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Dutch film director Paul Verhoeven has had a wildly varied career, with films that range from camp classics to psychosexual thrillers. He made a name for himself in European cinema with six individual films of varying acclaim before breaking into Hollywood with the controversial Middle Ages adventure film Flesh + Blood, which was a box office bomb but later gained a small cult following, as did many of the director's films.

Blu-ray.com has just revealed that Capelight Pictures and MPI Home Video will be releasing a brand-new Blu-ray transfer of Paul Verhoeven’s period action film Flesh+Blood. The film was released back in 1985 and stars Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Susan Tyrrell, Tom Burlinson and Jack Thompson. The new 40th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray is slated to hit retailers early next year on February 11.

The description reads,

“Director Paul Verhoeven brings no-holds-barred action and sensuality to the Middle Ages. A band of mercenaries led by Martin (Rutger Hauer) triumph in battle for their leader Arnolfini. When Martin is betrayed by the tyrant Arnolfini, he seeks revenge! Martin’s mercenaries abduct Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a convent girl and the bride-to-be of Arnolfini’s son Steven (Tom Burlinson). She in turn manipulates Martin to protect her from his men. But is she feigning devotion in order to survive or has she fallen in love?...

RoboCop became both a blockbuster and a controversial critical darling upon its release in 1987 due to a mix of jet black humor and as subtle as a jackhammer social commentary sticking a perfect landing. Its success was a surprise to an industry that had looked at Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner’s original script with its simplistic one-word comic book title and assumed it was fated to be a high-concept stinker.

The 2023 RoboDoc documentary miniseries does a terrific job of chronicling the effort it took to turn RoboCop into both a box office win and an enduring cult masterpiece with a quick and funny format that makes it accessible to modern fans. The truly hardcore might not learn many new details from the four-hour presentation, available on Tubi, but one thing the documentary does do, especially after the Catholic satire of Benedetta, is make it clear how much of RoboCop...

Two MTV legends have made it to the season finale of The Traitors 2.

Long before Trishelle Cannatella and Chris “Ct” Tamburello joined the Peacock reality competition show, they had careers on MTV.

Trishelle appeared on The Real World: Las Vegas in 2002 and spun that into numerous appearances on The Challenge.

Trishelle appeared on The Gauntlet, The Inferno, Battle of the Seasons, Rival II, and All Stars I. She even made it to the finals of Battle of the Seasons.

Ct got his stars on The Real World: Paris before dipping his toe into the world of reality competition shows.

Ct faired much better than Trishelle on The Challenge and has racked up numerous titles. He won Rivals II, Invasion of the Champions, Champs vs. Stars 1, Champs vs. Stars 2, War of the Worlds 2, Double Agents, and Spies, Lies & Allies. Ct made it to the finals but didn’t win The Inferno,...

Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" was the rare animal that was a huge critical darling, a major awards contender, and a massive blockbuster. "Schindler's List" was nominated for 12 Academy Awards, winning seven, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Worldwide, the film grossed over $322 million, a huge amount for a prestige picture. The fact that Spielberg also made "Jurassic Park" that same year only makes the achievement that much more impressive. 

"Schindler's List" tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a wealthy Czech industrialist who, during World War II, employed as many Jewish workers as he could in his factories with the explicit purpose of saving them from concentration camps. He had to remain friendly with the Nazi party to keep his factories running and became increasingly distraught at what was happening to Europe's Jewish population. By the end of the film, Schindler breaks down, realizing that his wealth...

In recent years Paul Verhoeven's Hollywood films have been going through something of a critical revaluation. Flesh + Blood is now being appreciated as an allegory of Nazi Germany, Martin (Rutger Hauer) as Hitler, the Cardinal (Ronald Lacey) Goebbels and Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), complicit in her own rape, the March Violets. Starship Troopers is a parody of totalitarian propaganda. Someday Showgirls may be seen as a cutting critique slashing at the Hollywood system and the American Dream. Everyone can have their piece of apple pie as long as they are willing to exploit and abuse.

