I never really had the hots for Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (1944-2019), but after collecting all these images I think now I do?
Note: Historical productions for which I can’t find pictures of Hauer include Nostradamus (1994), Warrior Angels (2002), The Letters (2014), Francesco (2014), Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the 4th Reich (2016), and The Sisters Brothers (2018).
Floris in Floris (1969) and Floris von Rosemund (1975)
A Dutch TV series set during the Guelders Wars (1502-43), in which a knight (Hauer) returns home to find his castle occupied and so has to take sides in the war.
Hugo in Katie Tippel (1975)
A Paul Verhoeven (director: Total Recall, Robocop, Showgirls, Black Book) film, based on the memoirs of a proletarian writer named Neel Doff. Things begin in 1881, and seem to go into the 1890s according to these photos.
De Valvert in Cyrano de Bergerac (1975)
A Dutch TV version of the 17th-century-set play.
Duclari in Max Havelaar (1976)
A Dutch film set in the 1860s, adapted from a novel, in which the lead character battles against a corrupt colonial government in what was then the Dutch East Indies and is now Indonesia.
Erik Lanshof in Soldier of Orange (1977)
Another Verhoeven film, this one about Dutch students during World War II; some of them collaborate with the Nazis, while others resist. This is the first of MANY World War II roles for Hauer.
Dunois in Heilige Jeanne (1978)
A Dutch TV adaptation of the George Bernard Shaw play “Saint Joan” (i.e., of Arc).
August Shultz in Pastorale 1943 (1978)
The second of MANY World War II films, this one set in a Dutch town.
Johan Nagel in Mysteries (1978)
“A wealthy visitor to a small town befriends a midget and gets involved with two women as his behaviour becoming ever stranger” per IMDB.
Adriaan in Een vrouw tussen hond en wolf (1979)
AKA “Woman Between Wolf and Dog” and again in World War II (#3). A woman in Antwerp falls in love with a French resistance fighter while her Flemish nationalist husband fights in the war.
Etienne de Balsan in Chanel Solitaire (1981)
A biopic about Coco Chanel. Hauer plays one of her real-life lovers, a French socialite.
Albert Speer in Inside the Third Reich (1982)
A TV film that adapts Speer’s memoir; Speer was the Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Nazi regime (World War II #4).
Claude Maillot Van Horn in Eureka (1983)
The film “follows the life of a Klondike prospector who becomes one of the world’s wealthiest men after striking gold in 1925, but, 20 years on, fears that he is being preyed upon by his daughter and her social-climbing husband, as well as a mobster attempting to usurp the Caribbean island he owns,” per Wikipedia.
Navarre in Ladyhawke (1985)
A thief helps a former guard captain (Hauer) and his cursed lover (Michelle Pfeiffer) in medieval France.
Martin in Flesh+Blood (1985)
Yet another Verhoeven film, this one set in 1501 Italy and featuring a lot of rape. You’ve been warned!
Alexander “Sasha” Pechersky in Escape from Sobibor (1987)
The story of the mass escape from Nazi extermination camp. Hauer won a Golden Globe for his performance. World War II #5!
The Brain in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
“A muckraking reporter, Waldo Winchester, frames four major stories during the wild New Year’s Eve of 1928” centered around Broadway (Wikipedia). It was a flop and is apparently terrible, which is why you’ve never heard of it despite it starring Madonna!
Fred Noonan in Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight (1994)
A biopic about the famous aviatrix; Noonan was her navigator who flew with her.
March in Fatherland (1994)
An alternate history set in a 1960s in which Germany won World War II (#6), in which a police detective discovers the Holocaust, which has been covered up.
John Thornton in The Call of the Wild (1997)
An adaptation of the classic Jack London 1903 novel set in the Yukon.
King Vortigern in Merlin (1998)
A TV miniseries telling the King Arthur legend.
Squire in Simon Magus (1999)
Set in 19th century Poland, in which a Jewish man tries to build a railroad station in order to revive his town.
Cyrnan in Minotaur (2006)
A loose retelling of the Greek myths of Theseus and the Minotaur.
Old Frank in Bride Flight (2008)
Four Dutch people start new lives in 1950s New Zealand. Sounds boring, but it has one of the hottest sex scenes I’ve ever watched (don’t worry, it doesn’t involve Hauer)!
