Dutch

Black Book [Blu-ray]

Sony Pictures Black Book (Blu-ray)
A film by Paul Verhoeven. An untold story of World War II. She changes her identity. She infiltrates the enemy. Accused of betrayal from both sides. Now she must fight to save her life. In the darkest days of World War II, Jewish fugitives attempt to escape occupied Holland -only to face a Nazi ambush. Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten) alone survives the attack and joins the Dutch Resistance to avenge her family. She soon confronts the ultimate test: she must infiltrate German headquarters by tempting Captain Ludwig Myntze (Sebastian Hoch). In the heat of passion, he uncovers her duplicity...but keeps her secret. Then Rachel's espionage reveals that a murderous traitor lurks within Resistance ranks. Unable to fully trust anyone, Rachel navigates a minefield of deception and becomes an enemy to both sides. Epic, passionate, breathtaking, "Black Book" relates an untold story of World War II where the distinctions between good and evil become blurred by the complexities of human nature.

As in Basic Instinct, a lovely lady takes the lead in Black Book, but this time Paul Verhoeven has more than cheap thrills in mind. Towards the end of WWII, Rachel Stein (the vibrant Carice von Houten), a Jewish singer, is living with a gentile family in the countryside. When Allied forces bomb the area, she's forced to flee. On her perilous journey to The Hague (Verhoeven's hometown), brunette Rachel joins the Resistance and changes her identity to blonde Ellis de Vries. Her next order of business: infiltrate Gestapo headquarters. Like many Verhoeven heroines, Rachel aces her assignment--and then some. First, she seduces the handsome Captain Müntze (Sebastian Koch, The Lives of Others), then she falls in love with him. Müntze, who returns her affection, isn't what he appears to be, but their relationship puts both at great risk. At this point, the filmmaker expertly kicks the proceedings into high gear, before concluding on a bittersweet note. Naturally, since this is a Verhoeven picture, there's plenty of wry humor and uninhibited sexuality along the way. Starting with 1985's Flesh + Blood, the Dutch director released an American movie every two to three years. After the poorly received Hollow Man, however, Verhoeven took a six-year break. Black Book, a return to his native Holland, was worth the wait. (He began work on the screenplay in the 1980s.) It works triple-time as a thriller, a tribute to Holland's Jewish population, and a poison pen letter to the Dutch opportunists who would attempt to sell them out. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Antonia's Line

To a small Dutch town filled with characters known by such names as Crooked Finger, Loony Lips, and the Mad Madonna, Antonia returns with her daughter Danielle after 20 years away. Covering the next 40 years, Antonia's Line looks at the matriarch and her offspring, stretching out to her great-granddaughter, Sarah. A whimsical story with fairy-tale conventions, this movie deals with the cyclical nature of time as well as the strength of women. While this is not just a "woman's movie," men are regulated to the background in a story that tells of women breaking free of traditional roles. Surprisingly, this movie achieves a light-hearted tone while tackling serious subjects: small-town prejudices, rape, and suicide. Yet the drama's comedic heart shines through as Antonia collects a rather odd assortment of people, outsiders who become part of her extended family. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, Antonia's Line is moving and beautiful, imparting a sense of hope and joy to the viewer. --Jenny Brown

WWE - Invasion 2001 [Region 1]

The Memory of a Killer

His memory is impaired by Alzheimer's veteran assassin Angelo Leddo (Jan Decleir) is appalled to discover his intended target is a 12-year-old girl. Refusing to kill her Leddo breaks his contract only to have his boss carry out the hit instead. Incensed Leddo vows vengeance and sets out to find the man who ordered the child's death. Systematically wiping out middlemen and go-betweens Leddo leaves a blood trail that is followed by Chief Inspector Vincke (Koen De Bouw) a police detective who's desperate to learn what links the dead girl with the most powerful men in Belgium. And so with the cops one step behind him and his memory fading fast Leddo finds himself in a race against time as he tries to avenge a child whose face he can no longer recall.System Requirements:Running Time: 123 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 043396126572 Manufacturer No: 12657

Gay in Amsterdam

GAY IN AMSTERDAM (DVD MOVIE)

Spetters (Widescreen Edition)

