Apr 06, 2007 check out what verhoeven had to say about his latest exhilarating suspense black book. In 2016 however, verhoeven followed black book by directing a french film. Sadly it doesnt match up to the credentials of those former films in my humble opinion. Paul verhoeven s black book aka zwartboek is a world war ii thriller that still manages to surprise no small thing, considering how many like it have been made. Nov 17, 2018 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 a. Some of those titles were produced with other directors at the helm, such as the paperboy. 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. Zwartboek is a 2006 war drama thriller film cowritten and directed by paul verhoeven and starring carice van houten, sebastian koch.
In carice van houten and michiel huisman both starred in wwii drama called black book. Mar 30, 2007 in some ways, verhoevens latest film black book is a return to the basics of his 1978 wwii film soldier of orange as it examines the dutch resistance during the german occupation of holland. Paul verhoeven sat down with us recently to discuss his latest addition to the cinematic canon. Find movie and film cast and crew information for black book 2006 paul verhoeven. Paul verhoeven s first film in seven years to be released in america after playing to blockbuster business overseas last year. Most famous for basic instinct and robocop, he makes films bordering on smut, packed with comic book violence and twofaced protagonists.
Rather like its director paul verhoeven it is glossy, loud, garish, flamboyant, sexy, slick and comes over somewhat superficial although im sure. He also wrote the screenplay for the assault, which won the academy award for best foreign language film in 1986. A beginners guide to paul verhoeven flickering myth. Two hours twenty minutes of excitement, suspense, and wonderful acting. 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.
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. Paul verhoeven, isabelle huppert interview on elle deadline. Gerard first came across it in the book moordenaarswerk by hans van straten that was published in the 1960s. Paul verhoevens elle is a brutal, elegant, pitchblack comedy. Mar 30, 2007 paul verhoeven looks back on his career the basic instinct director talks about his past movies and his latest, black book. Paul verhoeven decided the only way hed be able to make more personal projects would be to return to his native holland. He talks about hollands occupation during world war ii, a project that hes been preparing for 20 years. 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. Rachel steinn carice van houten is a beautiful jewish woman living in germanoccupied holland during late 1944. Jan 15, 2020 black book signifies verhoeven s first return to dutchlanguage movies after 1983s the fourth man. Featured, bluray, dvd, foreign affairs, netflix 01242017 01242017 sean axmaker. Black book is one of the most harrowing ww ii stories every filmed, and deserves to be recognized in oscars best foreign film category at next years awards. The story is beautiful and intense, the actors are awesome, especially carice van houten who is incredibly talented. 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.
Its evident this film was a more personal project for him. Dutch filmmaker paul verhoeven returns to his roots with a wwii drama thats easily the best thing hes made in years. According to verhoeven, black book was born out of elements that did not fit in any of his earlier movies, and it can be seen as a supplement to his earlier film about world war ii soldier of orange. I think this is a movie which should set us to thinking.
It was during his time in the navy that he developed an interest in filmmaking. As in basic instinct, a lovely lady takes the lead in black book, but this time paul verhoeven has more than cheap thrills in mind. I ts been 10 long years since paul verhoeven last graced cinema screens with black book. Black book returns you to your roots, both as a dutchman and as a filmmaker. Gerard soeteman born 1 july 1936 in rotterdam is a dutch screenwriter. C hristian petzolds whitehot existentialist noir transit is perhaps the best world war ii film since paul verhoeven s black book, even if it hinges on a suspension of disbelief thatll be too far a stretch for some. Epic, passionate, breathtaking, black book relates an untold story of world war ii where the distinctions between good and evil become blurred by the complexities of human nature. Paul verhoeven s supremely vulgar romp black book takes off in september 1944. Identified as the best dutch film of alltime by the dutch. 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.
Paul verhoeven graduated from the university of leiden, with a degree in math and physics. This movie was reminiscent of john sturges 60as type war movies like the great escape. The carol burnett show official recommended for you. After 20 years in hollywood paul verhoeven, the maker of robocop, basic instinct and show girls returned to europe to make. Black book 2006 paul verhoeven on set with carice van houten. Paul verhoeven celebrity profile check out the latest paul verhoeven photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. Verhoeven makes certain that parallels with americas occupation of iraq do not go unnoticed. Director paul verhoevens black book takes him back to the. The human being is bad and he cant stand more than five minutes of happiness. Paul verhoeven is a writer and comedian, and his book loose units is out through penguin publishing. 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. Filmmaker paul verhoeven returned to the netherlands after more than twenty years of success in hollywood to direct this epicscale war. Culture verhoeven s nazi thriller black book opens in germany. Black book sees verhoeven return to his native land, his native dutch tongue and the 193945 war in an engrossing drama focusing on one young jewish woman played by the remarkable carice van houten, a member of the dutch resistance who finds herself right at the heart of the nazi war machine.
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. Non stop action and good acting, especially from the lead actress, carice van houten. Director paul verhoeven was born in amsterdam, the netherlands on july 18, 1938. Black book by paul verhoeven carice van houten, sebastian. Film festival with paul verhoeven and carice van houten on stage. Identified as the best dutch film of alltime by the dutch themselves, it is not hard to see why paul verhoeven knows sex and violence and black book finds him utilizing both in a film about a dutch jew who joins the resistance in wwii and infiltrates the nazi headquarters in holland.