RoboDoc documents the filming of RoboCop, Verhoeven's satire on the privatisation and militarisation of policing and corporate America's fascistic tendencies.

At almost five hours long, what you get to see is an almost shot for shot 'making of' documentary. It starts at the beginning with script writing and production through to filming, editing and.

“The Help” is coming to Freevee on June 1. The top-notch cast includes Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, and Jessica Chastain. The plot focuses on two black maids who work in white homes in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s. Stone plays a writer who wants to help the women chronicle the hardships they face, so their injustices are exposed nationwide. “The Help” chronicles real-life conditions in the Deep South, while celebrating female friendship and empowerment.

Watch the trailer for “The Help”:

Also streaming on June 1 is the hit dystopian thriller “The Hunger Games,” turned into a four-film franchise, starring Jennifer Lawrence. In the first, the nation of Panem pits one girl and one boy from 12 tribes to fight to the death each year in the games. There can be only one survivor. The story is written from the perspective of a 16-year-old girl, who takes her sister’s place...

A couple months after spotlighting the world’s greatest actress, the Criterion Channel have taken a logical next step towards America’s greatest actress. May (or: next week) will bring an eleven-film celebration of Jennifer Jason Leigh, highlights including Verhoeven’s Flesh + Blood, Miami Blues, Alan Rudolph’s Mrs. Parker, her directorial debut The Anniversary Party, and Synecdoche, New York, and a special introduction from Leigh. Another actor’s showcase localizes directorial collaborations: Jimmy Stewart’s time with Anthony Mann, an eight-title series boasting the likes of Winchester ’73 and The Man from Laramie. Two more: a survey of ’80s Asian-American cinema (Chan Is Missing being the best-known) and 14 movies by Seijun Suzuki.

That would be enough for one month (or two), but No Bears and Cette maison will have their streaming premieres, while Criterion Editions offers the Infernal Affairs trilogy (plus its packed set), Days of Heaven, and the aforementioned Chan Is Missing.

(Welcome to Best Actor Ever, an ongoing series where we explore the careers and performances of the greatest performers to ever grace the screen.)

There is not an actor in the history of moving pictures who has been more egregiously taken for granted by her industry than Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Critics have always had her back. The New York Times' Janet Maslin got it from the jump when she singled Leigh out as "the only thing worth seeing" in her film debut "Eyes of a Stranger." The better-than-average 1981 slasher film set the tone for Leigh's career in that she plays a victim. Her character is a blind-deaf mute whose condition was brought on by being kidnapped and raped at an early age. The 19-year-old Leigh projects sweetness and innocence, but this young woman is all serrated edges. Because she isn't just a victim. She's a survivor.

Roger Ebert was also an early admirer of Leigh,...

Are you ready for London Kills Season 3?

TV Fanatic scored an exclusive first look at the trailer for the new season, which premieres in the U.S. and Canada on Monday, June 6, exclusively on Acorn TV, AMC Networks’ acclaimed streamer devoted to British and international television.

All episodes will be available on that date, meaning you can watch the entire mystery unfold without waiting week to week.

The series returns with its cutting-edge documentary style/

London Kills dramatizes the experiences of an elite murder investigation squad in central London, led by Detective Inspector David Bradford and the core cast including Sharon Small as Detective Sergeant Vivienne Cole, Bailey Patrick as Detective Constable Rob Brady and Tori Allen-Martin as Trainee Detective Constable Billie Fitzgerald.

Here's the official synopsis for London Kills Season 3:

As the third season opens, the detectives investigate the fatal stabbing of a young man.

It soon becomes...

Warning: contains spoilers for Inside No. 9 series six.

In series six, Inside No. 9 pulled off a diamond heist, explored obsessive geek fandom, framed a cuckold in an international conspiracy, let a grotesque true crime bleed from reality to fiction and back again, made a deal with the devil, and killed Jesus. Where, one might well ask, next?

