I would have to give up on finding this episode. It may have been posted online, but it would probably take me ages to find. Imagine my delight when I popped into HMV in Braintree and found the DVD for the bargain price of less than £2. It was worth that price for the commentary alone, which is where Verhoeven talks in great depth about how important this episode was for him in allowing his move to Hollywood. The other episodes on the disk have been quite average so far. When I finish watching them, I will try and update this blog.

Paul Verhoeven Film Restrospective - Flesh+Blood

Flesh+Blood was Paul Verhoeven's 7^th film, and his first fully in English. After the extreme critical mauling he received for Spetters, and some recommendation from Steven Spielberg, he tried his hand with Hollywood movie, even if it was set and filmed in Europe.

Reuniting for the 5^th and final time with Rutger Hauer and also starring a young Jennifer Jason Leigh (Single White Female, The Hudsucker Proxy), Flesh+Blood tells the story of a small gang of mercenaries led by Hauer at the start of the 16^th century who are betrayed by their king after helping him regain control of his castle. After they accidentally kidnap his fiancé, the kings son tries to rescue her.

I have a very clear memory of the chat show host Michael Parkinson reviewing this movie on Film 85 while Barry Norman was taking a short break. The reason I remember it was down to Parky's absolute disgust in the film. After being horrified by the sad scene of the still born baby, he finally walked out after a young couple had sex underneath the rotting corpses of two hanging men. You can see why he didn't like it as there is a lot in this film that steers very close to extremely bad taste. If that scene with the two corpses didn't offend him, then the gang rape certainly would have.

After Keetje Tippel and Spetters, this is the third Verhoeven film to feature a rape scene, and this is the most brutal of the three. The big difference between those two films and this one is that neither of those films are meant as pure entertainment like this film is. However, the way she turns around the actions in that scene shows a lot about her character. Instead of letting the whole gang horrendously rape her, she becomes the sexually forceful one with their leader, knowing that he'd stop anyone else following him. It's an easy scene to misunderstand. Her pretending to enjoy it so that she can escape far worse can easily be misconstrued as women enjoy being raped. Even after this scene, there is ambiguity in the viewer as to whether she enjoys life with this gang after a lifetime in a nunnery, or whether she is just pretending while waiting to be rescued. After she becomes aware of circumstances that would kill their leader, Hauer, along with the rest of his gang, she still inadvertently stops him falling victim to it.

There are not many films set in the middle ages that don't turn out to have some sort of fantasy element to them. Other than The Name Of The Rose, this is the only other one I can think of. Even Ladyhawke, which also starred Rutger Hauer had him turning into a wolf at the end of the day. Although this film was set at the very end of the middle ages, during the start of the Early Modern period, it is still seen as a swords and sandals epic, a genre only recently revisited by Ridley Scott in Kingdom Of Heaven.

As is typical for Verhoeven, the film it littered with nudity throughout. Some of it pleasant in the form of Jennifer Jason Leigh's genuine blond virgin princess, to the unpleasant and shocking site of Bruno Kirby from When Harry Met Sally standing naked beside a fire. As is also typical for Verhoeven, the film is full of religious symbolism. After finding a statue of St Michael, Hauer's character, who was named after the saint, sees it as a sign from god that they should travel in the direction that his sword is pointing. This symbolism leads to one of the films most famous images, where a burning wheel behind Hauer's head appears to form a halo. It's an image that Verhoeven has used twice before, but here it forms part of the story.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is amazing in this movie, giving a performance that sometimes has you doubting where her loyalties lie, yet if you keep your eyes on her while others react to events, it becomes clear that she wishes to escape back into the arms of her husband to be, even if they have only known each other for 30 minutes. After this film, Leigh and Hauer would reunite for the excellent The Hitcher, one of the best Killer Hitchhiker movies ever made, and so much better than the Sean Bean remake. Coincidently, Verhoeven's next work would be an episode of the TV series, The Hitchhiker.

This is a film that needs to be rediscovered as a lot of people don't know about it. Although it was released in cinemas throughout most of the world, it only received a limited theatrical release in America and was instead shown on HBO. 

IMDB currently gives Flesh+Blood 6.7, which is a bit harsh but fully understandable. This isn't a film that people will love. It's more of a Like/Hate film. I liked it, but not nearly as much as some of his earlier stuff, and as Michael Parkinson himself thinks, there is a lot for people to hate about this movie.

