Paul Verhoeven’s Cinema of Violence
eBook - PDF

Paul Verhoeven’s Cinema of Violence

  1. 281 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Paul Verhoeven’s Cinema of Violence

About this book

The first English-language critical study of the films of Paul Verhoeven, the Dutch director of provocative and vividly imagined films such as Turkish Delight (1973), Robocop (1987), Basic Instinct (1992), Showgirls (1995), Starship Troopers (1997), Black Book (2006), and Elle (2016).

Where some audiences find in Paul Verhoeven little more than empty provocation (or, even worse, immoral scandal), Paul Verhoeven's Cinema of Violence takes a more careful and nuanced look at this director's body of work and its penchant for violence of various kinds. Exploring the breadth of this director's career, this book encompasses everything from his early short works as a student filmmaker in the 1960s to the most recently completed Benedetta (2021), a French-language film based on Judith C. Brown's 1986 academic volume Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy.

This volume studies a wide range of themes and ideas across Verhoeven's work, including his cinematic approach to violence, his adaptation of literature, his work in notable genres such as science fiction and the war film, his work with actors and direction of performances, his provocative treatment and representation of sexuality and gender, as well as his intense and frequently baroque cinematic style. It also traces in his work a career-long interest in religion: although an avowed atheist, Verhoeven has been obsessed with the image of Jesus in nearly all his films, a theme in his cinema that dovetails with his 2011 academic study Jesus of Nazareth. Through this comprehensive approach, Paul Verhoeven's Cinema of Violence offers a passionate, nuanced, and comprehensive critical look at the cinematic output of one of the Netherlands' – and Hollywood's – most vital contemporary filmmakers.

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Yes, you can access Paul Verhoeven’s Cinema of Violence by Steven Rybin in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Media & Performing Arts & Film History & Criticism. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Half Title
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Contents
  6. Figures
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
  9. Part I: The Flesh of Art
  10. Chapter 1: Turkish Delight (1973; The Netherlands)
  11. Chapter 2: Elle (2016; France/Germany/Belgium)
  12. Part II: Futures of Bodies
  13. Chapter 3: Spetters (1980; The Netherlands)
  14. Chapter 4: RoboCop (1987; United States)
  15. Part III: Scissors and Ice Picks
  16. Chapter 5: The Fourth Man (1983; The Netherlands)
  17. Chapter 6: Basic Instinct (1992; United States/France)
  18. Part IV: Body and Soul
  19. Chapter 7: Flesh + Blood (1985; United States/The Netherlands/Spain)
  20. Chapter 8: Benedetta (2021; France/The Netherlands/Belgium)
  21. Part V: Parallel Realities
  22. Chapter 9: Total Recall (1990; United States)
  23. Chapter 10: Black Book (2006; The Netherlands/Germany/Belgium/United Kingdom)
  24. Part VI: Figures of War
  25. Chapter 11: Soldier of Orange (1977; The Netherlands/Belgium)
  26. Chapter 12: Starship Troopers (1997; United States)
  27. Part VII: Women at Work
  28. Chapter 13: Business Is Business (1971; The Netherlands)
  29. Chapter 14: Showgirls (1995; United States/France)
  30. Part VIII: Invisible Selves
  31. Chapter 15: Keetje Tippel (1975; The Netherlands)
  32. Chapter 16: Hollow Man (2000; United States/Germany)
  33. Coda: Tricked (2012; The Netherlands)
  34. Bibliography
  35. Index