Spetters

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MichaelB
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Spetters

#1 Post by MichaelB » Thu Jul 18, 2019 11:14 am

Confirmed as a 2 December release:
From legendary filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Basic Instinct) and screenwriter Gerard Soeteman (Soldier of Orange) comes an explosive, fast-paced and thrilling coming-of-age drama. Raw, intense and unabashedly sexual, Spetters is a wild ride that will knock the unsuspecting for a loop.

Stuck in a dead-end town on the outskirts of Rotterdam, three young friends, Rien, Eef and Hans have one thing in common: their passion for motorcycle racing, which each sees as his ticket to a better life.

But a deeper passion will soon rule each of their lives, when a sexy, ambitious blonde (Renée Soutendijk, The Fourth Man) comes between them and provokes a series of unforeseen events. The film also co-stars the late great Rutger Hauer (Flesh + Blood, Blade Runner) and Jeroen Krabbé (The Fugitive).

Available on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, with an additional extras DVD.

• Newly restored and released in the UK on Blu-ray for the first time
• Feature-length audio commentary with director Paul Verhoeven
• Interview with Paul Verhoeven (8 mins)
• Interview with screenwriter Gerard Soeteman (11 mins)
• Interview with cinematographer Jost Vacano (67 mins)
• Original theatrical trailer
• **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film and full film credits
• Other extras TBC

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MichaelB
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Re: Spetters

#2 Post by MichaelB » Tue Nov 12, 2019 6:44 am

Full specs announced:
Spetters
A film by Paul Verhoeven

Limited Edition Blu-ray release (2-disc set) on 2 December 2019


From legendary filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Basic Instinct) and screenwriter Gerard Soeteman (Soldier of Orange) comes an explosive, fast-paced and thrilling coming-of-age drama. Raw, intense and unabashedly sexual, Spetters is a wild ride that will knock the unsuspecting for a loop.

Starring Renée Soutendijk, Jeroen Krabbé (The Fugitive) and the late great Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner), this limited edition 2-disc set (1 x Blu-ray & 1 x DVD) brings Spetters to Blu-ray for the first time in the UK and is a must own release, packed with over 4 hours of bonus content.

In Spetters, three friends long for better lives and see their love of motorcycle racing as a perfect way of doing it. However the arrival of the beautiful and ambitious Fientje threatens to come between them.

Special features
• Remastered in 4K and presented in High Definition for the first time in the UK
• Audio commentary by director Paul Verhoeven
Symbolic Power, Profit and Performance in Paul Verhoeven’s Spetters (2019, 17 mins): audiovisual essay written and narrated by Amy Simmons
Andere Tijden: Spetters (2002, 29 mins): Dutch TV documentary on the making of Spetters, featuring the filmmakers, cast and critics of the film
Speed Crazy: An Interview with Paul Verhoeven (2014, 8 mins)
Writing Spetters: An Interview with Gerard Soeteman (2014, 11 mins)
An Interview with Jost Vacano (2014, 67 mins): wide ranging interview with the film’s cinematographer discussing his work on films including Soldier of Orange and Robocop
• Image gallery
• Trailers
Illustrated booklet (***first pressing only***) containing a new interview with Paul Verhoeven by the BFI’s Peter Stanley, essays by Gerard Soeteman, Rob van Scheers and Peter Verstraten, a contemporary review, notes on the extras and film credits

Product details
RRP: £22.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1355 / Cert 18
Netherlands / 1980 / colour / 123 mins / Dutch language, with optional English subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.66:1 / Disc 1: BD50, 1080p, 24fps, PCM 2.0 mono audio (48kHz/24-bit) / Disc 2: DVD9, PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital mono audio (320kbps)

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tenia
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Re: Spetters

#3 Post by tenia » Tue Nov 26, 2019 9:01 am

Note that the "limited edition" aspect of it has to do with the included DVD. It's not a DF release, but the included DVD contains extras that are not on the BD : a 30 min Dutch TV 2002 documentary covering the making of the movie, a 8 min 2014 ITW with Verhoeven, a 10 min 2014 ITW with Gerard Soeteman, and a 66 min 2014 ITW with Jost Vacano. The BD only contains the audio commentary, the Simmons' essay and 4 trailers.

Considering how the BD is encoded, it's hard not to see this split as a purely commercial choice, though I wouldn't have thought Spetters to be a movie with a high enough potential to warrant it (since it means people are THAT eager to get the extras they'd rush to get the LE before missing out on these extras).

