Flesh & Blood

Although shot in Spain, this was Verhoeven's first English-language movie and a stepping stone to Hollywood (Orion put up half the budget). Not that the Dutchman seems to have borne American sensibilities in mind: a medieval anti-romance about a virginal heiress (Leigh) who falls into the grip of a rapacious band of superstitious mercenaries led by the brutal Martin (Hauer), the film overflows with pestilence, plague and pillage. The girl's fondness for her rapist won't commend the film to feminists either. It's hamstrung by leaden dialogue and the motley international cast - Python and the Grail are never that far away - but it's admirably unsentimental and by no means stupid.