Paul Verhoeven(I)
- Director
- Producer
- Writer
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. In 1969, he directed the popular Dutch TV series,
Floris (1969), about a medieval
knight. This featured actor Rutger Hauer,
who has appeared in many of Verhoeven's later films. Verhoeven's first
feature, Mitä näenkään, mitä näenkään (1971) (trans.
"What do I See?"), was released in 1971. However, it was his second,
Turkkilainen namu (1973), with its
combination of raw sexuality and a poignant story-line, that gained him
great popularity in the Netherlands, especially with male audiences.
When his films, especially
Gestapon vihollinen numero 1 (1977) and
The Fourth Man (1983), received
international recognition, Verhoeven moved to the US. His first US film
was Lihaa ja verta (1985) in 1985, but
it was RoboCop (1987) and, especially,
Total Recall - unohda tai kuole (1990) that made him a
big box office success. Sometimes accused of portraying excessive
violence in his films, Verhoeven replies that he is only recording the
violence of society. Verhoeven has co-scripted two of his films:
Gestapon vihollinen numero 1 (1977) and
Lihaa ja verta (1985). He also directed
an episode of the HBO
Liftari (1983) TV
series. Several of his films have been photographed by
Jost Vacano, including the hit cult film,
Starship troopers - Universumin sotilaat (1997),
starring Casper Van Dien.
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