Flesh + Blood Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Flesh + Blood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 31, 2018

Paul Verhoeven's "Flesh + Blood" (1985) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer; Elisabeth van Zijill Langhout's documentary "verhoeven Versus Verhoeven"; archival featurettes; audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Fun times

Europe, 1510. Ruthless warrior Martin (Rutger Hauer, Turkish Delight, Split Second) and his band of mercenaries reclaim the castle of an ousted lord. When they begin looting the place, the despot who hired them, another lord named Arnolfini (Fernando Hilbeck, Let Sleeping Corpses Lie), orders his commander, Hawkwood (Jack Thompson, The Sum of Us, Original Sin), to disarm and force them out of the castle without paying them. At the castle's main gate, Martin vows to punish Arnolfini.

Soon after, Martin and his warriors attack a few of Arnolfini's wagons and kidnap the beautiful princess Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Single White Female, Rush), who has agreed to marry Arnolfini's fearless son, Steven (Tom Burlinson, The Man From Snowy River). After he rapes Agnes, Martin decides to keep her for himself.

Meanwhile, Arnolfini's outraged son and some of Hawkwood's best men begin looking for Martin and his band. Before they discover them in a castle whose former inhabitants have been executed, Hawkwood is infected with the "Black Death" plague.

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven's first English-language film Flesh + Blood is a dark and unusually explicit period tale with two different identities. The censored U.S. version of the film misses plenty from the graphic sex scenes (including key footage from the prolonged rape scene). The uncensored version, which is the one included on this release, retains all of the footage that was initially shot by the Dutch director. On paper the cuts appear rather small, but their omission dramatically alters Verhoeven's vision.

The uncensored film is about a time of despair -- sex, murder, and religion are used to manipulate and control, to gain power and rule the naive. In this dangerous time, however, Verhoeven also looks for beauty without trying to mask the ugly. The result is a very polarizing film, parts of which frequently look as if they might have been extracted from an unknown Fellini project.

The main protagonists are virtually impossible to like. Throughout the film, Verhoeven intentionally compromises them in ways that force the viewer to focus on the bigger picture rather than on the different conflicts between them. The approach makes it very easy to expose the hypocrisy in what other similarly-themed films typically glorify. (With the cuts introduced in the U.S. version, Flesh + Blood is essentially downgraded to being precisely that kind of a film).

The international cast is very good. Hauer is terrific as the cold-hearted warrior. He frequently smiles and looks straight into the camera but it is never easy to tell what his intentions are. Leigh also leaves a lasting impression as the equally unpredictable princes. The late Brion James and Susan Tyrrell also could not have been any more convincing.

Veroheven and cinematographer Jan de Bont (Die Hard, Speed) shot Flesh + Blood on location in Spain. The working conditions, however, were not the best and many of the actors complained. Hauer, in particular, frequently confronted Verhoeven before the entire cast. Since Flesh + Blood, the two have not worked together.

*In 1985, Flesh + Blood won Best Film and Best Director of a Feature Film Awards at the Nederlands Film Festival.

Flesh + Blood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Paul Verhoeven's Flesh + Blood arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.

The release is sourced from the same remaster that German label Koch Media worked with when it prepared its release of Flesh + Blood in 2013. Unfortunately, this isn't good news. It is an older remaster that has some sort of sharpening applied on it which makes the entire film look quite harsh. Needless to say, grain exposure isn't proper and especially during darker footage there are some obvious issues with shadow definition. In some cases there is also obvious black crush that further exacerbates the main issues that the sharpening has introduced (see screencapture #12). Furthermore, the color grading is unconvincing. While a few of the primaries remain stable, overall balance is definitely off. There are missing nuances, awkward highlights, and in some areas even minor traces of fading. So if the film were to ever get a proper 2K/4K remaster, I can guarantee that you will see a very different, vastly expanded color scheme with entirely new ranges of primaries and supporting nuances. The good news here is that there are no stability issues. Also, there are no large damage marks, cuts, or torn frames, but a few tiny black marks can be spotted. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Flesh + Blood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Clarity, depth, and stability are very good. Also, there are no balance issues to report. Only in the upper register I think that there is a bit of room for improvement as an additional cleanup work would enhance stability even better. There are no audio dropouts to report.

Flesh + Blood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original international Orion Pictures Corporation trailer. Music only. (3 min).

• Composing Flesh + Blood - in this archival featurette, composer Basil Poledouris recalls his initial impressions of Flesh + Blood and specifically the fact that the film does not have conventional 'good' and 'bad' characters and therefore its narrative tolerates plenty of gray material; and explains how he was hired by Paul Verhoeven to score the film; and discusses harmonic structure and identity of the final version of the medieval soundtrack that was used in the film. In English, not subtitled. (14 min).

• Interview with Gerard Soeteman - in this archival featurette, screenwriter Gerard Soeteman discusses the initial idea for Flesh + Blood and the script that it inspired, some of the factual events/stories that are recreated in the film, the violence and its negative impact on the film's distribution history, Jennifer Jason Leigh's bold performance, etc. The featurette was produced by Sadi Kanturk in 2013. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Audio Interview with Rutger Hauer - in this archival interview, actor Rutger Hauer recalls his work on The Hitcher and the impact that Soldier of Orange had on his career, and discusses his desire to as much diverse work as possible (blockbusters/big-budget productions and smaller B-films), the difference between working as an actor and director, his work to raise awareness of AIDS, his special professional relationship with Paul Verhoeven, etc. In English, not subtitled. (24 min).

• Paul Verhoeven in the Flesh - in this archival featurette. director Paul Verhoeven discusses in great detail the conception of Flesh + Blood and the film's production history after Orion's became involved with the project. Also, there are a number of excellent comments about the various changes that were made to the original story, the sex scenes and the final version of the film, which turned out to be substantially different. In English, not subtitled. (23 min).

• Verhoeven Versus Verhoeven - this documentary examines the career and diverse legacy of dierctor Paul Verhoeven. Included in it are clips from new interviews with the director, actors Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher) and Derek de Lint (Soldier of Orange), and biographer Rob van Scheers, amongst others. The documentary was directed by Elisabeth van Zijill Langhout and produced by Michel Rotman and Marie-Helene Ranc for Arte France. In French, Dutch and English, with imposed English subtitles where necessary. (47 min).

• Audio Commentary - this is the arechival audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven that appeared on the old North American DVD release of the Director's Cut of Flesh + Blood. It is a very informative commentary with an incredible amount of factual information about the film's difficult production history, its editing and distribution, and its reception in North America and Europe.

• Booklet - an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film. Available only with the first pressing of the release.

• Case - collectible O-Card slipcase. Available only with the first pressing of the release.

Flesh + Blood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The definitive release of Flesh + Blood most likely will never materialize because no one has been willing to invest in a proper new remaster that accurately reflects the vision of its creator, Paul Verhoeven. Or maybe I am wrong and in a couple of years someone will deliver a fresh remaster that is as healthy and handsome as the one that was recently prepared for Spetters. It is just unfortunate that it did not happen with the arrival of Eureka Entertainment's release, because with the amount of excellent bonus features that are included in it and a proper remaster you could have added up a complete winner to your collections. As things stand at the moment, if you decide to pick up this release it will have to be for the special features.