Total recall director paul verhoeven and games of thrones carice van houten are both reason enough to see black book this saturday on sbs one at 9. Carice van houten in black book h eaven knows, no one expects subtlety from paul showgirls verhoeven, but sitting through his cheesy new softporn second world war resistance drama is. A furious mix of sex, violence, and moral relativism, black book is. Black book is one of the most harrowing wwii stories every filmed, and deserves to be recognized in oscars best foreign film category at next years awards. Rather like its director paul verhoeven it is glossy, loud, garish, flamboyant, sexy, slick and comes over somewhat superficial although im sure that wasnt mr verhoevens intent. Elle trailer matches paul verhoeven with isabelle huppert. Paul verhoeven s supremely vulgar romp black book takes off in september 1944. The last film verhoeven made in the netherlands before black book, almost a quarter century later, the prickly, deliberately nauseating, and decidedly polanskiesque the 4th man bears as a striking familial resemblance to basic instinct in more ways than one, with more subtle connections to such distant cousins as total recall and elle.
Paul verhoeven left hollywood and returned to holland to make black book 2006, a riveting world war ii resistance thriller with a runaway pace and a gripping sense of peril. Its true that, as many a wag has noted and verhoeven long ago confirmed, his great twin obsessions are hitler and jesus in perhaps that order. Zwartboek is a 2006 war drama thriller film cowritten and directed by paul verhoeven and starring carice van houten, sebastian koch. Tom jolliffe continues our series of beginners guides to iconic directors with controversial dutch director, paul verhoeven a man who never does anything by halves, paul verhoeven is. If the jews had listened to jesus, grumbles the father of the. Paul verhoevens black book on amazon prime video stream. From internationally acclaimed director paul verhoeven soldier of orange, elle, black book zwartboek is an epic and moving wartime tale, in which the distinctions between good and evil. Verhoeven, too, directs well, occasionally relying a little too much on one or two of his conventions, but nonetheless delivering an engrossing piece of cinema. Apr 04, 2007 paul verhoevens supremely vulgar romp black book takes off in september 1944. Sadly it doesnt match up to the credentials of those former films in my humble opinion.
An excerpt from the april 2017 issue of online magazine bright walldark room about the films of paul verhoeven. In our earliest glimpse of rachel carice van houten, the jewish heroine of black book, she is being called for breakfast. Director paul verhoeven is a madman, embracing everything about movie movies, all the while skewering them within an inch of their life. Filmmaker paul verhoeven returned to the netherlands after more than twenty years of success in hollywood to direct this epicscale war drama based on a true story. A jewish woman living in holland during world war ii hides her identity to serve the national resistance movement and risks her life to save others. Paul verhoeven at an event for zwartboek in the nazioccupied netherlands during world war ii, a jewish singer infiltrates the regional gestapo headquarters for the dutch resistance. Black book, the first film verhoeven has made in the netherlands in two decades, is spoken in dutch, german, hebrew and english, and it lasts for 145 minutes. Zwartboek black book is a holland homecoming for director paul verhoeven, returning to the netherlands from the united states after the technically accomplished but narratively conventional for verhoeven hollow man 2000, which felt like hollywood had managed to blunt the edges that made him so distinctive as an artist. I use the oldfashioned term, yarn, because black book is very much a film that feels like it was made decades ago. The new paul verhoeven film, black book, is set almost entirely in holland during the later stages of the second world war. Paul verhoevens black book on amazon prime video loving the couple behind the history on hbo the good, the bad and the ugly on netflix and amazon prime video. A beginners guide to paul verhoeven flickering myth. In carice van houten and michiel huisman both starred in wwii drama called black book. With black book he does a significant departure from that genre, and.
Thom hoffman and carice van houten in black book, sony pictures classics, 2007 robocop. Black book won six golden calves at this festival, including best director. Peter sellers joins the party on amazon prime video. Paul verhoeven 4 dvd lot basic instinct, hollow man. To fight the enemy, she must become one of them in the nazioccupied netherlands during world war ii, a jewish singer infiltrates the regional gestapo headquarters for the dutch resistance. Black book or zwartboek to give it its original dutch title is about the resistance movement in holland. Paul verhoeven celebrity profile check out the latest paul verhoeven photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Apr 02, 2014 total recall director paul verhoeven and games of thrones carice van houten are both reason enough to see black book this saturday on sbs one at 9.
An element of controversy has shadowed black book because verhoeven has the temerity to portray resistance fighters as lessthanheroic and one high ranking nazi as a nice guy. In the nazioccupied netherlands during world war ii, a jewish singer infiltrates the regional gestapo headquarters for the dutch resistance. Oct 12, 2006 its been six years since paul verhoeven last flashed a leading ladys nether regions or exploded a human head like a watermelon and, boy, have we missed him. Paul verhoeven s first film in seven years to be released in america after playing to blockbuster business overseas last year. Paul verhoeven has returned home to holland for his latest film, black book, the harrowing story of a young jewish woman who finds herself. Nachste woche lauft sein weltkriegsthriller black book. In the nazioccupied netherlands during world war ii. Jan 18, 2007 carice van houten in black book h eaven knows, no one expects subtlety from paul showgirls verhoeven, but sitting through his cheesy new softporn second world war resistance drama is like.
