Flesh and Blood

Flesh and Blood may refer to:

Books

Film and television

Film

TV

Flesh and Blood (1985 film)

Flesh and Blood (stylized as Flesh+Blood) is a 1985 American-Dutch-Spanish dramatic adventure film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Rutger Hauer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Burlinson and Jack Thompson. The script was written by Verhoeven and Gerard Soeteman. The story is set in the year 1501 in Italy, during the passing of the Late Middle Ages to the Early modern period, and follows two warring groups of mercenaries and their convoluted and longstanding quarrel.

The script is partly based on unused material for the Dutch TV series Floris, which was the début for Verhoeven, Soeteman and Hauer. The film, originally titled God's Own Butchers, was also known as The Rose and the Sword on early VHS releases. It was Verhoeven's first English language film.

Plot

In 1501, a city in Italy has been taken by a coup d'état while its rightful ruler, Arnolfini (Fernando Hilbeck), is away. Arnolfini promises some mercenaries 24 hours of looting if they succeed in retaking the city, and they do so. But in their revelry, Arnolfini decides that he wants them gone. Hawkwood (Jack Thompson), the commander of the troops, is caring for a young nun he mistakenly attacked during the siege. Arnolfini promises to get medical attention for her and Hawkwood leads Arnolfini's cavalry, betraying his former lieutenant, Martin (Rutger Hauer). The cavalry ejects the mercenaries from the city without their loot. Soon after, Martin's son is stillborn. Burying the infant unearths a wooden statue of Saint Martin of Tours – a saint with a sword. The mercenaries' cardinal views this as a sign from God to follow Martin as their new leader.

Jackie French

Jacqueline Anne "Jackie" French AM (born 29 November 1953) is an award-winning Australian author who has written over 140 books and has won more than 60 national and international awards. She is considered one of Australia's most popular and awarded children's authors, writing across a number of children's genres including picture books, history, fantasy and history fiction.

She is also an author of numerous books on ecology, gardening, pest control, wombats, other wildlife and hens as well as fiction for adults. She is also a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines around Australia including the Australian Women's Weekly and the Canberra Times. She also presented gardening segments on the long-running Australian TV series Burke's Backyard.

Career

French began writing Rain Stones, her first book for children, when she was 30 years old, living in a shed and in need of money to register her car. Her editor said it was the messiest and worst-spelt manuscript ever submitted (partly because Jackie was dyslexic, but also because the letter e on her typewriter wasn't working because of droppings left on her keyboard by a wombat), but the book ended up being shortlisted for the Australian Children's Book Council of Australia award for the Younger Readers Book of the Year and the NSW Premier's Award.