"Actor: Sylvia De Leur"

• Business Is Business | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £10.35   |  Saving you £9.64 (93.14%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A bawdy, though sympathetic look at the lives of two Amsterdam prostitutes, 1971’s Business is Business was the film debut of Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, who would later graduate to the Hollywood mainstream with films like Total Recall and Basic Instinct. Starring Ronnie Biermann as Greet, a worldly wise prostitute who, in between gratifying the often bizarre needs and fantasies of her bourgeois clients, is decently protective of her neighbour and friend in the trade, the busty, younger Nell of whose relationship with an abusive leech (Bernard Droog) she disapproves. Finally, she decides they must both break out of their decreasingly fulfilling lives and seek out matrimonial stability. An amiable if slightly aimless movie, based on the writings of Albert Moll, Business is Business probably seemed like an authentic depiction of the Amsterdam demi-monde in its day. Today, its kinky peccadilloes look rather quaint in comparison with, say, Nick Broomfield’s Fetishes. The breezily kitsch soundtrack is redolent of a more innocent age overall. However, both Biermann and Sylvia De Leur forcefully resist any of the dollybird clichés of the era in their strong characters.--David Stubbs On the DVD: Business is Business on disc can be viewed with or without English subtitles. Extras are disappointing with only a Verhoeven, Biermann and De Leur filmography and film notes from David Parkinson, along with a few World cinema trailers and the film’s original trailer. The image resolution is average for a 1971 film and the Dolby digital soundtrack enhances the grunts and groans.--Nikki Disney

• Verhoeven Collection (5 Disc) | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Dutch director Paul Verhoeven is one of the most challenging provocative and controversial European filmmakers working in Hollywood today. Before a string of US box office hits that include Robocop Total Recall and Basic Instinct Verhoeven directed five of the most critically cclaimed and successful films in Dutch history. The five films included in this collection are all filled with the raw sexuality incredible performances and unique visual style that make him one of the most fascinating filmmakers in cinema today. Business is Business (1971): A bawdy but sympathetic look at the lives of two Amsterdam prostitutes Business Is Business was Verhoeven's film debut. Turkish Delight (1973): Voted Best Dutch Film of the Century Rutger Hauer stars as Erik Vonk a free spirited sculptor who enters into a passionate affair with the beautiful Olga (Monique van de Ven). Katie Tippel (1975): A young girl Katie moves to Amsterdam in 1881 with her impoverished family and is led into prostitution in order to survive. Soldier Of Orange (1977): A gripping World War II tale about the Nazi invasion of Holland and its effects upon six wealthy boisterous college students. The Fourth Man (1983): Christine is young beautiful and rich. Her three husbands all died tragically and mysteriously. It's time for Christine to find her fourth man...