Frederico Barbarossa in Sword of War (2009)
AKA Barbarossa. In 12th century Italy, the Lombard League struggles to maintain independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
Pieter Brugel in The Mill and the Cross (2011)
This sounds pretty amazing: “The film focuses on a dozen of the 500 characters depicted in Bruegel’s painting [The Procession to Calvary, 1564]. It consists of a series of vignettes depicting everyday peasant life, interspersed with monologues from some of the principal characters, including Bruegel explaining the structure and symbolism of his painting,” per Wikipedia — particularly since the images I’ve seen look like the painting may be used as backgrounds and they really went for historically accurate costumes. Quick, someone go watch this and report back!
Van Helsing in Dracula 3D (2012)
Hauer has been in several Dracula films, but this seems to be the only one that’s period?
Michelangelo in Michelangelo – Il cuore e la pietra (2012)
All I can tell is it’s an Italian TV film about the Renaissance painter.
King Zakkour in The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power (2015)
A direct-to-video sword and sorcery movie that was a TOTAL bomb.
Kingsley in Galavant (2015)
A musical fantasy comedy series set in the medieval era.
Maarten Tromp in The Admiral (2015)
AKA “Michiel de Ruyter.” A Dutch film about a famous Dutch admiral who kicked butt in the Anglo-Dutch Wars.
Ravn in The Last Kingdom (2015)
A British TV series set during 866-878, while the wars between the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons were happening in England.
Carl Rungius in Drawing Home (2016)
A Canadian romantic/adventure film set in the 1920s.
Stolbakken in Mata Hari (2016)
A TV miniseries about the World War I spy.
Manoah in Samson (2018)
A Biblical film.
Ambassador in Iron Mask (2019)
What looks to be a historical film with fantasy elements? “Early 1700: Cartographer Jonathan Green from Forbidden Empire (2014) is back to map the Russian Far East. He’s forced on to China…” per IMDB.
Chaplain in Mariette in Ecstasy (2019)
Set in a convent in 1906. It was actually filmed in 1996, but not released until 2019 because the production company went bankrupt.
John the Constant in Emperor (never released)
In the 16th century, “Action epic about young Johanna ‘Of Ghent,’ who seeks revenge on the holy Roman Emperor Charles V for the death of her father” per IMDB. Never released because of some scandal involving the producer being involved in fraud.
What’s your favorite of Rutger Hauer’s many frock flicks roles?
I guess Blade Runner doesn’t really count as a Frock Flick…but you can’t really say it wasn’t a costume drama. He had some great costumes in that film…sigh.
Not asking you to expand your remit here. This comment applies to Rutger Hauer, not sci-fi movies.
I have seen The Mill and the Cross. It is a bit odd, but worth seeing. The way the Brueghel paintings come to life is fascinating for anyone who loves that artist’s works as I do. And I love Rutger – he always looks to me like a medieval knight (although I first became aware of him in the wonderful “Soldier of Orange”)
I really would have loved to see him as Lestat! Seems to me that Anne Rice wrote the character with him in mind, but by the time they got around to filming, he was too old.
Can confirm that Bloodhounds of Broadway is a lackluster film; it’s made up of a bunch of unrelated stories by Damon Runyan and relies on a narrator and characters happening to turn up in the same location as other characters to string together all the various plots. Madonna plays a showgirl named Hortense – who gets called Horty by a lot of the other characters – and whose whole plot is to sing one slow ballad with Jennifer Gray and fall in love with Randy Quaid.
Rutger Hauer is one of those actors who, growing up, I disliked for no good reason. Just… didn’t like his face I guess? We all have those and it’s fine as long as you acknowledge it’s irrational. Then I saw his amazing performance in Blade Runner (1982) and 100% reversed my opinion. Now I love his work haha.
Of course he’s perfect for Flesh+Blood and Ladyhawke.
I’ve seen Eureka (1983) and even though the plot is, in theory, straightforward, it’s honestly one of the weirder movies I’ve seen. Just the tone… it feels like fever dream logic. And the “climax” is downright ghoulish.
I’ve also seen The Mill and the Cross (2011). I remember it’s a gorgeous film but very slow and contemplative so set your expectations accordingly. Worth at least one watch, though.
