Flesh+Blood (1985)

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Gerard Soeteman (screenplay)
Gerard Soeteman (story)

Release Date:

30 August 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

A timeless adventure, a passion for wealth and power. Only the strongest will survive

Plot:

A band of medieval mercenaries take revenge on a noble lord who decides not to pay them by kidnapping the betrothed of the noble's son...

Plot Keywords:

Mercenary | Noble | Plague | Medieval | Kidnapping

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Rutger Hauer	...	Martin
Jennifer Jason Leigh	...	Agnes
Tom Burlinson	...	Steven
Jack Thompson	...	Hawkwood
Fernando Hilbeck	...	Arnolfini
Susan Tyrrell	...	Celine
Ronald Lacey	...	Cardinal
Brion James	...	Karsthans
John Dennis Johnston	...	Summer
Simón Andreu	...	Miel
Bruno Kirby	...	Orbec
Kitty Courbois	...	Anna
Marina Saura	...	Polly
Hans Veerman	...	Father George
Jake Wood	...	Little John

Also Known As:

Flesh & Blood (USA) (alternative spelling)
Los señores del acero (Spain)
The Rose and the Sword

Runtime:

126 min | Netherlands:125 min | Sweden:117 min

Country:

Spain | USA | Netherlands

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:R | USA:R (cut) | New Zealand:R16 | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | USA:X (original rating) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 (1986) | France:-12 | Norway:16 (1986) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | West Germany:18 | Finland:K-16 (video) (1996) | Finland:K-15 (DVD) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Belmonte, Cuenca, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Company:

Riverside Pictures

Trivia:

Director Paul Verhoeven's first English-language film, following a very successful career in the Netherlands, notably including Soldaat van Oranje (1977) ("Soldier of Orange") and Spetters (1980).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In opening scene, a camera shadow is visible on the Cardinal.

Quotes:

Cardinal: Why are you so scared? Everything is predestined. Life runs its own course. Look at this little angel! Saint Martin has sent us a little angel to play with!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Blonde Poison: The Making of 'Basic Instinct' (2001) (V)

i haven't written a review in a long time....had to come back and write up this one

This is one of the most raw, refreshing and UN-Hollywood movies you will ever see. It's truly a classic, and it stands alone, because nothing like it has been done before. The movie is invariably entertaining throughout, and it contains so many fresh ideas from Verhoeven that it really has you saying 'wow' an awful lot. The rape scenes that everybody freaks out about in their reviews aren't so horrible....they get they're point across but aren't TOO sexually explicit. Whats nice to see if you can call it that, is that the rape is real, and horrible, its not meant to be provocative like it would be in a Hollywood movie, not that i'm a fan of any rape scene, not at all...but at least this is genuine. The performances aren't spectacular or anything, but they are far far from weak. After one viewing this is one of my favorite films, and I recommend it very highly to you.

This film should also be of interest to the highly religious because of all the imagery in it. Verhoeven is known for religious imagery and this film is full of it. It's very Christian in its themes, not that the characters are big in practice, but the movie has a lot of religious points to make.