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Starship Troopers (1997)
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Sat May 30, 2015 10:01 pm    Post subject: Starship Troopers (1997) Reply with quote



Rambo never had to deal with anything like this!

Starship Troopers certainly isn't intended to be a "hard science" sci-fi story, but it's a tour de force of special effects, and the action is irresistible.

So are the attractive stars — especially Denise Richards and Dina Meyer. Director Paul Verhoeven wanted everybody to be attractive because he grew up in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands and he wanted to make a statement about right-wing Fascist regimes.

To quote Verhoven:
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"If I tell the world that a right-wing, Fascist way of doing things doesn't work, no one will listen to me. So I'm going to make a perfect Fascist world: everyone is beautiful, everything is shiny, everything has big guns and fancy ships, but it's only good for killing f**king bugs!"
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Some folks disliked the movie because it differed so much from the Robert Heinlein novel it was supposedly based on. Little wonder in view of what Wikipedia says on that subject:
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Because the movie originated from an unrelated script, with names and superficial details from the novel being added retroactively, there are many differences between the original book and the film.
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Makes you wonder why Hollywood does things like that — claim a movie is based on a book and then tick off the fans by changing so much that the claim sounds like what politicians and lawyers are good at telling with straight faces.

On the DVD commentary Verhoeven admits he never finished reading the novel because after the first few chapters he got "bored and depressed."

But his movie certainly doesn't have that affect on audiences. It's a wild romp from start to finish, with rousing music, stellar special effects, meteoric action scenes, and a coed shower scene with all the pretty people which — according Wikipedia — the actors agreed to do only if Verhoeven directed it in the nude.

Which he did.

By the way, I felt like the poster looked a little cramped, so I did what I often do with these things — expand them a bit.

Here's the actually poster.






And here's my improved version. Very Happy



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Krel
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I think of this movie, the phrase "stinks on ice" comes to mind. I have a dvd of the movie. It came bundled with a dvd of "District 9", a much better movie, although not the great movie it could have been.

At the 1996 World Con, there was a presentation on the movie in a large auditorium. They had some of the production people answering questions. Verhoven wasn't there, they were still filming the movie. Despite having been filming for months, the only footage they had to show was the pitch reel, that demonstrated that they could do good CGI bugs.

They were also trying desperately to not give any details on the movie. They talked openly about how they were going to do a number on Heinlein's book. They said that when they announced the movie, they had many scriptwriters contact them who want to have a crack at hammering RHH. They were very proud of themselves that they didn't pick the writers with the most vitriol towards RHH. They couldn't understand why the audience didn't share their dislike of RHH.

A couple of quotes I remember. We are going to do the book exactly, but change it. Question We are going to do his politics exactly, but subvert them. Confused They were confused at the boos. At panels afterwards, writers and other movie people were mocking them.

The best part was when they had to admit, after evading the question, that there was to be no Power Armor in the movie because of the expense. The audience really booed then, the looks on the production people's faces was great. They knew that they were in trouble.

Everything RHH preached against in his book, the movie advocated.

David.
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scotpens
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
They talked openly how they were going to do a number on Heinlein's book. . . . A couple of quotes I remember. We are going to do the book exactly, but change it. Question We are going to do his politics exactly, but subvert them. Confused

It does make you wonder how they thought their approach to the material could result in a good movie. It's like saying you're going to do a film of an Ayn Rand novel, then turning it into an anti-capitalism polemic.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Sun May 31, 2015 10:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, they were very open and honest about their views towards RHH. They seemed puzzled that the audience didn't seem to hold the same views.

The funny thing is that they claimed to admire the book, and the story. How can you admire something that is the opposite of what you believe? I can acknowledge it, respect the authors right to write about it, marvel at the author's skill. I could/would even support and fight for their right to voice their views. I'm not sure though that I could respect the work itself if it is diametrically opposite to, or opposing my beliefs. It does trouble me a little, because I am not sure what it says about me.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Krel wrote:
I'm not sure though, that I could respect the work itself if it is diametrically opposite to, or opposing my beliefs. It does trouble me a little, because I am not sure what it says about me.

What that says about you is that your priorities are in order. Mine are too.

I am sure I could not respect a literary work that promoted the exact opposite of what I believe. What that says about me (and you, because you feel the same way) is that we know there really are objective truths (not just opinions) in certain areas, and if someone's literary skill is being used to distort the truth and promote a lie, said work should not be praised and revered — it should be condemned.

Please understand that I support a person's right to express their views about what the "objective truth" is on any subject, even when it differs from mine. I'm not trying to suppress the expression of an author's sincere beliefs, and I'm not saying my beliefs are always right.

I'm just saying that an author can be promoting false ideas (either deliberately or because of their own lack understanding), and this is detrimental to a society whose citizens value the truth.

