Flesh And Blood Details

[Highly rated reviewer]

Flesh and Blood

Paul Verhoeven's oft maligned english language debut is in fact one of his best films. A medieval set hack and slash fest it is perhaps the perfect distillation, in title and content, of the Dutch director's main interests.

For his first American film Verhoeven attracted a fine cast including frequent collaborator Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Hauer plays Martin, the leader of a rag tag bunch of mercenaries who snatches Leigh; a princess from the man she's supposed to marry as revenge after he and his gang are not paid after winning back a city.

On this threadbare story Verhoeven hangs a series of truly arresting images.

He is aided by an excellent Hauer, as good in English as he ever was in his Dutch films and Leigh, surely the best actress ever to work extensively in exploitation cinema.

As you'd expect the ingredients of the title come thick and fast. Hauer and his violent band (including Ronald Lacey, excellent as a corrupt priest) slice and dice all in their way, thus providing most of the blood. The bulk of the flesh is provided by Leigh, never a shy actress, who has about six completely gratuitous nude scenes, half of them full frontals. On the flesh side it's also interesting as side note that Nancy Cartwright, Bart Simpson herself, also has a brief nude scene.

Plot wise this is no great shakes but it makes up for that in sheer intensity and with strong direction from Verhoeven and decent central performances which make Flesh and Blood endless fun to watch.

Good if you like Rutger Hauer

This film is a great vehicle for Hauer's screen presence, but it's a pretty unpleasant tale set in unpleasant and bloodthirsty times. Plague, war, rape, murder: they're all here.