Paul Verhoeven
In the starkest of terms, you either like the work of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, or you don’t. He truly does remain one of those rare filmmakers that inspires such definitive judgement and reactions.
Making his feature debut in 1971 with Diary Of A Hooker, we surely saw an early glimpse of the direction in which this filmmaker would take his future work. However, his second film – 1973’s The Sensualist – was so well received that it earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language film.
Verhoeven’s theme of women being the downfall of men continued with 1975’s Katie Tippel, 1980’s Spetters, 1983’s The Fourth Man, and 1985’s Flesh And Blood. Then, a segue into big budget Hollywood blockbusters led to his blending that theme with action in a variety of creative ways. 1987’s Robocop arrived, followed by Total Recall in 1990 – both considered by some to be classics of the era, but also loathed by many as jingoistic and problematic. Basic Instinct in 1992 proved to be Verhoeven’s biggest popular success, but was poorly received by critics.
A spectacular low point followed, with the release of 1995’s Showgirls – though it still represents the only entry in Paul Verhoeven’s resume upon which a majority of viewers agree. Neither 1997’s Starship Troopers, nor 2000’s Hollow Man could inspire a similar consensus – either positive or negative. Since then, Verhoeven has returned to lower budgeted films within the European film industry, but continues to divide audiences, nonetheless. Franchise involvement is unlikely at this point – although his work is now being revisited for remakes.
