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Dutch
film director Paul Verhoeven held a PhD in mathematics
and physics, but it was as a filmmaker that he worked
for the Royal Dutch Navy, then for television in his
native land. Starting out with documentaries, Verhoeven
moved into fictional filmmaking with a popular Dutch
TV series before making his first theatrical feature,
Business is Business (1971). Turkish Delights (1973)
was the director's first international success, and
also the earliest example of his expertise in cinematic
eroticism.
Verhoeven's Soldier of Orange (1979), a grim coming-of-age
story set in World War II, became a staple of the more
esoteric moviehouses when it was released in the U.S.
in 1979. With his then-favorite actor Rutger Hauer,
Verhoeven furthered his reputation with erotic, violence-laden
adolescent fantasy Spetters (1980). The director's first
English-language film was Flesh and Blood (1985), a
16th-century adventure film retitled The Sword and the
Rose on videocassette. Verhoeven's first box-office
bonanza was Robocop (1986). Sharon Stone, a supporting
actress in Total Recall, starred in Verhoeven's most
notorious film, Basic Instinct (1992).
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