In America, Paul Verhoeven is best known for the chapter of his career that began with "RoboCop" in 1987 — a run of sci-fi hits and erotic dramas that included "Starship Troopers," "Basic Instinct," "Showgirls," and "Total Recall." It was a decade and a half of classics and cult classics, but the director was well established in his native Netherlands and Europe at large before making the jump to Hollywood.

Verhoeven made his first American film in 1985, "Flesh and Blood," and "RoboCop" followed just two years later. However, the director nearly passed on the film that ultimately solidified his place in pop culture history (not that it's something Verhoeven has ever been terribly concerned with). In 2014, Esquire published an oral history of "RoboCop," in which Verhoeven explained his

See Full Page