Three amateur dirt-bike racers each fall in love with a young woman who, with her brother, sells French fries and hotdogs at the races. Everyone is looking for a better life: she wants out of the business and away from her brother; and the motocross racers want to make their marks as professionals in their sport.
Spruzzi, Spetters - Spruzzi, ¡Vivir a tope!, Spetters - knallhart und romantisch, 绝命飞轮, Секс на мотори, Sem Controle, Заводные, Ślepy traf, 스페터스, Σπέτερς, ο Χορός των Ξεγραμμένων
Netherlands
Germany16
France12
France
Germany
Netherlands
Paul Verhoeven's early coming of age drama really doesn't pull any punches. It gives a sign of things to come, and it's a great film in its own right. The film was apparently released to some hostility in the Netherlands and it's not hard to see why, given some controversial subject matter (for the time) and a general upfront attitude about it. There's no real narrative as such - it's basically a hangout movie focusing on a bunch of motorcycle enthused youths and the various shenanigans they get into. The central characters are generally interesting and well brought to life by the inexperienced cast. This helps to make the drama interesting. The film is very well paced and mostly the…
Ah, yes, Paul Verhoeven's raw coming-of-age tale, Spetters. This is without a doubt his most controversial movie here in the Netherlands. Its depiction of the life of Dutch teenagers is ugly and unrelenting. It's also quite (sexually) explicit.
It had been at least 15 years since my previous watch. I never cared for it much in the past to be honest, but I really connected with it on today's viewing. I'm actually starting to think it's top 5 Verhoeven..
The movie that made Steven Spielberg cancel his plans to work with Paul Verhoeven isn't quite as shocking as it was considered back in 1980, but its ruthless cynicism still packs a punch.
Verhoeven thought he had made a progressive film; his critics deemed it deeply misogynistic and homophobic. I'm not sure what to think of the sexual politics of a movie in which a gay man tells his sister that he and his friends raped her homophobic boyfriend and the boyfriend enjoyed it, and she responds: "Just my luck." Verhoeven also seems obsessed with the impotence of straight tough guys, comparing dick size to decide who gets a girl, but unable to perform when it matters. There's loads of…
Starring: The Wicked, Charming, Dutch Icon Rutger Hauer
Count on Verhoeven to deliver the most hopeless, sexually charged, depressing coming-of-age film about bikers. There are more penises in this movie than in any other mainstream, and they get in the way of just about every scene and hole imaginable. Despite their obnoxiousness, you can't help but feel sorry for the protagonists, especially this one in particular that gets stuck in a wheelchair after an accident as a result of being hit by some french fries. Young men attempting to prove their manhood by faking it with the ladies because their dick won't stand up. If any of this comes as a shock, you obviously haven't watched the director's other work.…
Paul Verhoeven unspools the joys of youth over two hours, neatly placing them in a row for a flamethrower to accurately incinerate every last morsel of naive verve. Don't panic, it's just life's heavy mallet coming down with a conclusive and cinematic thrust.
In the first hour of this coming-of-age saga, we meet three motocross-obsessed friends as they bounce around from the dirt tracks to their girlfriend's beds. Then they meet Fientje, a gorgeous blonde who works the fry wagon with her gay brother. Each guy takes a hard liking to her, while the most talented racer of the bunch, Rien, ascends into corporate sponsorship with a hopeful dollop of promise. Unfortunately this is just the set up and calamity…
Wildly melodramatic in a way that recalls some combination of Showgirls and The Last American Virgin at their most deranged. Lots of talk here about one of the three main plot strands being homophobic, but I strongly disagree -- the questionable scene isn't played for laughs or titillation and the buildup to it is woven throughout the entire film. As downbeat as much of this is, I think I'll take Verhoeven's graphically homoerotic coming of age film over any of the teen boner comedies that he's subverting?
1. ride bikes fast
2. be horny
3. disco disco disco
Hunks and babes splash blood on the canvas. Dutch dirt bike backdrop and young screams give birth to requiem for a dream. Food truck nightmare. Shifts in dreams from the center to the periphery and gang rape epiphanies. Let's turn this mother out. Get down, girl, go ahead and get down. There is some dancing for the ages in this and some very casual penis rubbing. A very, weirdly real film. With commentary on poverty, religion and sexuality that races around in the dirt. Dutch AF, complete with wooden shoes kicking your guts in when you share the good news with funDadmentalist.
Ton Scherpenzeel's score is positively unforgettable. It fits this timepiece perfectly and at times the film feels like…
What a ride! Spetters just slapped my face in a shocking display of perpetual penis flailing precision. From that opening neon pink title font and the bombastic 80s guitar riff I was hooked!
Verhoeven transforms a coming of age drama into a raw and gritty sledgehammer of misery. Paired with a grimy sheen of dramatic flare Spetters is a true achievement of subversive film making. Highly provocative, disturbing and progressive It was initially overlooked due to its controversial nature. Causing Verhoeven to move to North America to find an audience that appreciates his outlandish and over the top ideas. We're glad to have ya bud!
We follow a group of young teens who are pursuing their dreams to become famous…
"You sure fall out of love fast."
"Love? What’s that?
Give me some security. You can screw love!"
Rough, raw and controversial. These are the tenets of Verhoeven and whether it’s sex, violence or religion you know he’s bound to push your buttons at some point.
”You’d better explain”
“It’s about time you started speaking for yourself”
March Around the World 2024 #13 🇳🇱
Ah, Paul Verhoeven you saucy old sod you. Claiming cinephile auteur status, but generally hiding behind a front of nudity, dick measuring and horny excess.
And a jazzy soundtrack of course.
Three off-road motorbike racer friends spend their time practising at being men between races, getting up to all kinds of philandering antics along the way. Lovely fried goods seller Fientje is also keen to make her mark on the world and soon mesmerises all the boys, twisting what could be a simple coming of age tale into a raw, multi-relational love tryst, Dutch style.
Also, mayonnaise with chips? That’s just plain wrong guys. Honestly, people will be putting pineapple on pizzas next.
I recently returned to Amy Hensarling's podcast Watch this List: Hidden Gems Edition to talk up two of my favourite hidden gems. This early Paul Verhoeven coming-of-age/life-is-pain motocross-saga, as well as Alain Robak's feminist splatter-flick Baby Blood. Was a blast, as usual, and an honour to be a returning guest.
Also, since they are referenced in the episode, my actual old reviews of Spetters and Baby Blood