Anywhere it wants, is the answer to that question. The BBC Two anthology series can float from location to location, story to story, unhampered by the need to put down roots in any one place. Series seven brings half a dozen brand new films to screen, scored by composer Christian Henson, and each one as different as the last.

The official synopsis describes the new episodes as taking us “from the Welsh valleys to an abandoned house, from kidnappers to detectives, and from a day trip out in a pedalo to a public information film.

Today marks the 60th birthday of one of the finest and most underrated actors working: the great Jennifer Jason Leigh. Aside from a brief dalliance with the mainstream in the early 90s, her 40+ year career has been spent largely in independent cinema, from her beginnings elevating schlock like Eyes of a Stranger to her most recent role in Lena Dunham’s Sundance 2022 entry, Sharp Stick.

Leigh has never shown any interest in airing any part of her life offscreen in public. This is likely one of the reasons she has gone under the radar throughout her career. She has amassed huge respect in the industry, but her lack of interest in trophy chasing has meant she has just one Oscar nomination to her name and her pursuit of privacy and choice of roles that she’s never been a huge star. I get the feeling that’s exactly how she wants it.

By Lee Pfeiffer

Actress Yvette Mimieux passed away on Tuesday from natural causes. She was 80 years old. Mimieux rose to fame starring opposite Rod Taylor in George Pal's 1960 screen adaptation of H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine". Prominent roles in major films soon followed and she won acclaim for her abilities primarily in dramas, although the1960 film "Where the Boys Are" combined comedy with tragedy and Mimieux's star rose further when the movie became a boxoffice hit with teenagers. In 1962, she teamed again with George Pal for his Cinerama classic "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm".  Other major films in which she starred included "The Light in the Piazza", "Toys in the Attic", "Diamond Head", "The Reward" and the Disney hit "Monkeys Go Home!". In 1968, she reunited with Rod Taylor for "Dark of the Sun" (aka "The Mercenaries"), a brutal but well-made adventure film centering on social unrest and revolution in the Congo.

The Slasher franchise has had multiple homes in its relatively short lifespan, and the fourth chapter, titled Flesh & Blood, is set to debut in its new home on Shudder August 12.

While the new chapter dials up the gore, the plot does not land as well as it should.

Shifting the action to an island is very reminiscent of Harper's Island, which was much more watchable than what we're getting here with Slasher Flesh & Blood.

When I initially watched the trailer, it gave me Succession meets Scream vibes, and while the series does manage that blend to some extent, the first four episodes are not the easiest to watch.

The hook is definitely there: A family arrives on a secluded island where old wounds and competitive rivalries come to light when the family realizes a deranged killer is on the island, intent on killing them one by one.

The...

ReFrame, the gender equity coalition founded by Women in Film and the Sundance Institute, and IMDbPro, announced the 117 TV and streaming shows that earned the ReFrame Stamp for the years 2020 to 2021. Among the honorees are FX’s Pose, Netflix’s Bridgerton, HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and Disney+’s WandaVision.

The stamp is intended as a mark of distinction for projects that have demonstrated success in gender-balanced film and TV productions that hire female-identifying people in four out of eight critical areas of production: writer, director, producer, lead, co-lead, speaking parts, department heads, and crew. Additional points are awarded to content that features women of color in key positions.

“The significant increase in Stamped TV content tells us that we are beginning to see the impact of years of advocacy for more equitable hiring in Hollywood,” said Andria Wilson Mirza, Director, ReFrame. “These Stamped shows not only entertained, inspired, and united...

Paul Verhoeven makes movies as if controversy keeps him warm at night. In 1980 he made “Spetters” (Dutch for “Babes”), which has been described as “the sexually explicit answer to ‘Grease,'” complete with depictions of sexual sadism. Verhoeven said it inspired his native Holland to create NASA — the National Anti-Spetters Association — and to cut off his funding. That led to a move to Hollywood, where he made films like “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls.” More recently he’s favored France, which allows him more freedom to pursue racy subject matter without worrying about what he calls America’s “Puritan” attitudes about sex.

