Product Details

• Actors: David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Richard Crenna, Michael Biehn
• Directors: William Friedkin
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304238029
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,775 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Neither director William Friedkin nor star David Caruso could redeem this vulgar, nasty script by Joe Eszterhas. Caruso is a politically ambitious assistant D.A. investigating the gruesome murder of a San Francisco bigwig. Too many clues point in the direction of his former girlfriend (Linda Fiorentino), a shrink who has a secret sideline as call girl to the rich and kinky. For good measure, she's now married to Caruso's best friend, Chazz Palminteri. Friedkin has done much better work in other places; even he can't perform much magic here, though he tries, with a solid car chase (that suffers in comparison to those he staged in French Connection and To Live and Die in L.A.). --Marshall Fine

From The New Yorker

Writer Joe Eszterhas's follow-up to his "Showgirls" fiasco is every bit as hopeless, and this time he takes some good actors down with him. David Caruso plays a prosecutor investigating a gruesome murder, which may have been committed by an old flame (Linda Fiorentino) who has since married a tough defense attorney (Chazz Palminteri). The story is ridiculous: the victim, a millionaire, collected pubic hair from his conquests, and one such specimen-from a woman named Jade-intrigues the detective, who searches for her and learns that her sexual specialty was ... Eszterhas should get a grip. So should the director, William Friedkin, who provides not one but two car chases through San Francisco (now, there's a novelty) in the hope of pumping in some energy. Nothing that he or the actors try builds suspense or makes any sense. Eszterhas may be fixated on money, power, and sex, but his scripts are cheap, humorless, and limp. -Bruce Diones
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good movie, bad dvd, May 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jade (DVD)

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.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and suspense at its best, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jade (DVD)

Some fantasies go too far. Money, sex and power are the things that most corrupt Los Angeles citizens in the modern world and in the classy thriller "Jade", penned by "Basic Instinct" screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and directed by "The Exorcist" director William Friedkin. This is a film I will definitely run out and buy on DVD now that I just got a DVD player. The film, despite many peoples' horrible opinions, is mystery and suspense at its best, delievring powerful dialogue, a chilling and provocative musical score, and unique directing and editing. Not to mention the terrific car chase scene that took the cast and crew three weeks to shoot in the cooperative Chinatown in California. Car chase scenes have become a trifle trite, however it remains tastefully done and riveting in this also riveting film. "Jade" shows that there is a dark side to people of high and low levels of power, and that they will commit heinous and destructive acts to remain in the chair of power, and as clinical psychologist Katrina Gavin (the wonderful and talented Linda Fiorentino) says, "The people who commit these acts are in many ways no different from you and me. But they are no longer able to control their urges. They disassociate themselves from their own actions, often experiencing an hysterical blindness. They are blind to the darkness within themselves."

9 of 10 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

By	kyle porter (Bellevue, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jade (Unrated Version) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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.