One of my all time favorites.

Great Film overall

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

Let me start by saying that this brilliant movie is not just some war movie to The Dutch. Every year this movie is on Dutch TV at "Dodenherdenking" (Remembrance of the Fallen in WWII) on the fourth of May.Although the theme is typical Verhoeven, with a protagonist and an antagonist who both deserve our empathy, Soldier of Orange is actually based on the autobiographic book "Soldaat van Oranje" by Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema. The story is about a fraternity at Leiden University. Each student follows a different path and therefore has a different role in World War II, either as a collaborator or in the resistance.The film begins with an original newsreel about the return of Queen Wilhelmina accompanied by Erik, the protagonist of the movie played by Rutger Hauer (Nighthawks, Blade Runner). They're landing in the Netherlands from London shortly after World War II. After that the film starts in the late 1930s in Leiden, where freshmen undergo the humiliation of the initiation rites of their fraternity and the drama unfolds.Those who don't know the book will think that this movie is full of Verhoeven's trademarks: explicit violence and sex and social satire, but these scenes are personal memoirs of the writer. Also director Paul Verhoeven is strongly influenced by this time in history. Verhoeven's family home was located near a German military base, which was repeatedly bombed by allied forces. From this period Verhoeven remembers images of violence, burning houses, dead bodies on the street, and continuous danger. Impressions he used later on in several of his fantasy and drama movies.What more can I say about this movie that hasn't been said on this forum? It combines action, adventure and personal drama with the looks of a huge budget film like The Longest Day but even better, because it connects people to the real life characters. Last but not least this movie has a beautiful music score and its own funny moments. Watch f.e. the weird Tango scene (Danse Macabre) with the protagonist and the antagonist who is played by Derek the Lint (The Unbearable Lightness of Being).This movie has a nostalgic feel, but if you don't like old movies or you can't get a copy of Soldier of Orange, I strongly recommend Verhoeven's "Black Book" (2007). More or less the remake with Carice van Houten (Game of Thrones).

Paul Verhoeven and Rutger Hauer first joined forces when making 'Floris', a Dutch TV series for kids inspired by ITV's 'Ivanhoe', in the late 1960s. While not remotely as well made as its British forerunner - a recent documentary shows that it was very much learning by doing - the episodes you can now watch on YouTube are quite amusing, given the right age and nationality.'Soldaat van Oranje' (Soldier of Orange) is based on the eponymous memoirs of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, who received the highest Dutch military decoration for his actions during WW II. The book is a ripping yarn, as promised by the title - Hauer, the lead in the film, has called it a 'boys' book'. The fact that it has been turned into a musical as well is another indication that it does not delve deeply into the grim history of the Netherlands during the war.The film does a fairly good job in touching on many aspects of the occupation of the Netherlands, such as the range of attitudes to the Nazi occupation that existed, from resistance via keeping your head down to joining the SS. The Englandspiel , a deadly 'game' played by the Germans with captured Dutch secret agents sent over by the British Special Operations Executive, inspires much of the story. And judging by what we know about her from newsreels, etc., the exiled Queen Wilhelmina (of Orange-Nassau, formally the soldiers' commander-in-chief) with her odd mannerisms is convincingly played by Andrea Domburg.However, those who are unfamiliar with Dutch history of these years will not get all the references; and as the tone of the whole film is Ivanhoe-ish, you wonder why so much effort was put into reconstructing reality. There are also scenes that take outright liberties with wartime reality for thrills, though they can be funny. My favourite is the mild bit of sexploitation in the scenes where a girl shows herself in full-length Eve's costume behind open windows in, respectively, Leiden and London (in both cases she stands on a bed placed, very conveniently, right under the window). There is a nice parallel: in Leiden a clearly amused Nazi collaborator looks up; in London the normally very puritanical Queen tries hard not be somewhat amused.The film's merits are in my opinion greater than that of Verhoeven's much later Black Book. But ripping yarns lose some of their appeal when you know something about the horrors of war (for that reason one of the book's real-life characters actually stayed away from the Hollywood-style gala opening performance of the film in Amsterdam).I keep wondering whether the starting point of the film could not also have been a starting point for a war film that digs deeper. The type of student fraternity initiation rite shown in the film was common until the 1960s, and this species of adolescent sadism has never gone away completely. Maybe because it does lead to bonding (as I know from experience); but you might be excused for seeing uncomfortable parallels between the pandemonium and the shaven heads of the new students and what happened in Nazi camps: an Amsterdam student fraternity actually had 'Dachautje spelen' ('playing little Dachau') on its initiation programme, during which people are known to have fainted. Later in the film Dutch WA-men (uniformed Nazis) dump a Jewish peddler's handcart in a canal. Is there no link between their playful sadism and 'Dachautje spelen'? Camps similar to Dachau were the peddler's destination. Why do people take things out on those who are weaker, where does the contempt for other human beings come from (which resulted in the murder of over 100,000 Dutch Jews)? But a film exploring those questions might not be a box office success.

