The 4th Man

press release: Netherlands | 1983 | 35mm | 105 min. | Dutch with English subtitles

Director: Paul Verhoeven; Cast: Jeroen Krabbé, Renée Soutendijk, Thom Hoffman

Drunk, broke, prone to hallucinations, and obsessed with murdering his gay lover, controversial author Gerard Reve (Krabbé) hooks up with the kinky Christine (Soutendijk), a blonde temptress who may or may not be a murderous black widow. For his last Dutch language film before he went to Hollywood, Verhoeven pulled out all the stops, mixing camp, kitsch, and overheated symbolism to create a delirious erotic thriller that paved the way for the director's later Basic Instinct.

After a nearly 16-month hiatus, big screen movies are making their comeback at the UW Cinematheque’s regular venue, 4070 Vilas Hall! Beginning Wednesday June 30, the Cinematheque will commence six weeks of free screenings beginning with Leo McCarey’s Make Way for Tomorrow, a classic tearjerker that was originally scheduled for April 2020. The summer lineup includes canonized comedies, action blockbusters, international thrillers, contemporary gems from Asia, the complete American works of French superstar Jean Gabin, a three-film salute to Charles Bronson in honor of his centennial, and more!

Summer programming will take place on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings and all feature films will be screened from original or archival 35mm prints. Admission, as always, is free and open to the public. Seating will be limited and socially distanced according to current UW-Madison policies. When possible, additional showtimes have been added to accommodate more viewers. All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.