Paul Verhoeven Film Restrospective - The 4th Man

The 4^th Man, aka De Vierde Man is Paul Verhoeven's 6^th film and would be the last one he made in his own country of Holland until his triumphant return over 20 years later with Black Book. It is also the first of his films that we come to that I had already seen as it was shown once on Channel 4 in the mid 90's. I couldn't remember that much about it other than finding it disappointing and rather pointless. I did remember that it was an erotic thriller, maybe similar to Basic Instinct. As it turned out, my memory was wrong.

The 4^th Man is a good film, but very unusual. Describing the story without giving anything away is difficult, but essentially Jeroen Krabbé stars as a bisexual author who meets and falls in love with Renée Soutendijk at a talk he is giving and sees an opportunity to get close to her ex-boyfriend who he secretly lusts after. He also has these weird dreams and visions, but what could they mean?

Like I said, The 4^th Man is a very unusual film, which might be why I didn't like it much the first time I saw it. I also think it's because it wasn't the film I was expecting to see. I was looking forward to an erotic thriller in a similar vein to Verhoeven's own Basic Instinct, but instead got something completely different. On second viewing, remembering my disappointment, I watched it with different expectations and enjoyed it considerably more. It is a film where a lot can be left to interpretation as the film deals with one man's dreams and visions. How he interprets them is not necessarily the correct way of interpreting them.

There is a lot of religions symbolism in the film, and not just within the dream sequences. The film begins with a close up image of a spider killing a fly and wrapping it in it's web that's located on a cross. As is typical for Verhoeven, the symbolism is not very subtle, but it is a fantastic bit of footage. The film also features a mother playing with a long piece of apple peel, which forms a halo behind her son's head that is reminiscent of similar imagery in both Spetters and his next film, Flesh And Blood. The religious symbolism was a deliberate reaction on Verhoeven's part to the criticism of his previous film, Spetters, and is something that he returns to in his subsequent films.

This is the first film since his début not to feature Rutger Hauer, although he does star in Verhoeven's next film, Flesh And Blood. Despite that, it does reunite him with both Jeroen Krabbé from Soldier Of Orange and Spetters, as well as Renée Soutendijk, also from Spetters. Krabbé is excellent here after finally being given a starring role, coming across a slightly slimy, troubled and maybe just a little insane, although we could have done without the full frontal male nudity at the start of the film where Krabbé gets out of bed wearing just a t-shirt, but you come to expect that in Verhoeven films.

Even Jan De Bont, returning to Verhoeven for the first time since Keetje Tippel does a great job with the cinematography. Finally showing some of the talent that would allow him to shoot the classic Die Hard before going on to direct the equally classic Speed. Shame that his directing jobs after Speed help prove that was more of a fluke than genuine directing talent. With The 4^th Man, he does a great job of lighting both the dream sequences with an almost surreal tint, and the real sequences in a more natural light. For a film about dreams and visions, there is some startling imagery in this film, the most memorable involves an eye hole in a door.

I really enjoyed this film on second viewing, and suspect I will enjoy it even more if I watch it again as certain moments of symbolism will make more sense to me. For some reason, I keep likening it to Hitchcock's Vertigo, but am not sure why as it is a very different kind of film. I think it's because the more often you watch it, the more you notice about it, highlighting some of the complexities bubbling under the surface.

IMDB gives this film 7.3, which is again quite accurate. As it is Verhoeven, it is not a film that will be enjoyed by everyone, and on first viewing, you may find yourself frustrated by it, but it is technically well done, and rewards multiple viewings.

Paul Verhoeven Film Restrospective - Spetters

Spetters is Paul Verhoeven's fifth film, which follows 3 young men against a backdrop of Dirt Bike Racing. This film again teams Verhoeven with both Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé, although their roles are more like extended cameos, with Hauer having less than 10 minutes screen time. Although the 3 male leads are all unknown actors, the female lead is played by Renée Soutendijk, who went on to star in the low budget Terminator rip-off, Eve Of Destruction,

The word Spetters is a now unused slang word with a similar meaning to “Hunks”, “Hot Young Guys” or even “Hot Shots”, but also has a second meaning in that it can refer to the hot splashes of oil that come from deep fat fryers. This is quite an appropriate name considering that Soutendijk's character runs a chip van alongside her brother. Hating the way her job makes her smell of grease and oil, she sees the 3 guys as a way out of that lifestyle. After initially helping one of the men get sponsorship for his Dirt Biking, which should then lead to a successful career in the sport, things take a turn for the tragic, so she moves onto one of his friends instead.