Paul verhoeven decided the only way hed be able to make more personal projects would be to return to his native holland. It is late summer in 1944, and when the hiding place of beautiful jewish singer rachel steinn is accidentally. America on hulu, outer banks on netflix, peacock launches early on comcast. Its been six years since paul verhoeven last flashed a leading ladys nether regions or exploded a human head like a watermelon and, boy, have we. Apr 04, 2007 black book, the first film verhoeven has made in the netherlands in two decades, is spoken in dutch, german, hebrew and english, and it lasts for 145 minutes. Self people love seeing violence and horrible things. The director was hailed by the host of the netherlands film festival with the words the return of a hero. Paul verhoeven sat down with us recently to discuss his latest addition to the cinematic canon. Paul verhoevens wwii drama stars the lovely dutch actress carice van. Carice van houten best known to american audiences as melisandre, the priestess witch of game of thrones is our heroine, a dutch jew in hiding who becomes an undercover agent sent by the resistance into the heart of. Put him in a dark theater and ask him to look at two hours of happiness and hed walk out or fall asleep. Some of those titles were produced with other directors at the helm, such as the paperboy.
The film, credited as based on several true events and characters, is about a young jewish woman in the netherlands who becomes a spy for the resistance during world war ii after tragedy befalls her in an. Starring a powerful carice van houten, paul verhoeven s black book is a sometimes searing portrait of resistance and human spirit. Rachel steinn carice van houten is a beautiful jewish woman living in germanoccupied holland during late 1944. This limited edition version is limited to 3000 copies and includes a slipcase and a booklet. Paul verhoeven graduated from the university of leiden, with a degree in math and physics. He entered the royal netherlands navy, where he began his film career by making documentaries for the navy and later for tv. Black book is a rowdy genre picture about the most grim of subject matters. Featured, bluray, dvd, foreign affairs, netflix 01242017 01242017 sean axmaker paul verhoeven left hollywood and returned to holland to make black book 2006, a riveting world war ii resistance thriller with a runaway pace and a gripping sense of peril. Brian tallerico 20170323 the latest on bluray, including elle, sing, robocop 2, being there and ghost in the shell. A war drama focusing on a jewish woman who infiltrates the nazi upper echelon occupying the netherlands in the early 1940s, the film finds verhoeven tempering some of his typical excess to present something as grounded as it is harrowing.
Verhoevens sure hand, honed as a result of 15 years of bigbudget features, gives black book a polished look that few american war movies can exceed. Paul verhoeven has made some tremendous science fiction action films such as robocop, total recall and starship troopers. Verhoeven messes with our heads by exploring moral complexities that spielberg would be happier to sweep under the. But verhoeven is a master of commercial success and, like robocop, total recall and basic instinct, he has honed his. Zwartboek is a 2006 war drama thriller film cowritten and directed by paul verhoeven and starring carice van houten, sebastian koch, thom hoffman, and halina reijn. Verhoeven made it in 2006, and its called black book, about a jewish resistance fighter carice van houten in the.
Verhoeven was knighted in the order of the netherlands lion in 2007 since black book, verhoeven has been connected to a large number of projects, but in the first decade after his return, none came to fruition. Paul verhoeven is a dutch director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for films such as robocop, basic instinct, starship troopers and blackbook. Part of what i admire about black book is how it offers a kind of bracing rebuke toschindlers list, providing a much darker vision that refuses to let its audience off the hook so easily, though ostensibly its more fictional. He is both deadly serious and an absolute prankster. Zwartboek black book 2006 paul verhoeven senses of. After 20 years of directing violent, sexually explicit and genuinely iconic movies in hollywood, paul verhoeven decided the only way hed be able to make more personal projects would be to return. With carice van houten, sebastian koch, thom hoffman, halina reijn. Together with his screenwriter gerard soeteman, verhoeven made black book 2006.
Paul verhoevens first film in seven years to be released in america after. Paul verhoevens supremely vulgar romp black book takes off in september 1944. Paul verhoevens black book on netflix stream on demand. Nov 09, 2016 the last film verhoeven made in the netherlands before black book, almost a quarter century later, the prickly, deliberately nauseating, and decidedly polanskiesque the 4th man bears as a striking familial resemblance to basic instinct in more ways than one, with more subtle connections to such distant cousins as total recall and elle. Black book is verhoevens first new movie in six years, the studios apparently having grown tired of him. Since then, and even before the release of that film, verhoeven. This is an extremely well executed film by director paul verhoeven, and van houten gives a riveting performance as the lead. A celebration of director paul verhoeven s filmography in anticipation of an upcoming retrospective at the film society of lincoln center in nyc. The phony sexual transgressions of paul verhoevens elle. Filmmaker paul verhoeven returned to the netherlands after more than twenty years of success in hollywood to direct this epicscale war. A young jewish woman, the unsinkable rachel stein played with ferocious energy by the dutch actress. Apr 08, 2007 verhoeven goes home to make black book director paul verhoevens black book takes him back to the netherlands and memories of the nazi occupation.
Black book establishes its tone the first time van houten cracks a joke in the face of impossible terror, and verhoeven continues to let the characters wit, sensitivity, and resolve define the movie, even as hes sadistically heaping on humiliation after humiliation. Zwartboek black book 2006 paul verhoeven senses of cinema. Inspired by actual events in the waning years of wwii, black book stars carice van houten as a popular jewish singer whose personal losses lead her on an action heros journey. Rather like its director paul verhoeven it is glossy, loud, garish, flamboyant, sexy, slick and comes over somewhat superficial although im sure.
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