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Soldier Of Orange [DVD]

Rutger Hauer , Jeroen Krabbé , Paul Verhoeven    Suitable for 15 years and over   DVD
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, Susan Penhaligon, Edward Fox, Lex van Delden
  • Directors: Paul Verhoeven
  • Writers: Paul Verhoeven, Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, Gerard Soeteman, Kees Holierhoek
  • Producers: Rob Houwer
  • Format: PAL
  • Language: Dutch, English, German
  • Subtitles: English
  • Region: All Regions
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 15
  • Studio: Tartan
  • DVD Release Date: 27 May 2002
  • Run Time: 149 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000649JF
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 101,081 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

From Amazon.co.uk

Based on real events, Soldier of Orange tells the story of Dutchman Erik Lanshof (a star-making performance by Rutger Hauer) and a small group of students as they struggle to survive the Nazi occupation to the end of the Second World War. The destinies of the characters range from joining the German army to making for England, the OSS and the Resistance. Across a canvas lasting almost three hours director Paul Verhoeven unfolds a saga of friendship, espionage and romance with almost documentary realism--though not as graphically violent as his later American films the torture scenes are intense--crafting a deeply affecting film widely regarded as the greatest ever made in Holland. Comparable recent films such as Enigma (2001) and Charlotte Gray (2002) do not come close. Hauer is brilliant at the heart of what is a detailed and thoughtful drama made with integrity and passion. Co-star Jeroen Krabbé has gone onto a notable career in Hollywood, while Edward Fox and Susan Penhaligon provide more familiar faces for British audiences. The film is shot in Dutch, German and English and subtitled as necessary. Twenty years later Verhoeven made Starship Troopers in 1997, a satirical science-fiction companion to this modern European classic.--Gary S Dalkin

Product Description

Director Paul Verhoeven's acclaimed WWII epic. Erik (Rutger Hauer), Alex (Derek de Lint), Gus (Jeroen Krabbe) and their friends are all students at a Dutch university in the late 1930s. When the Nazi occupation begins, the members of the group all respond in different ways, with some joining the ranks of the German army, others fighting for the resistance, some escaping to England and still others falling victim to collaboration or Nazi torture. The film, based on the autobiographical novel by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, follows the diverging adventures of the friends throughout the war, from the beginning of the occupation all the way through to the liberation.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best dutch movie made. 18 Jan 2005
Format:DVD
As a dutch man I have seen this great movie several times. It's what has been mentioned in one of the previous reviews: Dutch cultural heritage. Finally I have bought this movie on DVD now from Amazon. I have tried to buy the DVD in The Netherlands which to my knowledge is impossible at the moment. Probably sold out. Anyways, the movie: for a low-budget movie making country, this is an unusual movie which falls in the category 'great 2nd world war epics' and is to be compared with movies like 'A Bridge too far'. One of the remarkable parts about this movie is that it is showing the thin line between being one of the 'good guys' and one of the 'bad guys' which you did not see that often in those days. One of the negative aspects for non-dutch people whatching this movie is that some scenes might not be fully understandable, because it is 'typically dutch' and not explained to the viewer in any way. I hope the sequel will be made.
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60 of 62 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars By far the best Paul Verhoeven film I've seen 14 May 2007
Format:DVD
Despite being made in the 1970s, before he became famous, this is by far the best Paul Verhoeven film I have ever seen. Based on an autobiographical account, it chronicles the fate of six Leiden University students (one of them Jewish, one of them half-German) after the Germans invade, concentrating on the experiences of Rutger Hauer's character, who eventually becomes an ADC to Queen Wilhelmina. A lot of Verhoeven's concerns in other films are evident here, notable unpleasant violence, betrayal within the Resistance (not surprisingly given the Dutch experience - if I remember rightly much of the Resistance was compromised by German intelligence fairly early on) and women getting their tops off, but unlike 'Black Book' the story is relatively plausible and, like 'Black Book', the period atmosphere is, barring a few errors, pretty good.

British viewers will be glad to know that a significant part of the middle of the film is in English (with Edward Fox and Susan Penhaligon as a British and his ATS aide), and that the subtitling is, apart from one whopping great mistake, decent.

One of the better war films of the 1970s, I heartily recommend this film to anyone interested in the war, Holland or the careers of Verhoeven or Hauer.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Defintely thoughtful 13 April 2006
Format:DVD
This is no war film in the conventional sense of guns blazing and blood spurting, and its distance from the conventions of Hollywood are what mark it out and also what make it a likely favorite of only those who appreciate a 'thoughtful' film; because it certainly is that.

Instead of polarising clear villains from self-righteous heroes, Soldier of Orange plays up the messy, real-life decisions that were forced on occupied countries during WW2. These were decisions taken during the mundane, tedious and unglamorous struggle that characterised life under occupation so that the cowardice and stupidity of the hero is presented just as much as the self-sacrificing logic of the villain. Hauer plays the hero, but some of his self-aggrandising acts are far from heroic and his early naivity, while understandable, seems ridiculous in retrospect. Meanwhile the traitor of the story is lured into betrayal for the noblest of motives; loyalty (to his partner, rather than his comrades).

This is warfare at the real-life scale of reality and the Dutch population come out of it looking good. Compare and contrast with "The Sorrow and the Pity".

It is thoughtful and thought-provoking. You are forced to realise how unworldly the general population was before Nazi horrors taught so much cynicism; how gradually and insidiously the power of the occupation took people's minds after it had taken their nation. You realise how heroes are reduced to idiots if they cannot comport themselves in front of their Queen. It's a thoughtful film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Soldaat van Oranje AKA Survival Run
I saw this movie years ago and always wanted to see it again. It would have to be one of Paul Verhoeven's best movies. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Sheumais
2.0 out of 5 stars Sadly it is dull.
I watched this for the first time recently, and Sandmans review from 2008 has nailed it it my opinion. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2010 by R. F. Hilton
4.0 out of 5 stars Verhoeven's first big hit.......
..........Soldaat Van Oranje is an intense and realistic portrait of the conflict, torn between Holland and Britain, where the characters take refuge, or at least some of... Read more
Published on 10 Aug 2010 by Massimo Santilli
4.0 out of 5 stars still better than the Black Book
I had read a report about this film and was rather disappointed feeling that it would be difficult to order it. But then I succeded thanks to Amazon and I am really happy. Read more
Published on 24 May 2010 by Carlo Scarafiotti
4.0 out of 5 stars A good war film.
Although this film is old I found it to be a very good film.
I must admit I am a fan of Dutch, German and French war films. Read more
Published on 13 April 2010 by I. Kent
5.0 out of 5 stars gripping story
A fantastic film, which grips you from beginning to end. Excellent actors like Rutger Hauer and Jeroen Krabbe give a very realistic performance to show a small part of the war in... Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2009 by hellan21
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit dull
Im a Verhoeven and Rutger fan, and a WW2 film fan also, so really wanted to like this film. However it is suprisingly lacking in tension or decent action scenes. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2008 by Sandman
4.0 out of 5 stars Unforgettable
I found this film utterly absorbing and very moving. I would rate it as one of the best war films I have seen. Read more
Published on 28 May 2008 by Mrs. M. M. Haworth
3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Messages
This is an odd film, very much of its era, a number of chums at university in the Netherlands go down many different paths over the years of the war. Read more
Published on 25 May 2008 by Charles Vasey
5.0 out of 5 stars Great War Movie
I first heard about this movie 30 years ago but only managed to see it yesterday.
I was stunned by it (ignore the negative reviews - they obviously missed the whole point of... Read more
Published on 5 April 2008 by ray dorrity
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