After the critical cinematic success of Soldier Of Orange, this film feels like a step back for Verhoeven as it sees him return to the gritty realistic drama for the first time since Turkish Delight. In fact, that film is referenced during a fake sex scene, as a character suggests moaning a lot like they do in “Turks Fruit”. This scene offers the film a rare comedic moment in what is otherwise quite a bleak movie, featuring a rather graphic scene of a gay gang rape of one of the characters, and the suicide of another. Despite this, the film does end on an optimistic note.

I read that when Showgirls was critically mauled, Verhoeven was unfazed as he had already gone through all of that with this film as when it was released, it received a lot of criticism as being anti-gay, anti-disabled, anti-women and anti-Christian. Although, despite a religious character being shown as a despicably violent person, others are shown in a better light.

As for the anti-gay criticisms, this is understandable as one of the characters goes about violently mugging members of the gay community as he comes to terms with his own homosexuality. However, the notion that it takes being gang-raped by a group of men for him to realise that he enjoys gay sex is quite offensive, reminding me of the infamous rape scene in Straw Dogs.

In a film set against the backdrop of Dirt Bike Racing, the film does have some quite impressive stunts performed by the actual cast, such as riding the bike over a Volkswagen Beetle without helmet. There are also some interesting moments of cinematic brilliance such as a remarkably well shot moment where a character is trying to get healed during a religious ceremony, with the light in the background forming a halo round his head. This is an image that Verhoeven more famously revisits during his first American movie, Flesh And Blood.

IMDB currently gives the film 6.6, which is again pretty accurate. Not as bad as some of the criticisms suggest, but still nowhere near as great as some of Verhoeven's best work.

Paul Verhoeven Film Restrospective - Soldier Of Orange

Paul Verhoeven's forth film reunites him once again with Rutger Hauer for what may very well be his best. Telling the story of 6 Dutch University graduates during the war, it mainly focuses on Erik Lanshof (Hauer) as he and Guus LeJeune (Jeroen Krabbé) escape to England from the German occupied Holland.

The film is in two halves, with an intermission at the midway point. The first half telling the story of life in Holland as the Germans take control, showing how the lives of the 6 friends go in different directions during the war. The second half tells how Hauer and Krabbé help the British trick the German's into thinking D-Day will occur in Holland instead of France.

Hauer is once again excellent in a role far removed from that of his previous two Verhoeven films, showing his underrated versatility as an actor that was lost once he moved to Hollywood and got stuck playing the bad guys. Here, he plays a student who gets caught up in the war and becomes a hero. Jeroen Krabbé is also excellent in a role far removed from his typical Hollywood villain, as the equally heroic Guus. After this film, Krabbé would team up with Verhoeven again on his next 2 films.

This is Verhoeven's first film without usual cinematographer, Jan De Bont, which probably explains why it looks so much better than his previous films. Where the lack of a huge Hollywood budget made Keetje Tippel look underwhelming in places, here, the film looks professional and expensive. Indeed, it was the most expensive Dutch film ever made at that time, but even then, it's budget was tiny compared to American productions. The look of this film is amazing, especially during it's climatic scenes, with a tuxedo clad Hauer, running across the beach as bombs go off around him. It's a remarkable image, and one that prompted Spielberg into persuading Verhoeven to move to Hollywood a few years later.

One thing that did surprise me was the subtlety from Paul Verhoeven. This being a Verhoeven film, he didn't shy away from showing a bucket of shit that Hauer hides a film in, or having another character on the toilet as he is blown up by a grenade, but even then, he's not as gratuitous as usual. There's less nudity than you'd expect from a Verhoeven film, although it's not gone entirely. The lovely Susan Penhaligon doesn't bother covering herself when she lies in bed with Krabbe as he and Hauer decide on who should go on a dangerous mission. That being said, Verhoeven's unsubtle instincts do allow him to show soldiers with missing limbs just after a bomb drops, decades before Spielberg started doing the same thing in Saving Private Ryan.

There is a lot to recommend this film, including a superb sequence where Hauer has been given a British Navy Uniform to wear as it is almost identical to a German one. He then walks amongst a large group of German soldiers, confidently saluting without drawing suspicion. It is a scene that is both funny and tense as you fear for him getting caught.

IMDB currently gives Soldier Of Orange an impressive 7.9 although I think it deserves slightly higher.