Flesh and Blood

Completely un-historical, the plot is idiotic, the twists are irrational, the costumes fit for beggars but have zero semblance to the colorful garments that were worn by the highly paid landsknechts, the “marriage engagement conundrum” and dialogues are full of ignorance of the epoc, the battle scenes are a complete garbage, the plague scene is silly, and the armor has been designed by someone who has never seen a late 15th century warriors, nor read any historical books beyond high-school. Totally irrational on every level! I mean, how much would it cost to hire a historical consultant?! For example, John Hawkwood, who is acting as a captain of the band in this movie, a famous english mercenary, participant of the 100 year war, died in 1394, about 105 year before the movie timeline, and he is as close as the movie comes to historical reality. Enough said!It seems that the movie was shot with a single purpose of shocking the audience. The grotesque rape and sex scenes could have been done anywhere, anytime - in a space colony, on a pirate ship, on the street of New York in an old good gangster movie, etc.. Paul Verhoeven simply decided to decorate his erotic scenes in the drapery of the 16th century. And the drapery stinks to high-heaven, more so than the stench from the hanged corpses under which the the mandrake root was consumed.Total garbage!

I only gave it 2 stars - one for Rutger Hauer of whom I'm a fan and one for Jennifer Jason Leigh, who gave a stellar performance with a lousy script. There is nudity and more nudity, and a gang rape scene with nudity. At the start of the movie, you feel for the Martin's band of outlaws because they have been wronged, but then their quick decay of no morals, no manners, and no goals to improve themselves though they end up taking over a castle - which they trash and fight over so they can live among filth just mirrors the decline of most of the protests that have declined to trashing and looting cities in 2020 -what life will be like if Bid*n and the D@ms win in N#vember. This movie was all over the place - Monty Python meets Rob Roy. The depravity of Martin's gang leaves the viewer with no hero to root for, NO ONE - except maybe for Steven to just leave everyone and start a science lab, which you know is not going to happen. Not for family viewing.

Paul Verhoeven ably directs this gritty, at times unpleasant, but rarely dull Renaissance adventure film, filled with all the familiar tropes--siege warfare, pillaging, gallows, convent brides, drinking, religious fanatics, bubonic plague--with a Basil Poledouris score thrown in. It's like Conan the Barbarian crossed with The Seventh Seal crossed with Edgar Allan Poe crossed with The Searchers. Not everything perfectly fits or is believable, but the story and characters are compelling, and I think the audience isn't always sure whom to root for. What a bunch of awful and desperate and sad, brave and vile and pitiable people.

The plot was odd and just plain unbelievable. At least try to apply some conceivable story or else make it a pure fantasy film. I didn't like how unbelievable most of the twists are. Spoiler alert: If you are going to use bubonic plague as a scapegoat for killing off characters, at least make it believable. They drink "plague infected" water and start developing symptoms in minutes. You're kidding right? Symptoms develop in DAYS not minutes! Furthermore, the romantic pledge of love in the beginning with the corpses hanging above them was truly funny. The stench of rotting corpse would have made even the strongest of stomachs wretch, and there they are, kissing like it's no big deal. I would have believed it more if they were under some hanging skeletons, but freshly rotting corpses? PLEASE. The rape scene was so stupid and weird. In fact, the whole movie was just plain stupid and weird. The only plus was that the three main leads were descent actors, but in all honesty, the directing, the script, and the effects were awful. Don't waste your time.

This is a review of the Blu Ray/DVD version. It is uncensored. The picture quality is stunning the story good.I can play the DVD but I get a message about the Blu Ray being a different region than my player. I bought a "SONY BDP-S6500 2K/4K UPSCALING 2D/3D BUILT-IN WI-FI REGION FREE 0-8 AND ALL ZONE A,B,C BLURAY PLAYER WITH WORLDWIDE USE AND COME WITH FREE HDMI CABLE. " from Amazon in 2015. Seems to me it ought to play the Blu Ray, too.Does the seller want to explain what I'm missing here?

