To most of us, Paul Verhoeven’s name became known when he moved from Holland to Hollywood and directed films such as Robocop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, Starship Troopers and Hollow Man. Verhoeven directed his first film, Eeen Hagedis Teveel, in 1960, and also directed Floris, one of the most popular TV series in Holland.
The Dutch film industry is perhaps best known historically for its documentaries – it is a small market that mainly relies upon state funded ventures. In 2004, there were 24 domestic feature films released in the Netherlands and Dutch films received 9.2% of the home market share, with films from the US dominating at around 78%. Verhoeven’s Dutch films Business Is Business (Wat zien ik?, 1971), Turkish Delight (Turks Fruit, 1973), Katie Tippel (Keetje Tippel, 1975), Soldier of Orange (Soldaat van Oranje, 1977) and Spetters (1980) were all Dutch box-office hits and remain in the top-twenty most successful Dutch films ever. International attention for Turkish Delight and Soldier of Orange led to Verhoeven’s move to Hollywood.