leplatypus It's a remarkable movie about Middle Ages because around a witty script, we have a condensed mix of the autumn of this period: violence between men (battle) and women (rape), poor health (black plague, births mortality) and a clash between old faith & new scientific experimentation.. The cast is really good with another solid, physical performance from Haueur and a pragmatic and strong willed young Jennifer who shows tons of wisdom to stay alive… The locations, the costumes are beautiful and as often with Verhoeven, we see everything, either beautiful or disgusting… At the end, the movie is much better than medieval ones inspired (like Willow for example for the castle assault) and this director is really among my favorites! In addition the french edition got a interview with him in which he really exposes what he wanted to do… It was an essential bonus for me all the more than with all this violence and nudity, I wondered why he wanted to do a Jesus movie: he answers my question: because he is fond of history and because the gospels are the biggest historical lie ever (his opinion).

Anssi Vartiainen In this tale told by Paul Verhoeven and written by Gerard Soeteman, we follow a group of medieval mercenaries who get double-crossed by their commanding officer, which leads them down a path of revenge, crime and bloodshed. Essentially it's a Robin Hood story, or an underdog tale, but with no punches pulled and with a taste for the gore and splatter. Verhoeven is most known for his dark scifi action films, like Total Recall and RoboCop, but this film is very much his creation when it comes to the style.And I have to admit that I like it a lot. Verhoeven's signature style is all over the screen with this one and it just might be one of the most brutal medieval adventure films I've ever seen. No one comes out of this film unscathed and it's such a jaded film that it's even hard to pick sides. The mercenaries are justified in their lust for revenge, but they also end up kidnapping the bride of the son of their betrayer and abusing her in very dark ways. On the other hand the bride is not a saint either, and very much not a damsel in distress, being willing to do whatever it takes to survive. Whereas the son of the betrayer, the groom as it may be, is perhaps the most virtuous of the whole cast, but even he has his dark tendencies.And it's just a great adventure film in its own right. The setting is great, the characters are all shades of awesome, the action scenes are just the right amount of over the top and the whole film has this unmistakable style of the 80s. Blood and gore, smoke and shadows.Very much worth a watch for all fans of dark and one of my favourite Verhoeven movies.

BA_Harrison I find it amusing to think that I owe my discovery of director Paul Verhoeven to British chat-show host Russell Harty (famous for getting an on-air slapping from an irate Grace Jones): when Harty briefly took over from Barry Norman as presenter of BBC1's weekly film review show, he lambasted Flesh + Blood, saying that he was so appalled by what he had seen that he had to walk out of the cinema mid-film. That was all the recommendation I needed. I grabbed a seat at the first available showing and a new Verhoeven fan was born.What made the film such a fun experience in my opinion was in seeing just how far Verhoeven was willing to go to upset sensitive individuals like Harty. Like much of the Dutch director's output, Flesh + Blood is a glorious exercise in excess—a riotous medieval romp that misses no opportunity to rub the viewer's nose in its filth and debauchery. Verhoeven's carefree, who-gives-a-s**t approach is reflected in the film's outrageous plot, a general disregard for historical accuracy, the wanton sex and violence, and the many absurdly grotesque characters.Set in Western Europe in 1501, the film opens with Arnolfini (Fernando Hilbeck) attempting to forcefully win back his town, the siege led by Captain Hawkwood (Jack Thompson), who has employed an army of mercenaries to help with the campaign. Once successfully inside the town, Arnolfini reneges on his deal with the hired soldiers, kicking them out minus their spoils and weapons. As payback for their betrayal, the band of mercenaries attack Arnolfini and steal his wagons, accidentally kidnapping Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), intended wife of Arnolfini's son Steven (Tom Burlinson), in the process. At the mercy of these moral-free reprobates, Agnes uses her womanly wiles and sexy young body to stay alive, seducing Martin (Rutger Hauer), the strongest of the mercenaries, keeping him happy until Steven can organise a rescue mission.Verhoeven has a blast, filling his film with numerous scenes designed to push the boundaries: a seduction that takes place beneath a pair of rotting, hanged corpses; a stillborn baby being buried in a barrel; Agnes learning about the birds and the bees from her maid (played by Nancy 'Bart Simpson' Cartwright, who goes topless!); a semi-naked nun suffering seizures, having had her head hacked open by Hawkwood; the gang rape of Agnes by Martin and his men; a steamy jacuzzi sex scene in which Jennifer Jason Leigh leaves little to the imagination. The director also has fun with a few moments designed to seriously test the viewer's ability to suspend disbelief, most notably the introduction of a medieval tank that turns into an extendable ladder, and Steven's escape from shackles that involves electrocuting himself with a convenient lightning bolt.An excellent cast of supporting players gamely tackle the demented lunacy, with cult favourite Brion James as mercenary Karsthans, Ronald Lacey (of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame) as a deviant cardinal, and Susan Tyrell as brash, foul-mouthed whore Celine. The film also benefits from excellent cinematography from Jan De Bont, director of Speed and Twister, and a rousing score from Basil Poledouris, who would go on to work with Verhoeven on Robocop and Starship Troopers.

Charles Herold (cherold) I watched this movie because it stars two brilliant actors, Hauer and Leigh, but I only made it a third of the way through before I gave up on the endeavor.I see a lot of people here are saying, sure, it's unpleasant, but that's realistic for the middle ages. But if there's one thing I wouldn't accuse this movie of, it's realism. It's a pretty cheesy blood and guts war tale that isn't that different from ones they were making in the 1950s except it's nastier. As for life being more unpleasant in the middle ages, well, certainly life was hard, there were less creature comforts, people died younger, but still, people are people, and this movie chooses to portray really unpleasant ones, and I suspect if were were able to visit the middle ages we would find that, just like now, there were a mix of pleasant and unpleasant folk.The movie is also rather dull. The script is poorly written, the characters are cardboard.Terrible, terrible movie.