Cannes debut “Benedetta” is his latest provocation, a true story about 17th-century Italian lesbian nuns who were punished for their sins by the patriarchal Catholic Church. This intense religious drama has echoes of Verhoeven’s 1985 Orion Pictures flop “Flesh and Blood,” a historical romance starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh...

Paul Verhoeven makes movies as if controversy keeps him warm at night. In 1980 he made “Spetters” (Dutch for “Babes”), which has been described as “the sexually explicit answer to ‘Grease,'” complete with depictions of sexual sadism. Verhoeven said it inspired his native Holland to create NASA — the National Anti-Spetters Association — and to cut off his funding. That led to a move to Hollywood, where he made films like “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls.” More recently he’s favored France, which allows him more freedom to pursue racy subject matter without worrying about what he calls America’s “Puritan” attitudes about sex.

Cannes debut “Benedetta” is his latest provocation, a true story about 17th-century Italian lesbian nuns who were punished for their sins by the patriarchal Catholic Church. This intense religious drama has echoes of Verhoeven’s 1985 Orion Pictures flop “Flesh and Blood,” a historical romance starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh...

Paul Verhoeven has made a career out of pushing cinematic boundaries, particularly when it comes to depicting sex or violence on screen.

In films like “Basic Instinct” and “Showgirls,” he battled the ratings boards, while blockbusters like “Total Recall” and “Robocop” popularized R-rated action. All that changed in the aughts, as Hollywood abandoned those projects, sanded down the edges of commercial movies, and replaced ice-pick wielding serial killers with caped superheroes that appeal to a-all-four quadrants. But Verhoeven endured, turning his attention to European films such as “The Black Book” and “Elle” and earning the critical respect that often evaded him in the 1990s. He’s back in Cannes this year with “Benedetta,” the story of a lesbian affair between nuns in 17th century Italy. The film will be released in the U.S. by IFC Films.

Why did you want to make “Benedetta”?

You don’t know why you...

Taking part in this year's Comic-Con@Home? You won't want to miss AMC's killer lineup of panels, including The Walking Dead, Creepshow, V/H/S/94 and much more!

New York, NY – July 7, 2021 – AMC Networks announced today its extensive lineup of panels at this year’s Comic-Con@Home, which runs from July 23 to July 25, including The Walking Dead, Fear the Walking Dead, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Ultra City Smiths, Doctor Who, Creepshow, and anthologies Slasher: Flesh & Blood, Horror Noire and V/H/S/94. AMC Networks’ panels from Comic-Con@Home will be available on AMC+ the day after the Comic-Con debut.

Panel details below (in chronological order):

V/H/S/94

Panel Time: Friday, July 23 at 1:00 Pm Pt

The Shudder Original Film V/H/S/94 marks the return of the infamous “found footage” anthology. Moderated by Richard Newby of Fangoria and The Hollywood Reporter, the panel will feature co-creator Brad Miska,...

Update 7:42Am, after Previous Exclusive: AMC has made official what we told you earlier: The Walking Dead and its standalone series The Walking Dead: World Beyond and Fear the Walking Dead will be at virtual Comic-Con over July 23-25. Below is AMC’s schedule which includes V/H/S/94, Slasher: Flesh & Blood, Ultra City Smiths, Creepshow, Horror Noir and Doctor Who. All AMC Networks panels will be available on AMC+ the day after their Comic-Con@Home debut.

V/H/S/94

Panel Time: Friday, July 23 at 1:00 Pm Pt

The Shudder Original Film V/H/S/94 marks the return of the infamous “found footage” anthology and this panel will feature co-creator Brad Miska, producer Josh Goldbloom and segment directors Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto, Jennifer Reeder, Ryan Prows and Chloe Okuno. The fourth installment in the horror V/H/S anthology franchise debuts this fall on Shudder. In V/H...

