Rutger Night

This evening for a change we won’t be watching Dutch films with Rutger Hauer, but Martin Koolhoven and Ronald Simons will present a selection from Hauer’s stellar international career. With trailers from Blind Fury (Phillip Noyce, US 1989), The Osterman Weekend (Sam Peckinpah, US 1983) and Sin City (Frank Miller, Robert Rodriquez, Quentin Tarantino, US 2005), followed by a 35mm screening of the action film The Salute of the Jugger (aka The Blood of Heroes) from the Eye collection.

The Salute of the Jugger

(David Webb Peoples, AU/US 1989)

In the deserts of the post-apocalyptic future, there’s only one way to get to the top – winning the most horrific, bloody game of that era: Jugger (think: dog’s skull on a stick). Rugged Sallow (Rutger Hauer) is one of the few survivors in this war-ravaged world, where the thrill of Jugger is the sole source of entertainment.

Sallow is a former Major League player, and tries together with his team to win the prize – which consists of food, drink and sex. When young, lightning-fast player Joan Chen (Twin Peaks) joins the team, winning becomes literally a matter of life or death. Also starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Hugh Keays-Byrne (Immortan Joe) as the slimy leader of the underground elite.