Paul Verhoeven is a successful director, producer, and screenwriter. He was born in Amsterdam on July 18, 1938, and grew up in The Hague. Although he studied for a degree in maths and physics, he opted instead to embark on a career in the film industry. During the 1960s he made several smaller films. In 1971, he released his first feature film, ‘Business is Business’. This award-winning director has gone on to direct many well-known and successful films.
Here are our picks for the five top movies directed by Paul Verhoeven.
1. Robocop
‘Robocop’ is a superhero action film that was released in 1987. It was written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. It starred Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith, Ronny Cox, Dan O’Herlihy, and Miguel Ferrer. The movie is set in the future and is about a cop who is terminally injured but returns to the force as a cyborg. It was a commercial success as it grossed $53.4 million from a budget of $13 million. The success of the movie inspired two sequels, a television series, video games, and two animated series. A remake of the movie was released on February 12, 2014. Verhoeven won a Saturn Award for Best Director for this movie.
2. Basic Instinct
This neo-noir erotic thriller was written by Joe Eszterhas and was released in 1992. The movie starred Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone in the lead roles with other cast members including George Dzundza and Jeanna Tripplehorn. It is about a detective investigating a murder who then becomes involved in an intense sexual relationship with the prime suspect. The movie was massively successful commercially as from a budget of $49 million it grossed $352.9 million at the worldwide box office. In 2006, the sequel ‘Basic Instinct 2′ was released. This also starred Sharon Stone but this was not as successful as the original. Verhoeven was nominated for a Saturn Award for this movie.
3. Total Recall
Paul Verhoeven was once again nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Director for this 1990 science-fiction action film. Starring in the movie were Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Ticotin, Ronny Cox, Sharon Stone, and Michael Ironside. It is estimated that this film had a budget of between $50-65 million and this made it one of the biggest budget films of the time. Despite this, it was both critically and commercially successful and grossed $261 million at the box office. A remake of the film was released in 2012.
4. Starship Troopers
‘Starship Troopers’ is a military science-fiction action movie that was written by Edward Neumeier and was released in 1997. It is about a young soldier and his exploits in a futuristic military unit. It grossed $121.2 million at the worldwide box office. Starring in this movie were Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Dina Meyer, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jake Busey. Due to its success, there are four sequels to this movie.
5. Elle
‘Elle’ is Paul Verhoeven’s latest movie as it was released in 2016. The screenplay for this psychological thriller was written by David Birke and is based on ‘Oh…..’, a novel by Philippe Djian. It is about a woman who is raped in her home but chooses not to report the attack to the police. It received great critical acclaim following its release at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Isabelle Huppert plays the lead female character with other cast members including Laurent Lafitte, Anne Consigny, Virginie Efira, Charles Berling, and Judith Magre.
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