Paul Verhoeven and Rutger Hauer's big break was a black and white swashbuckling TV series called Floris and both were happy to give their insights for this 1999 '30th anniversary' documentary produced by Omroep Gelderland (the region where the series was set and filmed). Of course the documentary makers had to travel to Hollywood to interview them. They didn't have to go to as much trouble for the other cast and crew members that are interviewed. In fact, most of them even took the time to revisit some of the old filming locations.
This retrospective is split up into three parts. Possibly in order to broadcast it over three consecutive nights while the 12 part series was shown on Omroep Gelderland. Part 1: "Schrijven Is Gevaarlijk" begins in Hollywood where we learn first hand from Verhoeven that he got the job because of a color documentary on the Dutch marines that he shot in James Bond style. Rutger Hauer for his part only got the lead role as Floris because actor Carol van Herwijnen had other commitments. Co-star Jos Bergman, who portrayed Floris' smarter sidekick, the Indian Fakir Sindala is almost unrecognizable nowadays and has devoted his life to his first love, painting. Script writer Gerard Zoeteman reveals how the NOS asked him to come up with an exciting series for all ages and that he did some of his own location scouting to draw inspiration from the Gelderse castles.
Part 2: "Kom, We Gaan!" delves into the making of the series. Naturally a lot of footage from the 1969 making of 'Rond Floris' is incorporated here. Director of photography Ton Buné calls it the best time of his life. Actor Hans Boskamp explains that acting was just a hobby for him in those days, since he had a day-job as a record producer at the time. Stunt coordinator Hammy de Beukelaer talks about Rutger Hauer breaking all the rules and performing a dive into a steep moat from a castle window himself. And Paul Verhoeven sums it up best by saying that the way the crew became a family (they all stayed together in a monastery because there weren't enough hotel rooms) as being 'the most communist experience of his life'. However he did manage to go 300 per cent over budget and kept on stretching the filming period until the NOS finally pulled the plug on him. Rutger Hauer shows he's game enough to do a little bit of acting in front of the documentary camera's and repeats one of Floris' most uttered phrases: 'Time to go!'.
Things are wrapped up in part 3: "Over De Top". Writer Soeteman confesses he should have introduced Floris' love interest Gravin Ada (Diana Dobbelman) earlier in the series. Dobbelman herself mentions that she would love to reprise the role opposite Hauer in a feature film version. Soeteman talks about writing this new film that would star either Floris' son or daughter. Rutger Hauer for his part, also expresses some interest in this 1999 interview (if it meant he got do some sword-fighting again). Alas, the new Floris ended up being the original's grandson in the 2004 movie because Hauer changed his mind. Dobbleman wasn't asked to appear as grandma. She did however get a tiny part in Verhoeven's first Dutch production in over 20 years, "Zwartboek" in 2006, also written by Soeteman. However, one of the best bits in the entire documentary is hearing Verhoeven's explanation as to why he always puts so much sex and violence into his movies. His reasoning made me like the man more than ever before. He claims he includes these things simply because he likes watching it. Real life, according is Paul, is much more violent anyway. So why not enjoy it?
All in all, "De Ridder En De Fakir" stands head and shoulders above the usual 'making of' fluff that accompany Dutch releases. And to think this was made by a regional television station as opposed to a national one, all the more kudos to filmmakers Paul Versteegen and Sasha Barraud for such an insightful and funny three part documentary. It's a one of the highlights on the three disc boxed set of Floris.
9 out of 10
This retrospective is split up into three parts. Possibly in order to broadcast it over three consecutive nights while the 12 part series was shown on Omroep Gelderland. Part 1: "Schrijven Is Gevaarlijk" begins in Hollywood where we learn first hand from Verhoeven that he got the job because of a color documentary on the Dutch marines that he shot in James Bond style. Rutger Hauer for his part only got the lead role as Floris because actor Carol van Herwijnen had other commitments. Co-star Jos Bergman, who portrayed Floris' smarter sidekick, the Indian Fakir Sindala is almost unrecognizable nowadays and has devoted his life to his first love, painting. Script writer Gerard Zoeteman reveals how the NOS asked him to come up with an exciting series for all ages and that he did some of his own location scouting to draw inspiration from the Gelderse castles.
Part 2: "Kom, We Gaan!" delves into the making of the series. Naturally a lot of footage from the 1969 making of 'Rond Floris' is incorporated here. Director of photography Ton Buné calls it the best time of his life. Actor Hans Boskamp explains that acting was just a hobby for him in those days, since he had a day-job as a record producer at the time. Stunt coordinator Hammy de Beukelaer talks about Rutger Hauer breaking all the rules and performing a dive into a steep moat from a castle window himself. And Paul Verhoeven sums it up best by saying that the way the crew became a family (they all stayed together in a monastery because there weren't enough hotel rooms) as being 'the most communist experience of his life'. However he did manage to go 300 per cent over budget and kept on stretching the filming period until the NOS finally pulled the plug on him. Rutger Hauer shows he's game enough to do a little bit of acting in front of the documentary camera's and repeats one of Floris' most uttered phrases: 'Time to go!'.
Things are wrapped up in part 3: "Over De Top". Writer Soeteman confesses he should have introduced Floris' love interest Gravin Ada (Diana Dobbelman) earlier in the series. Dobbelman herself mentions that she would love to reprise the role opposite Hauer in a feature film version. Soeteman talks about writing this new film that would star either Floris' son or daughter. Rutger Hauer for his part, also expresses some interest in this 1999 interview (if it meant he got do some sword-fighting again). Alas, the new Floris ended up being the original's grandson in the 2004 movie because Hauer changed his mind. Dobbleman wasn't asked to appear as grandma. She did however get a tiny part in Verhoeven's first Dutch production in over 20 years, "Zwartboek" in 2006, also written by Soeteman. However, one of the best bits in the entire documentary is hearing Verhoeven's explanation as to why he always puts so much sex and violence into his movies. His reasoning made me like the man more than ever before. He claims he includes these things simply because he likes watching it. Real life, according is Paul, is much more violent anyway. So why not enjoy it?
All in all, "De Ridder En De Fakir" stands head and shoulders above the usual 'making of' fluff that accompany Dutch releases. And to think this was made by a regional television station as opposed to a national one, all the more kudos to filmmakers Paul Versteegen and Sasha Barraud for such an insightful and funny three part documentary. It's a one of the highlights on the three disc boxed set of Floris.
9 out of 10