As for the dancing shot that piqued your curiosity in Soldier of Orange (1977): [Non-historical] MINOR SPOILERS.
It may diminish the impact if you plan on seeing it, but if you’re that curious: read on. So as you pointed out, it’s about Dutch students and some defect to the Fascists. Rutger Hauer’s character Erik (based on the real-life Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema) sides with the Dutch resistance and eventually the [British] RAF. The Waffen-SS officer is Alex, Erik’s former friend and classmate. Erik brazenly infiltrates a Nazi ball so he can see his former friend face-to-face. The two tango while subtly, politely confronting each other. The director said it symbolizes “the fragile balance between good and evil”. It’s a great, poignant scene.
I highly recommend Soldier of Orange. It’s not a typical WWII movie. It has some tropes of one, of course, but it’s more of a morality play that uses WWII as its catalyst. Great film.
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I’m interested in seeing Eureka now that I know it’s based on the murder of Sir Harry Oakes and Rutger Hauer plays a fictionalized version of Alfred de Marigny. I remember seeing Inside the Third Reich on TV in high school and I think the grey-haired guy in The Scorpion King IV photo is Barry Bostwick not Rutger Hauer.
Eureka is impeccably made, but unsurprisingly it is a dark, mean-spirited movie. The murder scene is harrowing.
Worth seeing, though.
Madly in love since Ladyhawke. It’s all about that glorious golden head of hair!
Is it me, or that last picture of Rutger in the Chanel Solitaire very PRB adjacent?
I’m trying to decide exactly which one of the models it remind me most of – Fanny Cornforth? Alexa Wilding? Touch of Jane Morris?
I don’t know whether it was deliberate or not (not having seen the film to know the context!), but it’s the eyes, jawline and lips that really caught my eye and made me think along those lines…
About Flesh+Blood: they are matching because he stole from noble, wealthy traveling people, and he wears the son wedding garb. And she, well, she’s the bride. So she was supposed to match her future husband at the altar ^^
It speaks volumes about the Dario Argento DRACULA that Mr Hauer’s portrait from MATA HARI is whole orders of magnitude more ‘Van Helsing’ (It is, in fact, quite scarily perfect for my mental image of the character … even if he was not a ginger, which the Good Professor canonically is).
Amusingly, the film’s Dracula (Mr Thomas Kretschmann, doubtless relieved to get a shot at playing someone who isn’t associated with the Third Reich for once) actually played Can Helsing himself – though sadly in another candidate for ‘Worst Adaptation in the History of Dracula’.
Clearly when it comes to vampires Mr Kretschmann should have quit while he was ahead after BLADE II.
Ed, I haven’t seen Argento’s Dracula, so I can’t comment on its quality. I can add, though, that Thomas Kretschmann also played Van Helsing on an American TV show called Dracula back in 2013. That show was…I can’t even find the words… But I can say that Kretschmann, who I was also relieved to see in a non WWII role, was doing the best that he could with the role…
Not a huge fan of him in general, but I do love LadyHawke. It’s cheesy and yet so funny and romantic. He’s also in The 10th Kingdom, which is set in a fairy tale world.
I am not ashamed to say that I loved Gallivant (it didn’t hurt that the male lead was dreamy) but I don’t actually remember Rutger in that.
The matching costumes in Flesh and Blood has something to do with after Rutger and his band of pillaging mercernaries (and the sex workers who love them) kidnap the virginal Jennifer Jason Leigh, they manage to storm a wealthy aristocrat’s stronghold and then they have access to to the wardrobe of the lord and his family which they dress up in and have sex and wine. Also, we see Roger in a medieval g-string which had a lot of things to do with my becoming a woman.
Ladyhawke is an 80’s-tastic masterpiece. The costimes are blah, but Rutger and Michelle are supernaturally beautiful and the soundtrack is wonderful.
I might have seen Blade Runner first, but I remember Hauer best from Ladyhawke. One of those movies that could have been forgettable or so-bad-it’s-good but ended up being neither because of the really strong lead performances.
Oh, Rutger Hauer definitely had his moments of hotness, throughout his entire career. But, all I can say is that this post was a delightful part of my day. Thank you! GREAT MCM choice!