19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good movie, bad dvd, May 1, 1999
By A Customer
While I think this movie is very fun and trashy, the DVD has only the r-rated version. On video, one can buy the unrated director's cut, which has about 10 minutes added (this includes a little more nudity, dialogue and the ending is changed substantially). Just buy the video, and the film was shot at an aspect ration of 1:1.85, so you're not missing that much since it's not letterboxed.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good thriller, I must say a highlight for even Caruso., April 15, 2000
This film first intrigued me because I'm always interested in thrillers like "Rising Sun" or "Sliver", mostly because I really love those solemn-turn-to-explosive kind of films. I always seem to find a good amount of adreneline in these movies, even where most people only see uneventful and boring elements. In fact those scenes, which can be seen with amazing clarity in "Jade", have a subtle emotional intensity that brings out a sense of sophistication, and fulfills a lot of reality within these situations. It's wonderful how strong this film was in all departments: plot, performance, action, emotion, atmosphere, and ability to make a strong mark in the thriller genre. You will also enjoy Caruso's performance, as he does that kind of character well, but you won't be able to forget Linda Fiorentino's and Palminteri's great performances. It has it's share of good ol' American film noir intrigue: infidelity, paranoia, political corruption, and a few car chases, but all of those things are accomplished extremely well in this film, setting a standard for those elements, I'm sure. And if you could make a big deal about "Ronin"'s car chases, then this cool caper will give you a coronary.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a great Blu, but a decent improvement, April 4, 2010
I had no expectations as Paramount typically does some kind of DNR thingy with their 80s/90s titles, so I was just hoping to see a nice preservation of some Bay Area locales. By the time the credits rolled on this theatrical BD cut, I wasn't disappointed, it just had some serious issues.
Admittedly, I enjoyed watching this Basic Instinct clone (at last count there were 28 identical/similar characters, scenes, etc.), so between the sights, characters and score I felt sure Michael Douglas was going to cameo any second, but Loreena Mckennitt's
The Mummers' Dance version of Mystic's Dream adds a nice feel throughout (although misplaced in half the scenes). The end result is laughable, but I figure one is reading this to hear about the BD.
The picture quality is vastly improved over the other products available; The colors have been enriched, the majority of artifact has been removed, the flesh tones have been glorified and depending on the camera being used - the views of the Bay Area show a decent time capsule preservation from 94/95. The cons: The resulting edge fuzz is prevalent, there is TONS of grain on most of the interiors, and the intermittent artifact/film fade pops up in some irritating spots. Overall - a decent upgrade but there is still plenty to pick apart.
The sound is a mixed bag. The DTS felt like it was forced as the outer channels were getting used heavily, even in the smallest of scenes, to the point where is was mixed incorrectly a few times. The vocals were drowned out in some of the louder sequences by outer channel garbage, and there were a couple of scenes where the post-production must have missed the timing (lips clearly not matching the words). The score sounds clear though, and any time Mckennitt sings you almost wish for a music-only track.
The only special feature is the original trailer which shows how bad the film looked (with a few brief clips of what must be in the Director's Cut). Region coded A. I cannot give this a higher rating as a BD because it had too many technical failings, no special features, and no director's cut.
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