...they always sound so amusing when they berate films, just give em one little shocking scene and they start climbing the walls. I think Paul Verhoeven also loves this, as his films certainly have some decent "shock" value, and are for the most part hopelessly misunderstood, just look at Starship Troopers. I think maybe 10% of people actually "got" what PV was trying to say with that one.
I won't go into plot, because I've read the other reviews and those other ones cover it better than I could. What I will say is this film has some of the more original and memorable moments I've seen, like the hanging corpses/mandrake bit...if you've seen the movie you know exactly what I'm talking about...this could hardly be called "erotic" but it's a great little snapshot of a romantic notion during such brutal times. The feast scene is great, where the mercenaries suddenly decide that because they are now "nobles" (they've captured a castle) they must use knives and forks to eat. Great scene, as some of them begin wielding their knives and forks like they are going into battle against their dinner, and have to be shown the correct way to hold them.
This film is anything but "anti-women" in fact, I'd say it's more "anti-PEOPLE" than anything else, as the men in this story endure just as much suffering, as the women. JJL's character is actually a very smart, switched on young lady who realises her only chance of survival is to USE her sex BY degrading it, to STAY ALIVE. And who could blame her? Life was incredibly cheap.
I think the sex scene in the tub with Rutger and JJL is awesome...totally original and very erotic. And the rape scene is bad but serves the plot as i mentioned above. The fight scenes are awfully choreographed but i can't help thinking this was a slightly misguided effort to appear more realistic. I mean, the warfare back then often consisted of running headlong into your enemy and beating/stabbing him to death with a stick or blade...not very gentlemanly or dignified, and probably looked just as horrible as it would have felt.
Before you label me arrogant, there are a lot of movies I don't "get" at all. For whatever reason Paul Verhoeven's GOOD movies (he has made some crap) seem to come across clear as a bell to me, and I'm always impressed. For his introduction to Hollywood, and thus IT'S introduction to him, Verhoeven certainly had some guts to present them with this film. I'm actually a little surprised it got made, especially in the US, with it's seemingly random assortment of rape, murder, foul-ness and debauchery.
The romantic notions of the dark/middle ages etc are great, and I'm a fan of "high fantasy" as well, but I've also read much of the reality of the times, and it was not pretty. Nonexistent medicine, certified lunatics living among the general population, rats, dirt, disease, more dirt, blood, gangs of thug mercenaries wandering the countryside, chased and hounded by equally vicious soldiers. Not to mention the plague. A time to visit in history books and in the imagination, but if ever finally complete my time machine, I'm NOT going to Western Europe circa 1500...no way!
I won't go into plot, because I've read the other reviews and those other ones cover it better than I could. What I will say is this film has some of the more original and memorable moments I've seen, like the hanging corpses/mandrake bit...if you've seen the movie you know exactly what I'm talking about...this could hardly be called "erotic" but it's a great little snapshot of a romantic notion during such brutal times. The feast scene is great, where the mercenaries suddenly decide that because they are now "nobles" (they've captured a castle) they must use knives and forks to eat. Great scene, as some of them begin wielding their knives and forks like they are going into battle against their dinner, and have to be shown the correct way to hold them.
This film is anything but "anti-women" in fact, I'd say it's more "anti-PEOPLE" than anything else, as the men in this story endure just as much suffering, as the women. JJL's character is actually a very smart, switched on young lady who realises her only chance of survival is to USE her sex BY degrading it, to STAY ALIVE. And who could blame her? Life was incredibly cheap.
I think the sex scene in the tub with Rutger and JJL is awesome...totally original and very erotic. And the rape scene is bad but serves the plot as i mentioned above. The fight scenes are awfully choreographed but i can't help thinking this was a slightly misguided effort to appear more realistic. I mean, the warfare back then often consisted of running headlong into your enemy and beating/stabbing him to death with a stick or blade...not very gentlemanly or dignified, and probably looked just as horrible as it would have felt.
Before you label me arrogant, there are a lot of movies I don't "get" at all. For whatever reason Paul Verhoeven's GOOD movies (he has made some crap) seem to come across clear as a bell to me, and I'm always impressed. For his introduction to Hollywood, and thus IT'S introduction to him, Verhoeven certainly had some guts to present them with this film. I'm actually a little surprised it got made, especially in the US, with it's seemingly random assortment of rape, murder, foul-ness and debauchery.
The romantic notions of the dark/middle ages etc are great, and I'm a fan of "high fantasy" as well, but I've also read much of the reality of the times, and it was not pretty. Nonexistent medicine, certified lunatics living among the general population, rats, dirt, disease, more dirt, blood, gangs of thug mercenaries wandering the countryside, chased and hounded by equally vicious soldiers. Not to mention the plague. A time to visit in history books and in the imagination, but if ever finally complete my time machine, I'm NOT going to Western Europe circa 1500...no way!