Though he’s kept a lower profile over the past few years, Paul Verhoeven returned to possibly Oscar contending glory in 2016 with “Elle,” which played at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (our own critic Jessica Kiang called it “fearless” and “rivetingly unsavory”). And while he’s since left Hollywood, there was a time when the Dutch director filmmaker was a force to be reckoned with the industry: a polarizing creative figure who was also a veritable sultan of sleaze. Known for transgressive, taboo-violating dramatic works like “Basic Instinct” and his infamous “Showgirls,” Verhoeven is clearly not a director who spends a significant amount of time worrying about alienating his audience, or whom he might offend next. A Paul Verhoeven film doesn’t merely relish in violence – for all intents and purposes, the director’s films practically celebrate these things.
Of course, there is a buried but undeniable sense of morality in much of Verhoeven’s work, as well as a sly political streak that’s reared its head in everything from his seminal 80’s actioner “Robocop” to the intergalactic kill-the-bugs war flick “Starship Troopers.” Earlier this year, Arte Cinema cut together some of the most memorable moments from Verhoeven’s filmography, including the most jaw-dropping moments from “Basic Instinct” as well as hits like “Robocop” and the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring “Total Recall.” The assembly of clips on display here will surely tickle fans of the director. If nothing else, the essay serves as a welcome reminder of what a gifted visual storyteller Verhoeven is when he’s operating at the peak of his abilities. The director’s occasional penchant for gratuitous unpleasantness aside, Verhoeven is someone who clearly understands that cinema is about sensation and feeling, sometimes at the cost of good taste, and even his bad movies contain threads of a fascinating authorial voice. Verhoeven die-hards will surely want to get a taste of their favorite director’s greatest hits before Sony releases the sure-to-be-controversial “Elle” in November of this year.
What’s your favorite Paul Verhoeven moment? Let us know in the comments section below.