Naturally, a society that values the truth will defend each individuals right to debate and discuss it. If you challenge someone's belief in what the truth is, you'll either strengthen their belief if they successfully defend it, or you'll correct their misunderstand if you point out the flaws in their logic.

That cuts both ways, of course. If they turn out to be right, you might turn out to be wrong. But you're both winners, because you both end up knowing the truth.
Very Happy
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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Pow
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The spaceships design reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica.

Co-ed showers! About freakin' time. Especially with the beautiful women in this film.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
The spaceships design reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica.

Co-ed showers! About freakin' time. Especially with the beautiful women in this film.

Yes, the ship's clearly had a lot in common with Battlestar: Galacitca.

About those showers: I don't know what to think about men who can focus on routine personal hygiene in a shower when they're surrounded by gorgeous, naked, dripping wet babes — especially when these men are supposed to be the cream of the crop, studliness wise.

On the same note, what would it do to a gal's self-esteem if she was surrounded by young men in a shower . . . and they WEREN'T all standing around her in a circle, endlessly washing one part of their bodies and ignoring the rest? Shocked

Just a thought, guys.
Cool
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


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orzel-w
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 2:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

This was another movie I enjoyed, which was apparently because I had no prior expectations from reading the book (at least not recently enough to recall very many details). I had read enough other Heinlein books, however, to be familiar with his political and social views, so I was forewarned on that count.
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alltare
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The movie is nothing like the book and there are many VERY illogical situations.

But you gotta admit, the bug special effects were great.

This and GRAVITY are two that I recommend primarily for the sfx.
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 7:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Pow wrote:
The spaceships design reminds me of the Battlestar Galactica.

Except the ships in BSG (at least on the original show) have point defense weapons. The ships on SSTs didn't appear to have any defensive weapons, or even offensive weapons. Where was the orbital bombardment? Also, lets not forget that they bunched all of their ships in orbit in a tight group. Why? The ships are in space, so what do they have plenty of? SPACE! Spread out a bit so one shot doesn't take out the whole fleet. Not to mention it is good to have a little elbow room while launching, and retrieving landers and fighters.

David.
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Pow
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 07, 2015 12:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was always impressed with the Outpost Whiskey set in ST.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 12:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

IMDB has 104 trivia items for this movie, but there are only two I felt were worth sharing with you folks.
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Director Paul Verhoeven and cinematographer Jost Vacano shot one take of the co-ed shower scene in the nude themselves (on a dare from star Dina Meyer).

Note from me: Boy, I'll bet it was REAL hard to get him to take that dare, eh? Wink

The base that houses the Fleet Academy is named "Tereshkova" after Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. There are many more examples in the movie of the future being gender-neutral (meaning there is no bigotry based on gender), such as the mixed-shower scene and the female captain.

Note from me: An admirable sentiment. The fact that all the ladies were gorgeous (not a single Plain Jane in the crowd) is a separate statement about this future society.

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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Krel
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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As I recall, in the novel, the Pilots were all female because they were suppose to withstand acceleration better.

Neutral gender doesn't really work out in the real world. Look at the pregnancy rates in mixed sex military units, during the Gulf War, the U.S. Navy had to recall a ship because of the pregnancies of the female crew.

David.
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Bud Brewster
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PostPosted: Thu May 18, 2017 3:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

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Well, my goodness, your example certainly proves my own assertion that coed showers are about as practical as having sex on a moving motorcycle!

I found a New York Times article that describes the situation you mentioned. It included these amusing statements.
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Thirty-six crew members of the supply ship Acadia were pregnant and had to be transferred during the ship's deployment to the Persian Gulf, naval officials say.

More than half became pregnant after the ship was under way, but a Navy spokesman, Lieut. Comdr. Jeff Smallwood, said there were no indications of improper fraternization between men and women on the ship.

"These women have a right to get pregnant," Commander Smallwood said. "The conclusion somebody is jumping to is that the Acadia is a
Love Boat, and that's not the case."

He said nine women became pregnant before the Acadia left San Diego . . . the remaining 22 women became pregnant while the ship was deployed.

The ship, whose 1,250 crew members included 360 women . . .

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I did a quick calculation and discovered that there were 3.47 healthy young Naval men for each healthy young Navel woman. Therefore, I'm thinking the popular song in the video below fits this situation perfectly! Cool

I wonder if the folks in Hollywood are considering a Naval reboot of this enjoyable series!


________________________ The Love Boat


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
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Krel
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PostPosted: Fri May 19, 2017 8:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bud Brewster wrote:
"These women have a right to get pregnant," Commander Smallwood said.

Not really true. When you are in the U. S. Military, you become government property until you are discharged. The military decides what your rights are.

This was explained to me by a guy I used to work with. He told me that when he was in the U. S. Navy, he and some shipmate got a very bad sunburn while swimming in Italy. He told me that the Navy came very close to court-martialing them for damaging government property.

David.
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