Total Verhoeven
Few contemporary directors have inspired more debate than Paul Verhoeven, whose smartly entertaining films push the boundaries of sex, violence, and accepted good taste to daringly subversive ends. After a string of groundbreaking works in the Netherlands, Verhoeven eventually found his way to Hollywood, where he lent his complex, morally ambiguous worldview and facility for action spectacle to some of the most fascinatingâand often controversialâstudio films of the eighties and nineties. An ironist who frequently works in so-called âdisreputableâ genresâscience fiction, erotic thriller, melodramaâhe combines a formal mastery with a satiristâs sensibility, delivering visceral thrills alongside provocative critiques of capitalism, militarism, and masculinity. Occasioned by the U.S. release of his acclaimed new film, Elle, the Film Society revisits the work of one of the most fearless directors of our time.
Organized by Dennis Lim and Dan Sullivan.
Special thanks to EYE Film Institute Netherlands; Sony Pictures Classics; Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The provocatively entertaining films of Paul Verhoeven push the boundaries of sex, violence, and accepted good taste to daringly subversive ends. Occasioned by his acclaimed new film, Elle, the Film Society revisits the work of one of the most fearless directors of our time.
Tickets on sale now! See more and save with a 3+ Film Package or All Access Pass!
Elle
Free screening! ¡ Pre-Screening Reception
Paul Verhoevenâs first film in French ranks among his most incendiary, improbable concoctions: a wry, almost-screwball comedy of manners about a woman (a brilliant Isabelle Huppert) who responds to rape by refusing the mantle of victimhood.RoboCop
Showgirls
Starship Troopers
Extended introduction by Paul Verhoeven and Casper Van Dien on November 15
Part comic book-style action adventure, part scathing satire of the military-industrial complex, Starship Troopers is one of the most subversive artistic acts ever perpetrated with a $100 million budget.Turkish Delight
Q&A with Paul Verhoeven on November 16
Named the Best Dutch Film of the Century by the Netherlands Film Festival, Verhoevenâs hugely successful sophomore film is an alternately sweet and steamy romance filled with his typically perverse touches.The 4th Man
The last film Verhoeven directed in Holland before decamping for Hollywood is one of his most outlandish and inspired: an alternately funny and freaky hothouse blend of oneiric symbolism, homoeroticism, religious iconography, and witchcraft.
Basic Instinct
Verhoevenâs sleek, sexually daring thriller is Vertigo for the 1990s, with Michael Douglas as the troubled police detective seduced into a series of cat-and-mouse mind games by Sharon Stoneâs Hitchcock-blonde crime novelist.
Black Book
Shifting loyalties, double crosses, and Mata Hari-esque sexual intrigue abound in Verhoevenâs morally complex World War II thriller.
Business Is Business
Verhoevenâs first featureâabout two enterprising prostitutes looking for love in swinging â70s Amsterdamâis unmistakably his: outrageous, satiric, erotic, and gleefully unrespectable.
Flesh+Blood
Verhoevenâs first English-language film is a muddy, bloody, brutal vision of the Middle Ages.
Hollow Man
Verhoevenâs last Hollywood film to date is this underrated, twisted take on The Invisible Man, with Kevin Bacon as an egomaniac scientist whose experiments with invisibility unleash his inner homicidal maniac.
Katie Tippel
One of Verhoevenâs most visually beautiful films depicts both the squalor and opulence of 19th-century Europe, as the eponymous heroine goes from prostitute to artistâs model to fine lady in turn-of-the-century Amsterdam.
Shorts Program
Each made by Verhoeven before his first feature, these five short films center around youth and school life, and provide a glimpse into the directorâs early fascinations with female dominance, technology, and war.
Soldier of Orange
Spetters
This satiric, sexually frank psychodrama charts the coming-of-age of three motocross-obsessed young men and plays like a male-driven precursor to Showgirls.
Total Recall
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Verhoevenâs head-tripping adaptation of Philip K. Dick is like RoboCop played at hyper-speed, with its themes of corporate control, memory, and identity delivered in an even faster, funnier, and gorier package.
Tricked
In a daring online experiment, over 400 people contributed to the crowd-sourced script that resulted in this darkly comic family farce.
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Special Event Pricing: Elle Sneak Preview
$13 â Member, Student & Senior
$18 â General Public
See more and save with our discount packages! Note:Â Elle Sneak Preview is excluded from the 3+ Film Package but included in the All Access Pass.
3+ Film Package â Minimum of 3 films required. Tickets just $8 Members / $9 Students & Seniors / $11 General Public.
All Access Pass â See everything in the series for just $125!
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