tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post7455528979198283466..comments2024-03-15T04:08:16.172-04:00Comments on Only the Cinema: Flesh + BloodEd Howardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-56437374549292963362009-07-23T14:22:52.789-04:002009-07-23T14:22:52.789-04:00Bill, no worries at all -- in fact, I'm glad y...Bill, no worries at all -- in fact, I'm glad you've come by to debate this. Disagreement and alternate perspectives are always welcome. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm being combative in response, I'm just laying out my own outlook on Verhoeven.Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-12291077440565042982009-07-23T13:17:16.245-04:002009-07-23T13:17:16.245-04:00Ed, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm coming ...Ed, I'm sorry if it seems like I'm coming after you. I don't mean to. I just don't the love so many people have for Verhoeven.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-74114896421006323912009-07-23T13:08:17.697-04:002009-07-23T13:08:17.697-04:00You're right that in most ways Cronenberg and ...You're right that in most ways Cronenberg and Verhoeven are very different. And few directors have the intelligence of Cronenberg, so I wouldn't really hold that against any other director by comparison.<br /><br />Anyway, I don't necessarily think you're wrong about Verhoeven. He's very blunt, he always lays out his agenda in obvious ways, and his films occasionally (or oftenEd Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-18627039148743596062009-07-23T12:51:12.210-04:002009-07-23T12:51:12.210-04:00Ed, when I say people let things slide with Verhoe...Ed, when I say people let things slide with Verhoeven, I mean the clumsiness, or the stuff that just doesn't work, but it gets a pass because Verhoeven is over the top, which seems to cover a lot of sins for some people.<br /><br />Cronenberg can certainly be over the top, but it's always so organic, which I don't always feel is the case with Verhoeven. Also, with Cronenberg, there bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-18644655452611970872009-07-23T12:31:03.215-04:002009-07-23T12:31:03.215-04:00Well, of course it's ridiculous. It's deli...Well, of course it's ridiculous. It's deliberately over-the-top and just wallows in the combination of sensuality and horror. As for letting Verhoeven get away with it, well, I honestly can't think of another filmmaker who even does this kind of stuff. Verhoeven's work sometimes gives me a similar feeling to the sensual and gory excesses of Cronenberg's early horror films, or Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-17184747090113775682009-07-23T11:17:18.142-04:002009-07-23T11:17:18.142-04:00I just bought this, because it was five dollars (s...I just bought this, because it was five dollars (so was, by the way, the 2-dis, five-hour cut of <b>1900</b>!!). I didn't like it when I saw it a couple of years ago, but it's not as though I thought it was boring. Just kind of...ridiculous.<br /><br />I honestly feel like people give Verhoeven a pass for things they'd never let by from another filmmaker.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-79886464017441260852009-07-23T10:13:22.508-04:002009-07-23T10:13:22.508-04:00Good point, Mark. Verhoeven's films are always...Good point, Mark. Verhoeven's films are always a little uncomfortable to watch, they very directly confront the viewer with lurid, wildly sensual images. Part of it is that he's usually working in familiar genres but goes so much further than what we've come to expect from those genres. We don't expect a historical epic to be so up-front about the filth and degradation of the era;Ed Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18014222247676090467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3296479421292377391.post-37299790864980362202009-07-22T19:59:27.538-04:002009-07-22T19:59:27.538-04:00Good post -- this movie was pretty powerful to me ...Good post -- this movie was pretty powerful to me as a teenager. It was like a cinematic car crash -- I felt a little guilty and embarrassed watching, bit I couldn't look away. I've always considered that Verhoeven's great gift.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07715057178983752370noreply@blogger.com