This is a true story based on historical events about Resistance against Nazis who violently invaded Holland, but some names of historic persons are changed . For example, Erik Lanshof is actually Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema .This film depicts World War II through the eyes of six Dutch students (Rutger Hauer , Jeroen Krabbe , Derek De Lint , among others) . It follows them through the beginning of the war, the Nazi occupation whose lives forever changed by the WWII invasion of Holland by the Nazis . It begins in Univerity Leiden ,the Netherlands , 1938 , with various young Dutch Students just before the outbreak of World War 2 and finishes with the liberation . As soon as the war starts, many students join the resistance . Later on , Erik Lanshof (Rutger Hauer) is assigned by an exiled Queen Wilhelmina (Andrea Domburg who used cotton paddings in her cheeks to better resemble Queen) and his helper colonel Rafelli (Edward Fox) to carry out a dangerous mission during Nazi downfall.This thrilling , cerebral WWII picture is plenty of suspense, emotion , action and is pretty entertaining . At the beginning there is an amusing introduction on students life in Leiden University and fraternity , in which we find the protagonists of this exciting story . The screenplay is full of plot twist and tension , the developing is kept everything moving fast and frantic to a climax guaranteed to make hearts pound. Based on actual events about Queen Wilhelmina and her real aide-de-camp, Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, the author of the book on which the film is screen-written ; even appearing in the opening scene, a genuine newsreel footage . Based on real happenings , though some names of historic persons are modified , one of the reasons for the change in names may be that, for clarity and simplicity, the number of characters from the original story were reduced, and as a consequence, some historic actions are ascribed to other people in the movie, so as to acknowledge this deviation from reality , some names may have been altered. It was shot entirely on real locations with the exception of the short sequence in the RAF bomber . Good acting by Rutger Hauer who made him an international star , he plays as a valiant official named Erik , though Director Paul Verhoeven originally wanted Derek De Lint to play Erik Lanshof, the title character . He had previously directed Rutger Hauer in the Dutch television series "Floris" (1969) and the film Turks fruits (1973) and did not think Hauer was right for the lead in this picture . He then decided to give Hauer a try and Hauer surprised Verhoeven by giving a very strong reading, with the result that Verhoeven cast him as Erik and De Lint as Alex . Rijk De Gooyer, who plays Gestapo collaborator Breitner, was part of the resistance in the Netherlands during World War II ; as a result, he harbored quite some anti-German sentiments towards his fellow actor Reinhard Kolldehoff, who plays Wehrmacht General Geisman . Carefully made and lavishly produced , as cost the equivalent of $2.5 million to produce, making it the most-expensive Dutch film made at the time. Nice special effects , as the explosions were provided not by technicians but by the Dutch Marines , as director Paul Verhoeven stated that the explosive charges were held in place with metal ; when one of the charges was set off, it blew the metal to bits , even one of the flying fragments nearly killed star Rutger Hauer . When the production ran out of budget, a British film company and a Dutch television company provided additional financial support, under the condition that the material was also adapted into a four part mini-series, which was retitled "For Queen and Fatherland¨.

This film hit a grand slam by successfully achieving all of the things I hope for in a movie: it entertained me, it educated me, it charmed me, and it provoked me. I have lived in the Netherlands and love the Dutch people, so I was happy to view this film and see many familiar sites and understand some of the Dutch dialogue. It provided me with a sense of deja vu. I also learned things about the Dutch World War II experience that I previously was unaware of. The vast majority of the world only has one thought when it comes to WWII and the Dutch: Anne Frank. It's heartening to watch a film that explores many other facets of the Dutch experience during occupation, and that doesn't promote an all-rosy view wherein everyone is heroic. It is a realistic film that showed the complications of war and occupation, the desire for self-survival, the limits of patriotism, the fragility of war-time romances, and the bravery and sacrifices that some, but not all, are willing to exhibit. My heart was in my throat many times as I wondered what would happen and, although the movie is almost two and a half hours, I was sorry to see it end.