Watch Order
0 / 12 watchedTwelve features in release order.
About Paul Verhoeven
Paul Verhoeven broke out in the Netherlands with Turkish Delight in 1973 and Soldier of Orange in 1977, then crossed over with Flesh and Blood in 1985. RoboCop in 1987, Total Recall in 1990 and Basic Instinct in 1992 made him Hollywood's favorite provocateur, mixing ultraviolence with satire. Showgirls in 1995 flopped, then became a cult object, while Starship Troopers in 1997 hid fascism satire inside a bug war.
Hollow Man in 2000 closed his Hollywood run before Black Book in 2006 returned him to Dutch wartime drama. Elle in 2016 with Isabelle Huppert and Benedetta in 2021 kept the confrontational streak alive into his eighties. Watch in release order, since each phase answers the last. The Dutch films play rougher and cheaper than the American ones, which is part of the fun.
Good to know
This picks twelve from a longer career of shorts, television and documentary work, skipping early Dutch television and one offs like The 4th Man from 1983. Verhoeven is alive and working slowly, so a new film could extend the list. Showgirls and Starship Troopers both play better than their reputations suggest if you read them as jokes the marketing missed. Subtitles needed for the Dutch and French entries.
