SOLDIER OF ORANGE is a nice, rarely known Paul Verhoeven movie, shot in his native Holland and starring his one-time favourite actor, Rutger Hauer. It's a story whose backdrop encompasses the Second World War, and the Nazi invasion of that country. Verhoeven is obviously fascinated by the whole era - he would later return to it with the similar, even better BLACK BOOK - and his fascination is ably transmitted to the viewer.This is an engaging little movie that remains well-shot, well-directed, and well-written. The running time is lengthy and there's not a real deal of action - sometimes the lack of a proper budget is all too apparent - but it's also never boring and instead very watchable. Hauer and Jeroen Krabbe (THE FOURTH MAN) make for an excellent double act as the idealistic students who find themselves drawn into a war of resistance against the Nazis.The sense of place in SOLDIER OF ORANGE is excellent, and the realistic portrayal of events - there's no gung-ho stuff here - makes it feel almost documentary-like at times. It's certainly a great little film, more mature and sensible than Verhoeven's later overblown Hollywood efforts, and is eclipsed only by BLACK BOOK, which was made some thirty years later and is even more thrilling and exciting.

This is Paul Verhoeven's best Dutch film. Do not get me wrong I still like Turkish Delight, Katie Tippal, Spetters, and The Fourth Man. I like the music. This is truly an epic film. Rutger Hauer stars in this film and the other Dutch films directed by Paul Verhoeven he starred in are Turkish Delight, Katie Tippal, and Spetters. In Soldier of Orange first you see Rutger Hauer with a shaved head. Plus this movie is about of course soldiers. The first time I saw this movie I did not like it but then it grew on me. The first Dutch film by Paul Verhoeven I saw was Spetters. This movie is 10 times better than Spetters. Jerome Krabbe also stars in this film and the other Dutch films directed by Paul Verhoeven he starred in was Spetters and of course The 4th Man. The first time I saw Jerome Krabbe was in The Fugitive.

I just watched Soldaat Van Oranje, and I'm absolutely fascinated. It's a typical war flick in many senses, but it's probably one of the best ever made if not THE ONE. My heartfelt thanks and congratulations go to the entire crew who made this masterpiece. For 156 minutes, I was a young Dutchman wanting my country to be saved from the Nazis! After some point, it was like watching a football game. "Come on boy, you'll score, smash the bloody Nazi b**tard!" sort of thing.. I was inside the scene! The acting, camera work, screenplay, all flawless. Especially Rutger Hauger shines starting with the first breath. Unless he actually experienced all this stuff and reincarnated afterwards to make this movie, his was the BEST ACTING I'VE EVER SEEN!!! The rest of the cast is also fabulous. I usually try to mention the slightest flaw in a movie when I write a comment on here, no matter how much I liked it. But this time, I won't be able to, because this movie simply has no flaw at all. It's perfect, marvellous, stunning, any other adjective that addresses perfection! Anyone with a heart will LOVE this movie! A well-deserved ***** from me.

Soldaat van Oranje is Paul Verhoeven's war movie, one that already shows his early leaning towards grungy realism - graphic torture, debased human nature and plenty of bare boobies - which is why it had a pretty mixed reception when it came out here in Holland. This story is told from the point of view of a number of well to do Leiden University students. For clarification, very few people before the war had the finances to go to university. Highlighting some now internationally famous Dutch actors - Rutger Hauer, Derek de Lint, Jeroen Krabbé as well as locally known actors like Belinda Meuldijk, Rijk de Gooyer and this is also a showcase of acting talent during the seventies and early eighties. British seventies actors Susan Penhaligon and Edward Fox (A Bridge Too Far) also have interesting performances.Based on the memoirs of Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema (Erik Lanshof in the movie), this is a reasonably realistic and truthful recounting of war and resistance during world war two. Roelfzema, a genuine war hero, first joined the student resistance, then the SOE, then joined the RAF and finally became an adjudant (aide) to queen Wilhelmina. He is still spritely and alive, living in Hawaii with his English wife. It is also pretty unique as it features what must be cinema's first and only drive-by-shooting from a bicycle. And one with wooden tires at that. And a great yarn too. It has heroism and cowardice, loyalty and betrayal, relativism, principles and pragmatism. Recommended.