Britbox is the exclusive home of ITV's Isolation Stories, and we have an exclusive look at the first of four episodes, all of which drop tomorrow, June 23.

If you've wondered what the future of television could look like after the world suffered together for the first six months of the year, Isolation Stories is a great place to start.

Leave it to the British to come up with an emotionally charged look at lockdown and its impact.

If we're to believe statements such as "things will never be the same until we have a vaccine," then you know we're in for a long haul with this virus.

That means that we could be subjected to even more quarantine's in the future. As viruses grow and change, the stage has now been set to respond quickly, urgently, and in a way that impacts the business community, sure, but can really wreak havoc with individuals.

Joseph Baxter Jul 24, 2019

The inimitable Rutger Hauer has died at 75, leaving behind a prolific legacy in film and television.

“I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die.”

Rutger Hauer passed away this past Friday, July 19, at the age of the age of 75, having succumbed to a short illness. The news was revealed today by the actor’s agent, Steve Kennis. However, unlike the unforgettable soliloquy – quoted above – that he delivered in 1982’s Blade Runner, his moments will not be lost in time.

Indeed, the ever-emotive and versatile Dutch actor, Hauer, whose funeral was held today, leaves behind a breadth of work in the realms of film and television, spanning back to his first onscreen role, in the 1969 medieval television series,...

Rutger Hauer, the Dutch actor best known for portraying the tragic villain Roy Batty in Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” died following a short illness. He was 75.

His website, the Rutger Hauer Starfish Association, announced the news Wednesday. Hauer’s managers, as well as his agent Steve Kenis, also confirmed his passing to TheWrap and added that a funeral was held for Hauer on Wednesday morning.

Hauer starred opposite Harrison Ford as the ruthless replicant Roy Batty in “Blade Runner” in 1982 after making his American film debut in 1981 with Sylvester Stallone in “Nighthawks.” The actor subsequently appeared in several ’80s action and adventure hits like “Ladyhawke,” “Flesh+Blood,” “The Hitcher” and “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” He also won a Golden Globe for his work in the TV movie “Escape from Sobibor,” about a commandant at a death camp in World War II.

Also Read: Terry Rawlings, British Film Editor of 'Alien,...

Just in time for Valentine’s day, Amazon Prime Video is bringing in a haul of Prime Originals — seven to be exact. For those who air on the cynical side this V-day, check out the twisted love story that led to “Lorena,” which details the story of Lorena Bobbitt, the woman who cut off her husband’s penis after enduring years of abuse. And if after watching that you remain a fan of crime and murder stories, another Prime Original to watch is “Agatha Christie Presents: ABC Murders.”

True romantics can try a rom-com like “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Along Came Polly,” or “Barefoot.” For fans of old black-and-white movies, Prime has several in store. Silent film enthusiasts will rejoice at Cecil B. DeMille’s “A Romance of the Redwoods” from 1917, as well as 1919’s “A Romance of Happy Valley,” and 1937’s “23 1/2 Hours Leave.” There are a lot more...

Hulu has confirmed that several of its original series will be debuting new episodes on the streaming service in July, including the first season of the highly anticipated Stephen King thriller “Castle Rock” as well as season 2 of the costume drama “Harlots” and season 4 of the comedy “Casual.”

And there will also be new to Hulu seasons of some of your favorites from other networks, including season 2 of “The Strain,” season 4 of “The Vikings” and season 8 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Likewise, there will be plenty of movies making their first Hulu appearances including the first five films in the “Star Trek” franchise and the Oscar-winning “Rosemary’s Baby.”

See Netflix schedule: Here’s what is coming and leaving in July

Available July 1: TV

Alaska: The Last Frontier: Complete Season 4 (Discovery)

Deadliest Catch: Complete Season 11 (Discovery)

Deadly Women: Complete Season 6 (ID)

Dual Survival: Complete Season 5 (Discovery)

Elementary: Complete Season...