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MichaelB
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Re: Spetters

#4 Post by MichaelB » Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:11 pm

The Dutch TV documentary is glorious: the polar opposite of one of those boring EPK jobs where everyone thinks that everything about the film is wonderful, it has regular contributions from people who really hate it. A recurring talking head is Arnoud van Deelen of the Stichting Productiefonds voor Nederlandse Films, who vigorously opposed funding the film ("I thought it was shit then and still think it's shit now") and was very annoyed when it actually got made.

Not least because Verhoeven blatantly lied to the board by submitting a script with more moderate scenes that he had no intention of actually shooting, something that he gleefully admits in a "so what are they going to do about it now?" tone. And his appearance on a chat show in full rocker gear (clad from head to toe in leather and with heavily gelled-up hair to match) has to be seen to be believed.

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Big Ben
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Re: Spetters

#5 Post by Big Ben » Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:26 pm

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I am under the impression that Verhoeven was originally in the running to directing a Star Wars film but after seeing this either Lucas or Spielberg got cold feet because of the content? Sounds ghastly.

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MichaelB
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Re: Spetters

#6 Post by MichaelB » Wed Dec 11, 2019 3:01 pm

There was a rumour to that effect, yes. Soldier of Orange sparked initial interest, but Spetters promptly killed it off.

Part of the problem seems to be the film's unabashed sexual explicitness, with a particular focus on male genitalia, something that for some bizarre reason still seems to send Americans into pearl-clutching conniptions to this day. It also gives some insight into how Verhoeven might have approached Basic Instinct and especially Showgirls if he'd had complete carte blanche in terms of what he could ask his actors to do, but they (or their agents) doubtless took one look at Verhoeven's early Dutch work and added all sorts of stringent clauses to their contracts.

(The BFI disc is fully uncut, clearly-for-real gay fellatio and all.)

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colinr0380
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Re: Spetters

#7 Post by colinr0380 » Wed Dec 11, 2019 5:47 pm

Some of that sensibility still comes through a little in Basic Instinct with the initial murder of the rockstar (and pan over his body with the UV light in the aftermath by the policemen not taking things that seriously) being played by Bill Cable, who is otherwise better known for his role in Wakefield Poole's hardcore gay epic Bijou. Cable plays the whip wielding figure at the periphery of all of the action, watching but untouchable, and kind of embodying the attraction mixed with danger of the 'straight man' to all of the other action going on in the film.

I would be curious if Verhoeven had been aware of his previous role, or if it was something more simple such as the actor just being around and willing to be nude in those scenes of the film.

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Aunt Peg
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Re: Spetters

#8 Post by Aunt Peg » Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:17 am

MichaelB wrote:
Wed Dec 11, 2019 2:11 pm
And his appearance on a chat show in full rocker gear (clad from head to toe in leather and with heavily gelled-up hair to match) has to be seen to be believed.
Michael,

Is that clip on any of the special features on the DVD?

Received my copy today and flicked through the film - the restoration looks great. I've only ever seen the film on VHS and intend to re-watch it next week so it will be like a first time viewing.
Last edited by MichaelB on Fri Dec 13, 2019 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fixed dodgy code.

MikeFH
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Re: Spetters

#9 Post by MikeFH » Sun Dec 15, 2019 11:26 am

.

Most of Spetters was filmed in Maassluis, a small town in The Netherlands where I lived at the time of filming. Actress René Soutendijk is still a big name here - as is Verhoeven. A few years ago (2010) we could enjoy a three hour interview with him on national tv. In this program (Zomergasten) he showed a lot of movieclips that inspired him or had a special meaning for him. He talked openly about life and death. An extremely intelligent man.

Nice to watch the uncut version of Spetters, including the extras.

.

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MichaelB
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Re: Spetters

#10 Post by MichaelB » Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:06 am

Spetters is now officially OOP, although a few copies will still be floating around retailers.

It'll be replaced by a single-disc booklet-free edition, so dropping the following extras:

Andere Tijden: Spetters (2002, 29 mins): Dutch TV documentary on the making of Spetters, featuring the filmmakers, cast and critics of the film
Speed Crazy: An Interview with Paul Verhoeven (2014, 8 mins)
Writing Spetters: An Interview with Gerard Soeteman (2014, 11 mins)
An Interview with Jost Vacano (2014, 67 mins): wide ranging interview with the film’s cinematographer discussing his work on films including Soldier of Orange and Robocop

The Dutch making-of documentary is astonishing (see my more detailed description above), so the two-disc version is well worth snapping up while it's still available.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: Spetters

#11 Post by EddieLarkin » Fri Feb 19, 2021 7:29 am

Currently only £6.99 at HMV (price matched at Amazon) along with many other recent BFI releases, including Best of COI, the two recent Ozu discs, Flipsides 30-39 and Equus (which is a Limited Edition like Spetters with an exclusive extras filled DVD).

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