For a filmmaker who’s been active since the 60s, Paul Verhoeven hasn’t lost his edge. With more than 15 movies in his catalogue, the Dutch director has made a name for himself as a master of paradoxes, blending sadism, sex and satire. From psychological thrillers to sci-fi to nunsploitation films (if you haven’t seen his latest, Benedetta, you at least know about the religious boycotts it prompted), his career has been marked by contradiction and reappraisal. Some of his films were nominated for both Oscars and Razzies; others, which were then branded ‘the worst’, are now considered cult classics. One thing is certain: a Paul Verhoeven film doesn’t leave any room for indifference.
From the obvious must-watches to the under-seen deep cuts, here’s how to get into Paul Verhoeven movies.
The entry point is… Starship Troopers (1997)
Based on Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 novel, the sci-fi movie adaptation hit theatres almost 40 years later in 1997 and was panned by critics upon release. Set in the 23rd century, in which one becomes a civilian only through military service and mere citizens have next to zero rights, it follows four teenagers who find themselves on the front line fighting the insectoid race, the Arachnids, on their home planet to save mankind. Accusations of surface-level fascism clouded Verhoeven’s (anti-fascist) satirical intent, but Starship Troopers has been re-appraised since and is now considered one of the best sci-fi films ever made, and a searing social commentary on militarism and nationalism. Find familiar faces Neil Patrick Harris, Clancy Brown and Bond girl Denise Richards on their best form. Fun, politically insightful, proficiently violent and throbbing with sexual tension, it’s the blueprint for the Dutch director’s filmography.
Necessary viewing… Showgirls (1995)
Initially, Showgirls was a box office flop, but the erotic thriller genre fared better in its home video run, where it snuck into many American’s VHS pile. What we see as appealing today – Elizabeth Berkley’s curt performance; the lavish, very naked dance numbers; the escalating drama baked into the screenplay – was initially branded as bad taste, or even “one of the worst films ever made” garnering a record 13 Razzie nominations (7 of which it won).
Today, Showgirls is an absolute camp classic and a timeless allegory for the trappings of stardom and Hollywood by extension. On screen, Elizabeth is joined by Kyle MacLachlan and Gina Gershon to form a sizzling trio, while the original soundtrack features the likes of David Bowie and No Doubt. Double bill it with the 2019 documentary You Don’t Nomi, which charts the movie’s messy history, so you too can bathe in the toxic spotlights of Las Vegas.
The one everyone’s seen is… Basic Instinct (1992)
Everyone has seen at least a snippet of that interrogation scene in which Sharon Stone uncrosses her legs to reveal she’s not wearing anything under her white tube dress. “I wasn’t dating him. I was fucking him,” her character Catherine Tramell, suspected of a gruesome murder, says in a sultry voice. driving an ice pick through a man’s chest in his bedroom. Starring Michael Douglas as a dangerously infatuated cop trying to pin down Catherine and outrun his own demons, Verhoeven’s dip into neo-noir territory will have you rooting for the antihero.
The underappreciated gem is… Elle (2016)
Before he had French acting royalty Virginie Efira seize a St Mary statuette-dildo in Benedetta, Verhoeven cast another of one the regal cohort, Isabelle Huppert, in an equally dangerous revenge thriller. In Elle, Isabelle plays a rape survivor who finds herself obsessively drawn to her assaulter. The film marked a return for the director after a decade of absence following his period drama Black Book and, more importantly, a return to the complex web of sexuality and violence spun by the purposefully indecipherable female protagonist. Isabelle’s facade is provocative, maybe even more so than the plot itself. No wonder the film landed the French icon her first Oscar nomination.
The deep cut is… Turkish Delight (1973)
Way before his Hollywood era, which most of us know him for, Verhoeven made Turkish Delight, his second feature which is still known as the most successful movie in Dutch cinema history. The Academy nominated it for Best Foreign Film in 1974. In it, redheaded teenager Olga picks up a hitchhiker: an older man, Erik, who’s a sculptor. Artist and muse, owner and object, their relationship is flawed and the film isn’t afraid to bare its ugliness.
It features full-frontal nudity, violent misogyny, sex and rape scenes, but the fated fallout and the disturbed kind of love at its centre inhabits a particularly gritty side of cinema; a unique spin on the romantic drama genre. If you’ve got a thing for doomed romances that spin out of control (think Wild at Heart meets Natural Born Killers, but in Dutch), this one’s for you.