Flesh and Blood (1985)

lester1/2jr · May 11, 2010, 01:29:04 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VOy1JZBH5c

This is a pretty random big budget medieval mini-epic (2 hours) of rape, pillage, plunder, storming the castle, the plague, grog drinking, wenches etc. It stars a just post Fast Times Jennifer Jason Leigh who is blonde and looks really hot. It was compelling in a renaissance fairsort of way but like renaissance fair themselves, it wasn't exactly for me and I was more or less glad when it was over so I could move on to somehting more familiar, much as I kind of tried to go with the flow. That isn't to say I didn't appreciate elements of their way of life quite the contrary: As the men sat there groping and pouring wine on willing women and delighting in their bounty, I couldn't help but think this was more civilized than the way we do it now with lawyers and the IRS who do the same things but never seem to gather up and move on to the next village. and while I may not wish to in my own life recreate the fashions and aesthetic I do like all the boob grabbbing ,sloshing around and filth.

Flesh and Blood doesn't really have any modern sort of humor or timeless themes like, say "The Princess bride" or "The Name of the Rose". It just is what it is, one of those medeival themed restaurants on the screen. I could kind of picture people in 1985 half being into it and half being like what is this. It's of course easy to make this sort of judgement in retrospect. Hey, 1985 might have a big year for big legs of meat and swords and so forth instead of yuppies and breakdancing. They miscalculated. The story was good though and despite some suspension of disbelief moments it generally held together. After this Verhoeven did:
RoboCop (1987)
Total Recall (1990)
Basic Instinct (1992) and then of course
Showgirls (1995)

I don't know what this is, a VHS cover or something but it's awesome

4/5 not a favorite but an experience for sure

Flick James · May 11, 2010, 03:57:55 PM

I've never seen it, and I'm surprised, since I grew up in the 80's and saw many other of the sword and sorcery genre that was churned out, particularly in the early part of the decade. The artwork you posted immediately made me think of all of the sword and sorcery epics of varying budgets and quality, such as The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982), Ladyhawke (1985), Conan the Barbarian (1982), Dragonslayer (1981), etc., except without the "sorcery." I think the success of Excalibur (1981) helped fuel this early 80's genre. It seems like that genre ran it's course by the mid-80's, however, because I can't think of any movies like these after 1985.

I'll have to check Flesh and Blood out.

The Burgomaster · May 11, 2010, 04:27:48 PM

I really like this movie. Nice and gritty. Bought the DVD awhile back and I suspect I posted comments somewhere in here (but I'm too lazy to look for them).

Neville · May 12, 2010, 05:38:31 AM

I have mixed feelings about this one. I like the setup and the characters are interesting, but I think it falls apart towards the end. Too much excess for the sake of excess.

Jack · May 12, 2010, 06:15:07 AM

Jennifer Jason Leigh does look pretty hot in that trailer. I'll have to check this out sometime.

Neville · May 12, 2010, 06:22:28 AM

It's wirth seeing, like anything by Paul Verhoeven. It's very uneven, but there are many great bits here and there. I for one can't stand his firts movies, I prefer his Hollywood work, he does feel more mature there.

Monster Jungle X-Ray · May 12, 2010, 09:53:14 AM

Quote from: Neville on May 12, 2010, 06:22:28 AM
It's wirth seeing, like anything by Paul Verhoeven. It's very uneven, but there are many great bits here and there. I for one can't stand his firts movies, I prefer his Hollywood work, he does feel more mature there.

I agree pretty much with Neville on this one, it is worth seeing, but it does sort of fall apart towards the end. It benefits from an gritty authentic feel opposed to some of the high fantasy sword and sorcery films made around the same time. I think this one was right before Verhoeven hit his stride with Robocop.

I used to have this on VHS so I've seen it a number of times, and right now it is playing ON DEMAND on one of the channels I forget. It is a good vehicle for Rutger Hauer, and Jennifer Jason Leigh gives a good performance. An excellent supporting cast too including the late Brion James, and Ronald Lacey (Major Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark).

BoyScoutKevin · May 14, 2010, 04:46:48 PM

I think I come down in the middle on this one. I saw it once on TV, and I still remember some of the scenes from it, but I don't remember particularly enjoying it. I think Flick James came nearest to describing it. It's "sword and sorcery" without the "sorcery." One reason to see it, and why I saw it originally, is that there are not many films that cover this time period in history. This is one of them. Though, I won't vouch for the historical accuracy of it.

Flick James · May 14, 2010, 05:44:50 PM

Quote from: BoyScoutKevin on May 14, 2010, 04:46:48 PM
I think I come down in the middle on this one. I saw it once on TV, and I still remember some of the scenes from it, but I don't remember particularly enjoying it. I think Flick James came nearest to describing it. It's "sword and sorcery" without the "sorcery." One reason to see it, and why I saw it originally, is that there are not many films that cover this time period in history. This is one of them. Though, I won't vouch for the historical accuracy of it.

Wow, I came closest to describing it and I never even saw it.

Seriously, though, I'll have to find this one. Jennifer Jason Leigh does look awfully hot in the pictures.