Black Book

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Something Like A War

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Anyone seen this? I watched it last night on Film 4 and really enjoyed it. Sure its not the greatest war movie ever made, but its very competent and Paul Verhoeven has certainly matured as a film maker.
 
Yes, I watched it (could've done with it being on a bit earlier!) and enjoyed it a lot. Sebastian Koch was excellent and I was impressed the way the actors could switch between German, Dutch and English so easily.

I could be wrong but I don't recall there being many films made about the Dutch Resistance - it's usually the French - so it was interesting to see a different view of this aspect of WWII. Verhoeven did well to show this subject without romanticising it - and although it was only shown briefly, when the Allies arrived he didn't shy away from showing the punishment for the women who slept with the enemy.

It's on again on Thursday at 10.40 p.m. Film4 if anyone missed it.
 
Wow this is a really recent film isn't it? (I vaguely recall hearing good reviews about it last year). Glad I saw this thread, I'll catch the Thursday showing.
 
its one of my favourite films! really enjoyed it. Subtitltes dont bother me but i know alot of people put off by them which is a shame cos its definately worth seeing.
 
It's an excellent film. I don't know whether it's Paul Verhoven "maturing" so much as going back to his roots. On the DVD interview he implied that he'd regretted doing the sci-fi stuff, especially Hollow Man, when Black Book is really represented the kind of films he wanted to make. I suppose the big budget sci-fi films and Basic Instinct etc. has given him some clout now to do what he really wants to do. He's a great film maker IMO.
 
I just saw this for the first time on Channel 4 last night.

What a great film it was too.:)

For me it was one of those times when you see a film in the TV listings and feel like giving it a chance knowing nothing about it, and then finding out that you've discovered a gem you knew nothing about.

It's got to be one of the most thoroughly enjoyable films which I've seen for the first time in a couple of years. Pan's Labyrinth was probably the last one which made me feel like that.
I'm surprised that it was made by Paul Verhoeven. I found it to be considerably better than any of his other films by a long shot. Really good film.

I was very impressed by Carice van Houten too. What a great actress she was in it. She completely carried this film.

It's definitely a film I'd watch several times. It's quite a long film too, but for me the time just flew by, and you know when a film is really good when you just don't want it to end.
 
I love this film! Its one of my favourite foreign films along with Amelie and Goodbye Lenin!
I've got the DVD of the film, but decided to watch it on channel 4 last night.
I was really surprised that some of the subtitles seemed to be completely different from the DVD. Of course the same meaning came across, but with the subtitles on channel 4, I noticed there was much more swearing e.g.
In the scene where Ellis/Rachel kills the doctor at the end, in the channel 4 showing he shouts 'you c***!' whereas in the DVD subtitles he calls her a 'filthy slut'

I wonder which subtitles are more accurate? It sounRAB like the channel 4 ones were - maybe the language on the DVD was toned down so it was accessible for a wider audience who may have been put off by the amount of swearing?
 
Black Book is certainly a film that has got him back on track, his earlier films in his own country, before all the science fiction, is all his best work, including the new one Black Book. Excellent film!

If you like this sort of female leading film, I recommend the film Female Agents, not Dutch but a French film.
 
I slighlty disagree with this point. Paul Verhoeven has always been an excellent director with regarRAB to films in his native country. It his American ultra-violent blockbuster type films which most people seem to remember though.

Hell, I see UltraViolet made the point far better than I have.
 
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