Stars: Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbe, Peter Faber, Derek De Lint

Director: Paul Verhoeven

Summary: A group of six university students find themselves drawn into World War II after the Nazis invade Holland.

A gripping World War II tale about the Nazi invasion of Holland and its effects upon six wealthy, boisterous college students, SOLDIER OF ORANGE brought director Paul Verhoeven international acclaim. The film focuses on two of the friends, Erik and Gus. Erik escapes to England, and (against his inclinations), joins a resistance group, and eventually becomes an assistant to the Dutch Queen. Gus, too, leaves Holland and joins a resistance group, but when he murders his friend Bobby -- who has become a Nazi spy -- the Germans exact an unkind revenge upon him. Perhaps the most perplexing of the six men is Jacques, who stays in Holland and continues his studies, unimpeded and uncaring about the war and the Nazi takeover. Based on the true story of Erik Hazelhoff.

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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

Main Language:	Dutch
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Interactive menu
Year:	1978
Release Date:	April 30, 2007
Runtime:	147 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	T V D 3766
Keywords:	Orange, War, Soldier, Run, Subtitled, Wide, Screen, Dutch, Survival
Genre:	War