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Flesh + Blood AKA The Rose And The Sword
R1 - America - MGM Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (14th April 2004). |
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The Film
 Released in 1985 under the Orion banner, this film didn’t make a big dent in the box office. Although it was forgotten by most, Paul Verhoeven’s first English language film contains all that you can expect from the man that brought you Robocop, Starship Troopers and of course Showgirls. On-screen violence, blind faith, nudity, cruelty, blood, more nudity, a graphic rape, more nudity and yet more violence, and somewhere in all that is a story. Martin (Rutger Hauer) and his band of medieval mercenaries are double-crossed by a noble lord, in seeking revenge they attack and highjack a royal convoy with it transporting the maiden Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh) whose hand is promised to wed the lord’s son Steven (Tom Burlinson). Agnes is discovered, raped and within ten minutes of the rape is suddenly a full-fledged member of the group. Of course what Verhoeven film wouldn’t be complete with some sort of satire disguised as narrative plot points? This one is no exception, the group follow what they think is a possessed statue of St. Martin to guide them. Which leads them to a castle that they claim to be theirs and are stowed in until Steven and his armies come to the rescue of the kidnapped maiden…blah, blah, blah it’s a fairly standard plot or kidnapping and revenge thrown into medieval times, I could go on and on about what happens but let’s face it would be too boring wouldn’t you rather just watch the film? The film itself is far from boring, in fact it’s quite entertaining, the film features some good performances, incredible production design and let’s face it the film looks good (thanks to the eye of cinematographer Jan De Bont, let’s face it he shoots film better than directs) However, Verhoeven’s over the top take on the period is often ridiculous and lacks sense of humour which is what makes his later films so enjoyable despite the obvious violence such as Robocop. This film takes itself too seriously. MGM have included the uncut International version of the film on this DVD release in all it’s 2 hours and 8 minutes of glory. All the footage once removed for the domestic US release are included here which is mainly made up of nude scenes, a sex scene and surprise the Agnes rape scene.
Video
Presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 this anamorphic transfer is not the best. Personally I find it lacking definition, but for a film made in 1985 this is a passable transfer. Although it’s tiny flaw it’s still the best presentation of the film to date.
Audio
This film could have benefited from a full 5.1 soundtrack but sadly all we get is an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround track, which is at best adequate. The dialogue is clear and distortion free, there are no obvious sound flaws and the majority of sound comes from the centre, Front left and Right speakers there is very little activity in the rear speakers. The film is also subtitled in English, French and Spanish.
Extras
Not entirely a special edition but we do get some decent extras, the first on the list is a full length audio commentary by the director Paul Verhoeven, if you’ve heard a Verhoeven commentary before then you know what you might expect, fast talking, easily excited and sometimes obnoxious. The commentary is very informative and interesting his commentary ranges from the parts cut out of the original theatrical version to basing this film on true historical events. You will definatly not be bored with this commentary, it's extremely fun to listen to Verhoeven babble on and on. The second extra is a featurette entitled “Composing Flesh + Blood” which is an interview with the composer Basil Poledoris, he comments about his work on Conan and that’s what got him the job on Flesh + Blood. The music on this film is average at best most of the time it does sound like musical outtakes from Conan, but it does the job. Finally we get a Theatrical trailer.
Overall
Overall MGM’s DVD is ok, a nice transfer with average sound and some decent extras, the only thing I could have asked for was 5.1 sound, but for under $10 (USD) at most online stores you can’t really ask for more, I would not recommend this release as a blind purchase, however Verhoeven fans should pick this up mainly as a curiosity piece.
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