Turks fruit (1973)

Director:

Paul Verhoeven

Writers:

Gerard Soeteman (writer)
Jan Wolkers (novel)

Release Date:

September 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Sort of a cross between "Love Story" and an earthy Rembrandt painting, this movie stars Rutger Hauer as a gifted Dutch sculptor who has a stormy...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Sculptor | Marriage | Jealousy | Sculpture

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Monique van de Ven	...	Olga Stapels
Rutger Hauer	...	Eric Vonk, the sculptor
Tonny Huurdeman	...	Olga's mother
Wim van den Brink	...	Olga's father
Hans Boskamp	...	Winkelchef
Dolf de Vries	...	Paul
Manfred de Graaf	...	Henny
Dick Scheffer	...	Accountant
Marjol Flore	...	Tineke
Bert Dijkstra	...	Civil servant
Bert André
Jon Bluming
Paul Brandenburg
Suze Broks		(as Suzie Broks)
David Conyers

Also Known As:

Eric and Olga (USA) (poster title)
The Sensualist (UK)
Turkish Delight (USA) (video title)
Wild Intent (UK) (video title)

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

Netherlands

Language:

Dutch

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2007) | Finland:K-18 | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (uncut) | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Ireland:(Banned) | Argentina:18 | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:X (self applied) | Norway:(Banned) (1973-2003) (cinema release)

Filming Locations:

Alkmaar, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company:

Verenigde Nederlandsche Filmcompagnie (VNF)

Trivia:

All cars driven by the actors are from the British Leyland Consortium.

Goofs:

Continuity: The level of "poisoned" gin on the beach changes from high to low and back to high as scene changes.

Quotes:

Eric Vonk: I screw better than God.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Het glazen huis: Eigen agenda (#1.52)" (2005)

The Epitome of 70's Dutch Cinema

"Turks Fruit",based on the novel written by the legendary Dutch writer Jan Wolkers,is a true Dutch classic. That doesn't mean that much since my country isn't a major player in World cinema.Yet this film is very good and very famous.

It was voted the best Dutch film ever a few years ago when a national poll was held in Holland.It's tough to agree with that,since I haven't seen all the classics but it's right up there,that much is true.

The sex and dirty images of poo are not for everyone to see,yet it is essential to the free culture of Amsterdam in the 1970's.

Amsterdam was the center of the world in the 70's,so my mother told me. That was probably the reason why she left France (she is French) and came to Amsterdam."Turks Fruit" shows a very poignant picture of the city at that time and the sexual liberation of them days.

The directing by the,at that time,young Paul Verhoeven is splendid and it's no mystery why he left Holland to go to Hollywood.His talents are clear but another reason was that he was misunderstood in Holland so he said himself.

The camera work is great,but that's no surprise since it's done by one of the greatest cameramen Jan de Bont (who became famous in the 90's with his action classics "Speed" and "Twister",especially "Speed" show the superb talents of de Bont when it comes to camera work).

The film also launched the careers of Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven. Van de Ven stayed in Holland,playing in some of the best Dutch films and Hauer went to Hollywood and gained cult fame when he starred in "Blade Runner",a terrific performance by Hauer.

Verhoeven and Hauer would team up again 4 years later to make the Dutch war classic "Soldaat van Oranje".

"Turks Fruit" is truly the epitome of 70's Dutch cinema with it's liberated sex approach that would echo in several other Dutch films in the 70's and 80's.

Very important for Holland but maybe too much for the rest of the world,especially for the rather prudish Hollywood.

Essential viewing though for everyone who wants to know something about the Dutch cinema. 8/10