moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (06/21/85)
FLESH & BLOOD (U.S.A., 1985)
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Screenwriters: Gerard Soetman, Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson, Jack
Thompsan, Susan Tyrell
[World Premiere]
Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director who has _The_4th_Man_ and
_Soldier_of_Orange_ to his name, has made it a habit to premiere
his films at the Seattle Film Festival, and his first American film is
no exception. This also marks the first time since
_Soldier_of_Orange_ that he has worked with Rutger Hauer, who
has gone on to give excellent performance after excellent
performance in American films (_Blade_Runner_, _Nighthawks_,
and most recently _LadyHawke_). I was expecting a lot from this
movie.
And, unfortunately, it disappointed me. What Verhoeven seemed
to be aiming for was an epic Medieval movie, something along the
lines of Sergio Leone's _Once_Upon_a_Time_in_the_West_ shot
with castles and bows & arrows. And he seems to have worked
amazingly hard at making it authentic -- all you people who bitch
about how _LadyHawke_ and _Dragonslayer_ aren't very authentic
representations of medieval life are going to love this one. Is it
ever authentic! Blood! Guts! Squalor! The Black Plague (if you
thought Baron Harkonen had boils...)! Close-ups of a woman with
her tongue cut out! All in all, I'd say _Flesh_and _Blood_ has, at
least, the most appropriate and descriptive film title I've seen in
ages.
Basically, it tells one of those epic stories of war, revenge, hate,
love, and passion (heavy on the passion). A warlord hires a band
of mercenaries to conquer his homeland, but after this is
completed he turns on them and forces them out with no
payment. The group of mercenaries (led by Hauer) decide for
revenge, and kidnap the girl who is promised to the warlord's son
in marriage. The rest of the film depicts the chase and conflict
between members of the mercenaries, and between Hauer and the
warlord's son, who is a learned scholar.
The problem is, none of these characters have any depth... you
never feel for any of them, and they strike you as chess pieces on a
game that continues through the whole movie. Also, there are
serious scenes here that I just cannot take seriously, due partially
to the fact that _Monty_Python_and_the_Holy_Grail_ has
lampooned this subject too well (in a scene where the warlord's son
has built a castle storming device, the device is wheeled to the
castle walls, resembling the Trojan Rabbit quite a bit. Almost in
unison, I heard several audience members saying "Now, after they
wheel this in, Lancelot and I jump out...."). Unless you are looking
for mindless action & blood 'n guts, I'd go see something else.
"...for DEATH awaits you all, with nasty sharp pointy teeth!"
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
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