Over the years, Paul Verhoeven has become one of my favorite genre filmmakers. He has a great sense of style and his movies are like big budget Exploitation films. I dont think the majority of filmgoers understand the comedic aspect of Exploitation, they take it too seriously. Verhoeven seems to slip it into his films and it adds a really fun aspect to them.
Verhoeven is Dutch, hes made films for over 20 years, if you look at his 1985-present filmography you can see a bunch of really entertaining works:
Flesh + Blood (a great Medieval exploitation film, totally fun)
Robocop (This is a classic! Dead human exploitation!)
Total Recall (Ahhhnold on Mahhhhs, Crazy mutant exploitation!)
Basic Instinct (Killer Lesbians exploitation!)
Showgirls (big budget Sexploitation at its best)
Starship Troopers (Sci Fi Exploitation! Bugs everywhere being blown apart by guns and bombs!)
Hollow Man (Voyeuristic invisible exploitation)
I think you can see the pattern 
I really love Starship Troopers (not just because of the great sound on DVD…well, that too, but…).
It’s such a great satire, such a great persiflage on fascism. The film makes so greatly fun of fascism.
And the fights are great, and Denise, and the FX.
Basic Instinct was great too, a real suspense thing. Controversial like hell.
I dont like Robocop I think. And Total Recall looked to trashy to me 
besides, who likes Arnie…
You have a problem with Robocop and Total Recall, but not Hollow Man!?
My fav Verhoeven film is definetely Robocop. I can’t praise that movie enough. It manages to combine great action, humour and drama into 90 minutes of pleasure. It is much more than an action movie; it is a great satire on our society characterised by fast-developing technology and the role of the mass-media. The fake advertisements particularly crack me up and are very original. I remember my parents buyin’me a “Robocop” action figure when I was a little boy and I loved it so much that I wanted to see the movie; thinking it was for kids. Boy, was I wrong! I was so fuckin disturbed with it I couldn’t sleep for three damn days :-/
Starship Troopers is my favorite but I do enjoy all of his movies EVEN HOLLOWMAN
Showgirls - eh - it blowed
[quote]My fav Verhoeven film is definetely Robocop. [/quote]
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I mustve watched it 100 times back then. Its still one of my favorite movies too.
“I’d buy THAT for a dollar!” ÂÂ
Mysterio, Showgirls blew?! That movie is so fun to watch!!! Its one of my favorites!!
Hollow Man is the only Verhoeven film I’ve seen that I really didnt care for. It was ok, but not as good as his others.
[quote]
This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I mustve watched it 100 times back then. Its still one of my favorite movies too.
“I’d buy THAT for a dollar!” ÂÂ
Mysterio, Showgirls blew?! That movie is so fun to watch!!! Its one of my favorites!!
Hollow Man is the only Verhoeven film I’ve seen that I really didnt care for. It was ok, but not as good as his others.
[/quote]
Shit man, you seemed to be one brave fuckin kid. When I watched it at 8 years old, I had recurring nightmares of that guy who crashes into that container full of acid at the end of the movie lol. Today I enjoy this kind of stuff but back then I still had a healthy normal mind and it was different.
And my fav. quote: “Thank you for your cooperation, good night.”
I’m with you guys on ROBOCOP.
I,too, saw that in theaters at an early age and was amazed at what I saw on the screen. It was a comic-book movie come to life! Not that ROBOCOP was based on a comic book hero, but just about everything that appeared in the movie certainly resembled shit to be found in a graphic novel.
Certainly the most memorable scene for me was Murphy’s death. My god! What a sight! To see Murphy being taken apart by gunfire, the trip through the ambulance, the flashbacks, the emergency room…There was no denying that Verhoeven had some talent here. And a nice way to end the film with the classic revenge style.
The Criterion DVD for this is STILL a must-have for me. Does anybody got it?
As for Paul’s other work, yeah I don’t mind Basic Instinct, Troopers, & Showgirls. But ROBOCOP still remains as my most favorite. Another film of his that I still haven’t seen yet, 4th Man. Anybody seen that one?
Oh yeah, I almost forgot–I caught one of Paul’s early Dutch films one late night on cable. Forgot what it was called, but it looked like a “Teen Angst” film that had Rutger Hauer and Jerone Krabbe speaking in their native tounges! What a trip.
Robocop is by far his best. I love all of his films though. Great director.
And I for one love Arnie.
The best part about Robocop is the villian, Ronny Cox. Bad mutha. His side-kick, Clarence or whatever is a bad mutha too, just not as bad as Ronny.
Same for Total Recall. His second best. I love that too. TECH-NOIR!!!
The line that makes me laugh everytime I watch Robocop: Boddicker comes into whatshisnames place to kill him and just says: "Bitches leave!"
Laydback: As of right now I have Robocop (criterion), Starship Troopers, Showgirls on DVD. I’ll probably get Total Recall SE sometime too.
Some other Verhoeven films you should try to check out: Soldier of Orange, Flesh + Blood and Spetters.
The October issue of Total Film reports some gerat news for Verhoeven fans…
He’s been away a long time and we’ve missed him. Now he’s back on the scene, and he has some rather exciting news to impart: “I am thinking of bringing “Robocop” back…
…“I think we will leave the four off and starts afresh”, continues the director, Now that IS good news- since Mr Verhoeven gatecrashed Hollywood with “Robocop” in 1987, a series of clunky sequels quickly slid the franchise into the scrapyard…
”…I’d like to push the boundaries on this one", he enthuses. “Take out all the comic-book style the previous Robocop films had and bring back the action, suspense and really delve deeper into the character’s origin…”
…“I’m toying with the idea of centering the story around Murphy and his grown son, James”, ventures the Dutchman. “But that’s all I want to spill at this point”.
Damn, I sure hope this project sees the light of day!!!
YES! Thanks Scarface! This is GREAT news!
I wanna buy the DVD Spetters, directed by Verhoeven in 1980.
Can someone hook me up with some information about a DVD?
In the Netherlands of course there is a DVD and I have heard about a DVD from the States. Is the american DVD the Directors Cut?
And I have heart that in the Netherlands there are some differents cuts.
It would be great, if someone can post me more…
Thanx  ;D
^Ive got the dutch dvd, but their not many features on it.
here’s some Paul Verhoeven news:
Paul Verhoeven has returned to the Netherlands to direct his next film: Zwartbroek (AKA Blackbook)
“Zwartboek” tells the story of the Jewish singer Rachel. She escapes a massacre by the Germans while trying to flee to the south of Holland. In the autumn of 1944 she joins the Dutch resistance movement under the codename “Ellis”. To achieve her goals in the resistance she paints her hair blonde and seduces a German officer. But in the end the resistance movement gets betrayed from someone from within. Only after the liberation in 1945 Rachel succeeds (after being charged as a double-spy first) in exposing the evil genius and revenges herself forcefully…
dutch ww2 movie, Im looking forward to this.
basic instinct is one of the worst movies ive ever seen, so i robocop and hollow man, dont like him at all
wat vond je van turks fruit?
zijn beste, maar daarom niet geweldig goed ofzo, wel above avarage
Did any foreigners (non dutch that is) see Zwartboek / Blackbook by Verhoeven?
No. But it hasnt even come here.
It’s nominated for an oscar, well it’s the dutch movie that has been choosen to represent the Netherlands in the Oscars.