Paul Verhoeven's story of three dirt bike buddies with motocross dreams in a small Netherlands town is just the kind of working-class soap opera one would expect from the director of Basic Instinct and Showgirls. Conniving fox Renée Soutendijk (The Fourth Man) seduces all three boys in hopes of landing a ride out of her miserable existence selling fried snacks from a gypsy van. At least she's honest about her schemes of escape, and in this predatory world that makes her a prize. Verhoeven's tone is uneven as his melodrama of dirt track glory, casual sex, and small town restlessness bounces into Fassbinder territory with scenes of gay bashing, gang rape, and suicidal despair. Only Verhoeven could pull a happy ending from all of that. Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbé make appearances as the dirt bike champion and a self-promoting sportscaster. --Sean Axmaker

From notorious filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) and writer GerardSoeteman comes this director's cut of an explosive, fast-paced (Boxoffice) coming-of-age drama. Raw, intense and unabashedly sexual, Spetters is a wild ride that will knock the unsuspecting for a loop (The Hollywood Reporter). Rien, Eef and Hans are three young working-class guys stuck in an industrial town on the outskirts of Rotterdam. They couldn't be more different except for one thing: their shared passion for motorcycle racing, which each sees as his ticket to a better life. But a deeper passion will soon rule each of their lives, when a sexy, ambitiousblonde comes between them and provokes unforeseen events that will rock their worlds.

Dear Boys (Lieve Jongens)

Starring Hugo Metsers Hans Dagelet and Bill van Dijk. Hugo Metsers stars as Wolfbroer an aging gay writer who becomes more demanding of the young men he has affairs with. They in turn are drawn to one another. What follows is a sequence of erotic and comic sex fantasies. Nothing is sacred in these fantasies which explore Catholic guilt S & M sexual possession and the trauma of romantic love. This film is an unsentimental unrepentant look at a kind of gay love and relationship. Based on the book by controversial Dutch writer Gerard Reve this film is very candid in presenting the cruel selfish behaviors of its principals. Dutch Language With English Subtitles.System Requirements:Running Time: 88 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA/GAY & LESBIAN UPC: 018619791776 Manufacturer No: JEF79177DVD

On the Buses: The Ultimate Collection

The Fourth Man

Only two years separate The Fourth Man, the final Dutch language movie by director Paul Verhoeven, and the explosive commencement of his Hollywood career. Controversy raged about violence in Flesh & Blood, RoboCop and everything else he made thereafter. Yet controversy has always been a part of the filmmaker's work. This savage comedy shocker could well be seen as a trial run for Basic Instinct, since it features an ice-cold seductress (Renée Soutendijk) with mysterious motivations and sexual preferences. The hallucinatory tale follows a novelist (Jeroen Krabbé) first falling for her, and then feverishly investigating whether she's a serial husband killer. The film is full of what would soon be recognized as Verhoeven trademarks: a little blasphemy, a lot of nudity, dispassionate characters, and hidden agendas. One of the aspects that caught the eye of international audiences was the film's colorful lighting and camerawork. This was from Jan de Bont, who, thanks in large part to Verhoeven, would go on to direct Speed and others. Full of symbolic flourishes and allegorical plot points The Fourth Man is a dizzying display of the type of black comedy that not even Verhoeven can get away with in today's politically aware industry. --Paul Tonks

Hysteria

Def Leppard's album Hysteria sold over 17 million copies, produced seven hit singles and brought worldwide superstardom to the band in 1987.

After the success in America of the 1983 album Pyromania, Def Leppard went into 'exile' in Dublin to begin the writing and production of their fourth album. It would be four years in the making. During this time they would try three different record producers, three different recording studios, Producer Robert 'Mutt' Lange would suffer leg injuries in a car accident, drummer Rick Allen would narrowly survive a terrible car crash but lose his left arm in the accident, and the band would be taken to the limits of their physical and emotional endurance.

This program takes a track by track look at the making of the album. We speak to Joe Elliott, Rick Allen, Phil Collen, and Rick Savage who lead us through the original multitrack tapes. Joe and Phil play acoustic versions of 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' and 'Hysteria', and Sav and Phil demonstrate riffs and licks from the songs, and explain the genesis of the songwriting. Rick talks of the impact of the car accident on his life and on the band, of his determination to re-learn the drums, and of his triumphant return to performing live at the 1986 Donnington Festival.

Featured songs include 'Animal', 'Rocket', 'Love Bites', 'Hysteria', 'Women', 'Armageddon It' and 'Pour Some Sugar On Me'. The program is illustrated by archive footage from Def Leppard in concert, TV performances and promotional videos, and provides a unique insight into the making of a record which dominated the charts for two years, a true Classic Album.