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. The new paul verhoeven film, black book, is set almost entirely in holland during. A furious mix of sex, violence, and moral relativism, black book is. Paul verhoeven is a dutch director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for films such as robocop, basic instinct, starship troopers and blackbook. All the story lines in black book have their basis in true events. Paul verhoeven s first film in seven years to be released in america after. Another film focusing on the nazi invasion of holland during world war ii, this feature stars carice van houten as a beautiful jewish woman named rachel whose family is slaughtered by german troops after being promised safe transfer to belgium. Paul verhoeven returns to his roots with this film. He graduated with degrees in math and physics from the university of leiden and later did military service with the royal dutch navy. That film marked a return to his native netherlands after a run of six us productions. How, one might ask, did he rise to his present position. The central performances are very good and the plot is quite interesting.
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. When he decides to side with the opposition to stop any further bloodshed, his life and the life of his lover, played by clarice van houten, are put in jeopardy. Sep 16, 2006 black book is a thriller inspired by true events. I spoke to karl walter lindenlaub, who did independence day 1996 and the haunting 1999, in.
With black book he does a significant departure from that genre, and. 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. According to verhoeven, black book was born out of elements that did not fit in any. Verhoeven has emphasised that the story does not show an obvious moral contrast between characters, for a theme of moral relativism. Zwartboek black book 2006 paul verhoeven senses of cinema.
In fact, his most current features are character driven spy thrillers like black book in 2006, or the revenge drama elle. Dutch filmmaker paul verhoeven had an incredible tenyear run in hollywood from 1987s classic robocop through total recall, basic. Paul verhoeven s elle is a brutal, elegant, pitch black. Black book is a rowdy genre picture about the most grim of subject matters. Its clear that what i took from american filmmaking for black book, more than from my earlier dutch movies, is a very strong sense of dramatic, or compelling, or driving. A car that was turning slowed down, and the window rolled down. 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.
A young jewish woman, the unsinkable rachel stein played with ferocious energy by the dutch actress. Jost vacano, who did spetters, soldier of orange, robocop and total recall had retired. He worked together with paul verhoeven on several films, such as turkish delight and black book. Like soldier of orange, black book is a wwii dramathriller set in holland. Thom hoffman and carice van houten in black book, sony pictures classics, 2007 robocop.
Paul verhoeven abc news australian broadcasting corporation. Starring a powerful carice van houten, paul verhoeven s black book is a sometimes searing portrait of resistance and human spirit. Black book 2006 paul verhoeven cast and crew allmovie. Director paul verhoeven is a madman, embracing everything about movie movies, all the while skewering them within an inch of their life. Black book is verhoevens first new movie in six years, the studios apparently having grown tired of him. This movie has verhoeven s trademark stamp all over it. Self people love seeing violence and horrible things. So the narrative of the movie had nothing to do with my youth, really, and the narrative was based on historical research that i did with my scriptwriter gerard soeteman for the last 20 years or even longer, before we got.
He hosts steam punks on the abc, and cohosts the gaming podcast 28 plays later. Black book is verhoeven s first new movie in six years, the studios apparently having grown tired of him. That film marked a return to his native netherlands after a. In the nazioccupied netherlands during world war ii, a jewish singer infiltrates the regional gestapo headquarters for the dutch resistance. From internet movie firearms database guns in movies, tv and video games. Paul verhoeven made clear with this movie that in the end, lots. Van houten is outstanding courageous and conflicted, bold and vulnerable, her emotions accessible through a simple gesture the tilt of her head, the slump in her walk or even a flick of her eyes. As black book is a coproduction with germany and britain, it could be a german or a brit. I was a small boy during the war, but the mind takes these images like a. 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 verhoevens black book encompasses the best and very worst.
Six years after his hollywood career did a disappearing act in hollow man, paul verhoeven reemerges from his native netherlands with the barnstorming black book. Known for black book director 2006 robocop director 1987. In this case, it is the 2006 dutch film black book directed by paul verhoeven basic instinct. Pages in category zwartboek black book this category contains only the following page. Paul verhoeven has made some tremendous science fiction action films such as robocop, total recall and starship troopers. Black book or zwartboek to give it its original dutch title is about the resistance movement in holland. Strangely enough, i used those memories in black book only as an emotional and environmental background.
May 21, 2016 there will be virtual reams of web print dedicated to unpicking the levels of offense that should be felt in response to paul verhoevens elle, which played for press this morning at the cann. Paul verhoeven s elle is a brutal, elegant, pitchblack comedy director verhoeven gleefully courts controversy with this bitterly sardonic film about the aftermath of a womans violent rape. Hollywood thinks audiences are stupid the outspoken dutch filmmaker discusses his triumphant return to cinema, elle. Zwartboek black book 2006 paul verhoeven senses of. Black book internet movie firearms database guns in. He is both deadly serious and an absolute prankster. Zwartboek black book media in category zwartboek black book the following 5 files are in this category, out of 5 total.
Nov 09, 2016 paul verhoeven talks elle, total recall, jesus and more. In adapting anna segherss 1944 novel of same name based on the authors experiences escaping nazi germany for france and later to mexico, petzold restages the story. With carice van houten, sebastian koch, thom hoffman, halina reijn. Filmmaker paul verhoeven is at the top of his game with black book, the story o. This limited edition version is limited to 3000 copies and includes a slipcase and a booklet. Was offered the chance to direct the unbearable lightness of being 1988, but did not accept, as he was unsure how to handle the social and political aspects of the movie. Paul verhoevens black book on netflix stream on demand. Black book was a very old project that i and soeteman, who has written all of my dutch movies, had been holding onto since the 70s. 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.
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