Flesh & Blood (1985), Paul Verhoeven's chaotic vision of life in the middle-ages, is one of the more graphically violent exercises in the audacious Dutch director's repertoire, but the aflective power of the film would be seriously diminished without the musical support of Basil Poledouris' fine dramatic score. As prepared for compact disc. Poledouris' richly- textured, colorful music traces most of the central incidents in the film. As the pictura opens, we are introduced to Martin (Rutger Hauer), the leader of a band of mercenary warriors hired by the wealthy Lord Arnolfini to lay siege to a castle in return for money. When Arnolfini reneges on the deal, the warriors ambush his castle and capture the supposedly innocent Princess Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who is betrothed to Arnolfini's son, Steven (Tom Burlinson). Agnes's assimilation into Martin's adventurous world forces her to reconsider her loyalties to Steven and his father. In fact, a romance develops between Agnes and Martin. Meanwhile, Steven prepares to meet his destiny in a climactic confrontation with Martin. But the immediacy of these conflicts is about to be overshadow3d by a deadly plague gradually enveloping and destined to forever alter the world of the characters.

In composing the score for Flesh and Blood, Basil Poledouirs created a vast complex of themes, motifs and functional material designed to illuminate the director's unconventional approach to the moral status of the characters. Indeed, Poledouris accepted the assignment on the basis of the film's moral ambiguities, which constantly throw the audience's sense and perceptions into disarray. The composer's noble offering for Martin (an unusual combination of swashbuckling and monastic sensibilities) is a highlight, along with the two love themes characterized by their conflicting natures. The theme for Agnes and Steven is gently romantic, while the music for Agnes and Martin evolves from their initial encounter (a bizarre rape) to its final, tragic variant. Poledouris' approach allowed him to flesh out the transformations both within and between the characters as the narrative progresses. On a more technical note, Poledouris admits that while he was partly influenced by the musical conventions of the period, he correctly took the liberty of broadening his harmonic and rhythmic palette for the purpose of enlarging the movie's dramatic impact. Recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra in several combinations, Poledouris' orchestration also calls for the use of electronics, but in accordance with the direct, "flesh and blood" approach taken by the filmmakers, it is the acoustic element that remains at the forefront of the composer's aural design. The success of their collaboration on Flesh & Blood led Verhoeven and Poledouris to reunite for the equally rewarding Robocop (1987). Although Robocop is a futuristic adventure, the film is certainly in keeping with the pessimistic, violent and morally tense atmosphere of Flesh & Blood.