This presents itself as a very gritty story about a band of mercenaries in the very early 16th century.But it includes fantasy elements, involving a mandrake and, if the plague is the Black Death, how it is spread.Apparently, somebody decided that what the world needed was a gritty story of how things really were way back then.They were wrong. But it was well done, at least. And you do get to see some naked ladies. Still, all in all, not really worth the time.

One thing you can say about Dutch film-maker Paul Verhoeven is that he tackles a lot of varied subjects. From the saucy titillation of ‘Showgirls’, to the camp sci-fi of ‘Starship Troopers’, and on to the solid WW2 resistance drama, ‘Black Book’, you could never accuse him of being stuck in a style, or genre.This epic production from thirty years ago stars Verhoeven regular Rutger Hauer, alongside a 23 year-old Jennifer Jason-Leigh. There is also the Australian stalwart Jack Thompson, and a crop of British and American character actors, including the wonderful Ronald Lacey, and gangster-film star Bruno Kirby. Cast-wise, he got the whole planet covered with this one. If you like historical sagas, castle sieges, and some of the flesh and blood mentioned in the title, then this one is for you.The scene is somewhere in Europe, circa 1500. A local lord has employed a mercenary group to help his army get his castle and lands back. The film goes straight into the action, as Hauer and his group assault the castle, spurred on by the promise of looting and pillage for a clear twenty-four hours. They succeed in capturing the place, but find themselves betrayed by their employer, and driven out by his main army. Hiding out, Martin (Hauer) and his band manage to capture the daughter of the same lord. (Jason-Leigh) He soon seduces (well, rapes) her, and not long after that, he falls in love with her too.Later, this disparate band arrive at another castle, which they quickly capture, to use as a hideout and a base. But they are unaware that those inside already have the plague, (The Black Death) and not long after, Agnes’ (Jason-Leigh) betrothed lover, Steven, arrives with an army to rescue her. More battles ensue, and neither side can get the upper hand, as their soldiers succumb to the plague all around. Eventually, the castle catches fire, and the mercenaries that are still alive are forced to flee, leaving Steven and Agnes reunited at last.The story hardly matters, and knowing the outcome won’t spoil your enjoyment of this rip-roaring Renaissance romp. It’s got the lot. Tough men, hard fighting, siege towers, explosions, rape and pillage, nudity, plague deaths, and double-dealing a-plenty. Very enjoyable, if dated now, and as few films are made about this turbulent period in European history, somewhat unique in the genre. I can really only think of the superior, ‘The Last Valley’, or the simply wonderful ‘Captain Alatriste’, both of which are set at least one hundred years later. Here’s a trailer.

At 2 hours and 7 minutes this new DVD is 5 minutes longer than the MGM version in region 2. Unlike some other movies heavily cut there is no on screen look at scenes side by side in the extra's. All Paul's films could be called Flesh & Blood (parts 1 to whatever). But in these times only the flesh may be contentious as the blood is quite tame after T.V.series of Spartacus/Game of Thrones etc awash with c.g.i.blood.This film was a fairly low budget so all effects were done on set.Does it stand up over 30 years later ? For me it does,great actors,director of photography,music score and plot. Extra's include an audio commentary by Paul,that may give you a headache as he rattles along a quite a pace,trying to tell everything about the making of and the actors.2 documentaries at over an hour in total one from 2016 an overview of his career,the other just about this film. 3 other interviews run less than an hour in total,2 about the film,the other an audio interview with Rutger Hauer(over the phone) about his career at that time. Still an excellent edition of this movie if you are a fan of Paul Verhoeven's films.

I love this film and to me it's one of Rutger Hauer's best films. This is let down by the poor picture quality and grainy appearance through some parts of the film. It's still a great middle ages fantasy film. Alongside Rutger Hauer you have a great performance from Jennifer Jason Leigh and a good supporting cast.

Another great title from Eureka!Presented uncut and with slipcase, booklet, blu ray and dvd copies of the filmPicture quality is descent but not outstanding. Still miles above the old MGM dvd releaseI highly recommend this release of the classic.

"EUREKA" edition is GREAT! The item came really fast, in perfect condition.Everything is as described. The story is great - real classic medieval adventure,picture quality is perfect.100 % entertainment.The price is cheap, but that's hard-to-find title so, don't hesitate - BUY IT NOW!