Paul Verhoeven

Paul Verhoeven (Dutch: [ˈpʌul vərˈɦuvə(n)]; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch filmmaker, who has worked variously in the Netherlands, the United States, and in France. He is known for directing genre films with strong satirical elements, often featuring graphic violence and sexual content. Many of his films are considered provocative, and were controversial when released.

After receiving attention for the TV series Floris in his native Netherlands, Verhoeven's breakthrough film was the romantic drama Turkish Delight (1973), starring frequent collaborator Rutger Hauer, which received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign-Language Film. He later directed successful Dutch films including the period film Keetje Tippel (1975), the World War II film Soldier of Orange (1977), the adolescent drama Spetters (1980) and the Gerard Reve-adapted psychological thriller The Fourth Man (1983).

In 1985, Verhoeven made his first Hollywood film Flesh and Blood and later had a successful career in the United States, directing science fiction films such as RoboCop (1987), Total Recall (1990), Starship Troopers (1997) and Hollow Man (2000), as well as the erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992). He also directed the 1995 film Showgirls, which was critically panned on initial release but has developed a cult following and undergone critical re-evaluation.

Verhoeven later returned to Europe, making the Dutch war film Black Book (2006), French psychological thriller Elle (2016) and the religious drama Benedetta (2021), all receiving positive reviews. Black Book and Elle were both nominated for BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and Elle won Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and César Award for Best Film. Black Book was also voted by the Dutch public, in 2008, as the best Dutch film ever made. Verhoeven's films have received a total of nine Academy Award nominations, mainly for editing and effects.

Paul Verhoeven was born in Amsterdam on 18 July 1938, the son of a schoolteacher, Wim Verhoeven, and a hatmaker, Nel van Schaardenburg. Despite what is sometimes reported, he is not related to German filmmaker Michael Verhoeven, whose father was also named Paul Verhoeven.

In 1943, the family moved to The Hague, the location of the German headquarters in the Netherlands during World War II. The Verhoeven house was near a German military base with V1- and V2-rocket launchers, which was repeatedly bombed by Allied forces. Their neighbours' house was hit and Verhoeven's parents were almost killed when bombs fell on a street crossing. From this period, Verhoeven mentioned in interviews, he remembers images of violence, burning houses, dead bodies on the street, and continuous danger. As a small child, he experienced the war as an exciting adventure, and has compared himself with the character Bill Rowan in Hope and Glory (1987).

Verhoeven's father became headteacher at the Van Heutszschool in The Hague, and Paul attended this school. Sometimes the two watched informative films at home with the school's film projector.

Verhoeven and his father went to see The War of the Worlds (1953) ten times. Verhoeven was a fan of the Dutch comic Dick Bos, a private detective who fights crime using jujutsu. Verhoeven liked comic drawing; he created The Killer, a character in a detailed story of revenge. Other fiction he liked included Frankenstein and the Edgar Rice Burroughs Barsoom series.