8 Major Films by Paul Verhoeven - Creator of Basic Instinct

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Today the Dutch provocateur Paul Verhoeven turns 80 years old. Lifehacker recalls his best paintings.

Turkish delights

• Netherlands, 1973.
• Drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 108 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

A gifted sculptor and unscrupulous rebel Eric (Rutger Hauer) meets young Olga (Monique van de Ven) on the track and instantly starts an affair with her. However, the pure love of young people is attacked by Olga's snobbish mother and hypocritically rejected by Dutch society, leading to a tragic ending.

An absolute hit in 1973 and the most successful film in the history of the Dutch film industry. Turkish Delights received the only Oscar nomination (for Best Foreign Film) in Verhoeven's career and made the young director, along with debutant Rutger Hauer, superstars of European cinema.

Robocop

• USA, 1987.
• Science fiction, action, thriller, crime.
• Duration: 102 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

In the near future, on the streets of Detroit, a gang of thugs brutally murders police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller). To end overpriced crime and launch a long-awaited urban redevelopment project, the mega-corporation Omni Consumer Products is creating an unkillable cyborg called Robocop from the body of a police officer. But soon, human memories begin to awaken in the insensitive machine that guards the law.

One of the main sci-fi action films in history: brutal, sarcastic and disassembled into quotes, no worse than The Terminator. Verhoeven's debut in American cinema not only won an Oscar for groundbreaking sound effects editing, but also launched a multi-million dollar franchise. At the moment, director Neil Blomkamp (District 9) is developing a sequel to the film based on an unrealized script by Verhoeven and screenwriter of the first part, Edward Neumeier.

Remember all

• USA, 1990.
• Science fiction, action, thriller.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

In the uncertain future, the simple builder Douglas Cuyada (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is tormented by disturbing dreams about Mars and a mysterious woman. On the advice of his wife (Sharon Stone), he decides to use the services of a company that implants a simulation of someone else's life into the brain. However, the session turns out to be a failure, and Doug suddenly discovers the abilities of a super agent and begins to understand: his whole life up to this moment was an illusion.

Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, Total Recall was one of the most expensive and overwhelming films of its time, but today it is rightfully considered a science fiction classic (which is just an unforgettable scene with a three-breasted woman). Arnold Schwarzenegger played one of his canon roles here, and the picture itself received a special Oscar for visual effects.

The basic Instinct

• France, USA, UK, 1992.
• Thriller, drama, detective.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Suspended detective Nick Curren (Michael Douglas) is investigating a brutal sexual murder. Soon he finds himself embroiled in a passionate affair with the girlfriend of the deceased and part-time writer (Sharon Stone), whose book served as a source of inspiration for the maniac.

This is not only the most successful and scandalous film in Verhoeven's career, but also one of those rare films, about which legends were formed even before the release. Participation in the film made Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas indisputable sex symbols of the 90s, and the director secured the status of the main provocateur of Hollywood. An unconditional masterpiece in the genre of an erotic thriller, which, even 25 years later, looks in the same breath.

Showgirls

• France, USA, 1995.
• Drama, erotica.
• Duration: 131 minutes.
• IMDb: 4, 7.

Unemployed Nomi (Elizabeth Burkeley) comes to Las Vegas in search of a better life and starts working part-time in a strip club. Using her sexuality, she gradually makes her way to the top and soon becomes part of the dirty world of show business.

At the time of its release, this erotic tape was considered almost the worst film in history: it received eight Golden Raspberry awards, including for the worst picture of the decade. By the way, Verhoeven became the first laureate who did not hesitate to come to the award ceremony (later his example was followed, for example, by Sandra Bullock). However, over time, the opinion about the film has changed significantly: today critics increasingly include it in their tops of cult films and call it one of the most underestimated in a director's career.

Starship Troopers

• USA, 1997.
• Science fiction, action, thriller, adventure.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

In the world of the future, a mortal threat looms over the earthlings: hordes of giant beetles from another star system threaten humanity with destruction. Among the recruits who are ready to fight back the alien invaders are Private Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien) and pilot Carmen (Denise Richards), who have put not only their lives on the line, but also their relationships.

The cult film adaptation of the science fiction novel of the same name by Robert A. Heinlein, which has become an excellent example of the director's caustic irony. Verhoeven deliberately used a lot of near-Nazi symbols and disguised quotes during filming to emphasize the similarity of American foreign policy to fascism and at the same time to ridicule Hollywood producers who always twisted the free-loving director's arms.

Black book

• Netherlands, Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, 2006.
• Thriller, drama, military.
• Duration: 145 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

In the center of the plot is the real story of a German singer of Jewish origin Rachel Stein (Caris van Houten), trying to survive in Nazi-occupied Holland in the last months of World War II.

Verhoeven's first film, shot by him after returning from the United States to his homeland. It took the director more than 20 years to work on the script for the Black Book. As a result, the film became the national record holder in 2006 and won three major awards at the official Netherlands Film Awards. It is also the first serious role of Caris van Houten, whom you know from "Game of Thrones", which brought the actress worldwide recognition.

She

• France, Germany, Belgium, 2016.
• Thriller, drama, crime.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Businesswoman Michelle (Isabelle Huppert), who owns a successful video game development company, is sexually assaulted in her own home. However, instead of reporting to the police, the heroine tries to personally track down the criminal among her acquaintances, while recalling the tragic childhood events associated with her father convicted of mass murder.

Participant of the main competition of the Cannes Film Festival, laureate of two Golden Globes and the French Cesar Prize for the best film. The last, at the moment, picture of Verhoeven was extremely highly appreciated by critics, first of all, who noted the fearless play of the legendary Isabelle Huppert.