FLESH + BLOOD: Verhoeven Goes West

FLESH + BLOOD (Blu-ray)

1985 / 128 min

From Capelight Pictures

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven’s uninhibited approach to filmmaking is a huge part of what makes such films as Robocop, Total Recall and Basic Instinct modern classics. On the flipside of the coin, it’s also why Showgirls and Starship Troopers wallow in kooky campiness.

But his penchant for excess was well established back home in the Netherlands years earlier, and it wasn’t until 1985’s Flesh + Blood (his first English language film) that most American audiences were introduced to Verhoeven’s bombastic blend of blood & boinking. It was more of a whimper than a bang at the time, but if not for this one, chances are he would never have been offered Robocop, which would have been a crime.

Flesh + Blood isn’t a great film, but has developed something of a cult follow over the years, arguably because of the provocative elements Verhoeven would incorporate much more successfully in his best-known work. For that reason, I suppose it has a certain amount of historical importance. However, it’s often so over-the-top that it plays like a soft-core Monty Python movie.

"There he is...the one who called you Sir Poopy Pants."

Taking place in 1501, longtime Verhoeven collaborator Rutger Hauer plays Martin, the leader of a band of mercenaries hired by feudal lord Arnolfini (Fernando Hilbeck) to take back his castle. But after the siege, Arnolfini reneges on the deal and orders his captain, Hawkwood (Jack Thompson), to vanquish all the mercenaries. Martin and his merry band of murderers vow revenge, which includes kidnapping Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a virgin betrothed to Arnlfini’s son, Steven (Tom Berlinson).

Afterwards, they storm another castle and decide to hold up there, with Martin basically keeping Agnes for himself to do what he pleases (which she appears to enjoy). Meanwhile, Steven is obsessed with finding and killing those who stole his future bride. Grimy, violent and more than a little rapey, Flesh + Blood features lots of sex, blood and debauchery set against a suitably grungy backdrop. However, the emphasis on excess soon becomes rote, especially during the middle act, and exacerbated by characters we neither like nor sympathize with (protagonists and antagonists). 

Still, Flesh + Blood boasts fun, flamboyant performances, and in addition to Hauer and Leigh, the cast features a lot of notable character actors, including Burlison, Thompson, Bruno Kirby, Brion James, Susan Tyrell, Roald Lacey and John Dennis Johnston. All of them appear to share the director’s enthusiasm for the material, which sometimes rivals Showgirls in its camp appeal. Though one of the lesser films on Paul Verhoeven’s resume, it was an important stepping stone to the work that made him an A-list director.  

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS - Individual retrospective interviews with director Paul Verhoeven (who’s his usual animated self) and screenwriter Gerard Soeteman.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Paul Verhoeven.

TRAILER