MovieChat Forums > Zwartboek (2007) Discussion > Terrible even for Verhoeven

Terrible even for Verhoeven

posted 13 years ago by benettfreeman
53 replies | jump to latest

I didn't expect much from this film - I'd seen (and been appalled by) all of Verhoeven's other 'efforts', but this one ranks among the worst movies I have ever seen (that were supposed to be good). The mystery element (who was selling out the Jews) - which should have been the central plot driver, is completely forgotten amongst a series of erratic and amateurishly-filmed set pieces that took the idea of contrived unreality to whole new levels. Any scene where a gun is fired seems completely ridiculous; ditto any scene where anyone is behaving sexually. Now, given that most of the movie can be fitted under those headings, we can see that the whole thing is terribly, terribly tarnished and terrible. It's so poor I wonder if Verhoeven has ever actually seen any films that have good gun-fighting scenes or sex scenes...does he know what sexy even is? I mean, the-epileptic-in-a-swimming-pool sex scene in Showgirls was pretty much the worst thing I'd ever seen at the time, but the fecal shower scene in this movie was the violent equivalent, and then some. How IS IT that this man can turn sex into something that makes one want to stop the film, and can turn horrific nationalistic revenge torture into something that even Troma wouldn't consider. Verhoeven should be the laughing stock of the Netherlands. Instead. this film is lauded...are there no other good Dutch filmmakers or what?

Unforgettably awful. Has burned holes in my memory.

-

"The cook's a SEAL?!!"

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] chilone 10 years ago

Well Bennett, you're definitely in the minority. I gave it an 8 and thoroughly enjoyed it :)

I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] rolamante-1 10 years ago

I don't have quite as strong a distaste for Verhoeven as you, he can be pretty funny, but this film was so pointlessly busy and distracted I kept begging it to take a breath. I may feel this especially after having watched The Eye of The Needle the night before, which, despite its Masterpiece Theatre lighting, was a really sound piece of work, and gave the audience ample space to give two *beep* This film opens on what, three slam-bang Nazi raids in quick succession, none of which gave me any feeling for the scene outside of what the shrieking violins demanded. While there were certainly elements of a good story floating around, the convolutions of the script and the frenetic pace of the action left me with a hollow feeling after watching it. Pace is really a matter of controlling and alternating the rhythm with some sense of proportion, and this is just a full-out onslaught--- until suddenly there's a surprisingly effective scene in front of a hearse, that sort of underscores what the rest of the film is missing. It probably would have worked better as a miniseries.

[–] pezoids 10 years ago

I'd seen (and been appalled by) all of Verhoeven's other 'efforts'

Starship Troopers? appalling?? Any cred instantly gone. pfft...

[–] thesearchforbigfoot 10 years ago

Total Recall, Robocop, and Starship Troopers are among the greatest action movies of all time. You are smoking crack if you really think Paul Verhoeven is a bad director. He's probably the best director of action movies alive today other than James Cameron.

[–] benettfreeman 10 years ago

"Total Recall, Robocop, and Starship Troopers are among the greatest action movies of all time."

This is your opinion, which I completely disagree with. Total Recall doesn't have much action, and what makes it interesting is Philip K. Dick's story, not Verhoeven's directing, in my opinion.

Robocop and Starship Troopers I don't rate at all. The latter is utter dross, in my opinion.

I prefer intelligent action movies like Ronin. That's my opinion. But at least I can state as such, and not pretend it's fact.

"You are smoking crack if you really think Paul Verhoeven is a bad director."

What a ridiculous statement. I could equally say you must be smoking crack to think he ISN'T a bad director. Your line of argumentation is preposterous.

"He's probably the best director of action movies alive today other than James Cameron."

And here we have it. For you to think that Verhoeven and Cameron are the top of the list betrays how Hollywood-centric and mainstream-blockbuster-centric your tastes are.

Are you really so boring that you think Cameron is the best you can get? Cameron is so bad in the view of most Brits that we have all manner of jokes about him.

The Abyss was good - because of the story and the characters and great acting by Ed Harris and supporting cast. But apart from that, Cameron has never impressed me.

[–] 10 years ago

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[–] kmags84 9 years ago

The Terminator, T-2, The Abyss, ALIENS... Cameron is not the man I once loved but his Action films are at the Top of the List. Verhoeven is also up there with Robocop, Total Recall and Starship Troopers. He makes films a certain way but Black Book wasn't anything quite like his prior films. He uses the camera, its very active. We see that here but he left much of the satire out of the film. He's a very capable filmmaker and many critics agree that this was his "Comeback Film"... A man mostly forgotten about because he made Showgirls as if it even matters. Starship Troopers came out 2 years later and is one of the best Sci-Fi/Action films of its time. It's also an examination of Totalitarian States and Warfare. John McTiernan isn't spoken about anymore but for about a decade, he was the Pinnacle Action Director, he also loved Verhoeven. So does Spielberg, Cameron, Nolan, Scorsese and many others. What he does is unique and because of that, his voice is a necessary one. Is Black Book a masterpiece? Of course not... But it's a very good piece of filmmaking and Verhoevens voice is still being heard. Whether you like him or not, well that's all subjective judgment... Bottom Line, the guy has a 40 year career and he still isn't a " Hired Gun"... He turned down multiple offers to direct some profitable franchises and Big Budget films.I respect that. Hes different but an Auteur nonetheless

[–] davejimenez 9 years ago

Hard to believe that you still respond to comments five years after your initial post and still come off as the same old pretentious blowhard.

[–] benettfreeman 9 years ago

Easy to believe that there are enough people in the world to keep this thread going for five years unable to understand that I have an opinion, and don't let people just denigrate me personally without making any kind of salient point about the movie WHATSOEVER, and just sling insults instead. ;)

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Chapaev36 9 years ago

Agree with the OP. Laughed heartily at Verhoeven being a "master satirist".

I do actually enjoy some of Verhoeven's output, particularly when his talents (low brow exploitation) line up with the material (Robocop, Starship Troopers). In some cases the final product can be interpreted to be satirical.

However Black Book is just bizarre. The subject matter is dramatic and yet is treated like exploitation. I don't understand the accolades either.