Spetters

R

1980

1h 55m

Drama

List

86%

14 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Two young motocross racers, Rien (Hans van Tongeren) and Hans (Maarten Spanjer), and their mechanic, Eef (Toon Agterberg), dream of fame, fortune and loose women. Their hero is legendary motocross champion Gerrit Witkamp (Rutger Hauer), who fuels their competitive drive. Their lives are changed when they meet a young seductress named Fientje (Renée Soutendijk). Eventually, she makes the three men face the reality of success, defeat and homosexuality.

Read More

Read Less

cinephile f

I adore Verhoeven. This is a film for cinephiles and intellectuals (not people who wish to be mindlessly entertained.) It is fantastic and I recommend it 100%.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Paul Verhoeven's Spetters is a bit like Saturday Night Fever minus the dancing. In this film we follow three young men with an interest in motorcycle racing (and the same woman). As usual for Verhoeven, very emotional and very explicit.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It has nothing to say..

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

walter m

In "Spetters," Rien(Hans van Tongeren), Eef(Toon Agterberg) and Hans(Maarten Spanjer) are young motorcross enthusiasts who worship the ground that Gerrit Witkamp(Rutger Hauer), Dutch national champion and dentist, walks on. While Hans can barely get his motorbike going, Rien actually shows a lot of promise and unlike his two friends, actually has a girlfriend, Maya(Marianne Boyer). As dated as "Spetters" is by its hair, clothing, music and attitudes, it is even worse that it never stands on its own or generates any genuine emotions. It also goes beyond simply referencing the movies of its era like "Saturday Night Fever" with a plot that has some close similarities with the previous year's "Breaking Away." Of course, maybe if the execution had been there, "Spetters" would have had a chance of turning out differently. But here, like his newer movies, Paul Verhoeven often crosses the narrow line between provocation and simply being crass in introducing explicit material that also includes a literal measuring contest, another sign of the times, and not a good one.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hard to get on board with a film that tells a tale that doesn't interest me, centred on dirk biking, which doesn't interest me, featuring characters who are at times broad caricatures and, for the most part, disgusting people doing disgusting things. I guess if these things interest the viewer and they don't mind the reprehensible nature of some of the main characters, you'll find things you enjoy. Verhoeven has made some fantastic films, he's also made some God awful ones, this one is God awful.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a very strong movie, one like only Verhoeven can make. You really won't see any films this graphic and realistic in America. If you can look past some of the male nudity you will find this to be a compelling story. Still wish Verhoeven had left some of the male nudity out. Some parts went over the line

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Paul Verhoeven

Director

Hans van Tongeren

Rien

Renée Soutendijk

Fientje

Toon Agterberg

Eef

Maarten Spanjer

Hans

Marianne Boyer

Maya

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

70%

89%

The Edukators

93%

90%

Open Hearts

92%

92%

Character

60%

78%

One Deadly Summer

91%

93%

Head-On

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Anton Bitel

Little White Lies

in these young men's stories, as they become caught up in a collision of older and newer values, you can also see the painful emergence of the Dutch nation from its own Calvinist, homophobic, colonialist past.

Dec 2, 2019

Full Review

Derek Adams

Time Out

Imagine a Mike Leigh film set in Holland with motorbike stunts, packed with authentic action sequences and sexual frankness...

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Vincent Canby

New York Times

A resolutely humorless (though sometimes unintentionally funny) Dutch movie about three young men who dream of finding fame and fortune in motorcycle racing and, instead, find themselves. The search is unrewarding and seems interminable.

Rated: 2.5/5

Aug 30, 2004

Full Review

Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

Spetters is a satisfyingly old fashioned sort of movie with the explicit sexuality of more contemporary films. It’s a little bit closety, but its half truthfulness is more enjoyable than none at all.

Sep 15, 2022

Full Review

Jas Keimig

The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

The film never condones the antics but condemns the sort of masculinity and conservatism fomented in Dutch culture. Still, it's tough and shocking.

Dec 9, 2021

Full Review

Kenneth Turan

New West/California

It is the canny way Verhoeven blends hoary plotting with sexy thrills that makes Spetters as enjoyable as it is.

Nov 3, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Two young motocross racers, Rien (Hans van Tongeren) and Hans (Maarten Spanjer), and their mechanic, Eef (Toon Agterberg), dream of fame, fortune and loose women. Their hero is legendary motocross champion Gerrit Witkamp (Rutger Hauer), who fuels their competitive drive. Their lives are changed when they meet a young seductress named Fientje (Renée Soutendijk). Eventually, she makes the three men face the reality of success, defeat and homosexuality.

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Dutch
Release Date (DVD): Aug 1, 2006
Runtime: 1h 55m