IMDb user comments for
Jade (1995)

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54 comments in total

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16 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
Underrated Movie, 25 May 2004

Author: dalcott (danalcott@yahoo.com) from United States

I think this movie has the lowest IMDB user vote rating of any movie that I like. It is really an entertaining movie and I am not sure why it is getting such poor ratings here. It is not perfect and may have a few plot holes, but it is definitely worth seeing. There must be an anti-Caruso IMDB splinter cell operating in cyberspace and conspiring to drop the IMDB user rating for all his movies about 2 to 3 points. Check it out and see what you think. Linda Fiorentino is truly hot and well cast as the steamy babe. Caruso's performance is very believable. Richard Crenna is underrated and good here too. Angie Everhart and Donna Murphy are pleasing to look at and also give good performances in smaller roles. Ignore the anti-Caruso crowd, who must be a band of closet NYPD Blue freaks that are still upset that he left that show to make films.

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13 out of 15 people found the following comment useful :-
Much Better Than The Critics Would Have You Believe, 11 November 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Make no mistake: (1) this IS a sordid crime story and (2) is is FAR better than the national critics - and the ones here - would have you believe. I have found it fascinating the three times I've watched it and look forward to seeing it again. It surprises me each time, being better than I remembered. It's nicely photographed, too. Why I can't get a widescreen DVD of this, I don't know, but all that seems to be available is full screen.

William Friedkin directed this which usually means (1) a riveting story; (2) stylish cinematography. That's the case here. I rate this movie so high mainly because it's so entertaining. And it doesn't overstay it's welcome at a short hour-and-a- half.

There are some stunning action scenes with cars hitting people, cars hitting cars and a long, wild car chase through a parade in San Francisco's Chinatown.

My only complaint is the normal Liberal in-your-face bias that Hollywood always seems to show. They just can't help giving you their pro-Democrat, anti- Catholic, anti-authority bias. Early scenes provide some cheap shots on Nixon and Reagan and later we see the film's two male starts talking irreverently in church. The governor is a sleaze in the story and the cops are corrupt. I've just come to except these modern-day film clichés and not let it interfere with my enjoyment of the film.

Speaking of actors and characters, David Caruso and Chazz Palminteri are the two male leads I referred to in the previous paragraph. They are both good. Why Caruso didn't make it in the movies must have been due to the roles he took, not his acting. Linda Fiorentino does what she does best - plays a whore. There isn't a moral person in here, at least with the lead actors. That's no surprise since "sleaze king" Joe Eszterhas wrote the script. Nonetheless, those three actors are very good with Caruso, as the cop, the best.

It's a crude story at times (there was a NC-version available of this, as well), but it's very interesting start-to-finish, has some memorable scenes, nice San Francisco scenery and a nice soundtrack from Celtic singer Loreena McKennitt.

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13 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Underrated, but still not one of Friedkin's best..., 22 November 2004
Author: carnivalofsouls from Australia

To say Friedkin's career has had its ups and downs is an understatement, his eighties filmography inarguably has enough bombs to sink a oil tanker. Yet eschewing their performances at the box office, many of his films yearn to be rediscovered, from "Cruising" to "Deal of the Century" to "Rampage". Let's not kid ourselves, "Jade" is not a great film, and this is the fault of one man and one man alone - Joe Esterhas. If trash had a messiah, it would be him. For a fleeting moment in the nineties, Esterhas was paid by the bucketload to write formulaic movies for guys, and the erotic thriller has him to thank for its continuing lugubrious existence. "Jade" is interesting however, it is an erotic thriller without the erotic part. While Paul Verhoeven filled "Basic Instinct" chock full of the sleaze he had become renowned for, Friedkin's films are notable for primarily dealing with male characters, and are subsequently about as erotic as as a bowl of cereal. "Jade" is not about sex; it is about sexual jealousy. The talent of Linda Fiorentino cannot be underestimated here, giving depth to a part that amounts to no more than a typical male fantasy - part good girl, part whore - that's right, it's "Crimes of Passion" without Anthony Perkins and his bag of dildos. The leads are well cast and all give adequate performances, and Friedkin throws in all his usual directorial touches (subliminal images and, you guessed it, yet another bloody car chase). "Jade" is an enjoyable film, with delightfully silly twists and over-the-top violence (come on, you know you want to see Angie Everhart get run over again), and is given some class from it's cast and director, but, in the end, proves itself to be a guilty pleasure that makes one feel more guilt than pleasure.

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Stylish thriller, better than expected, 16 February 2002
Author: wherever from Phoenix, AZ

Jade got a bad rap when it showed in theaters and still appears to be getting one now from the comments here, so I didn't expect much when I caught it on cable. It never hurts to have low expectations, but I was quite pleasantly surprised and have watched it a few more times since then.

No, the plot isn't especially tight nor the story original, and it can be hard to follow at some points, but it's still an exciting, kinky, disturbing ride nonetheless.

I think the main reason I enjoyed it was the actors involved - Caruso and Palminteri were both very skilled (and surprisingly sexy - I hadn't found either to be that way in any roles I had seen them in previously, including NYPD Blue). And most of all Fiorentino smokes up the screen whenever she's on it. Sensual, damaged, brilliant. She's amazing when given a good script like the Last Seduction, but even with a flawed effort such as Jade, she still sets the house on fire.

The cinematography and art direction were the other thing that made this film. I loved the lavish sets and especially the eerie lighting during the final scene.

And as far as the comparisons to Basic Instinct, I see it as being about equal, suffering from the opposite problems as Jade; while the story was far more interesting the acting was pendantic at best. But maybe that's just my personal bias; I find Michael Douglas pompous and annoying and Sharon Stone shallow and vain.

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
Chaz and Linda are GREAT together!, 10 May 2001
Author: ninchi from Boynton Beach, Florida

Don't believe all the negs about this pix. It's not just another "Basic Instinct," either. Chaz and Linda are the consummate couple. V-e-r-y classy. The set decorations are fantastic. I absolutely vote Linda the quintessential queen of soft porn (or was it "hard"--I haven't yet seen the uncut version). Was it Linda or was it Memorex? Whoever it was, her legs are fabulous! Angie Everhart's sultry soliloquy describing her passion for LF (Trina) was like butter melting on a hot lobster. I found myself replaying that scene over and over just to capture the full essence of the moment. The hit-and-run scene was extremely graphic, (wow,what a stunt!) except to Friedkin fans who expect a certain amount of gratuitous violence. The final scene with CP and LF was perfect. I could feel the sexual tension jump out from the screen. The beautifully haunting song, "Mystic Dream," by Loreena McKennitt fit the dark mood perfectly. I still don't know why I love this movie; to borrow a line from the film, it must be "hysterical blindness." Go see this movie with a date, and have a great time together afterwards!

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Deserves better attention, 7 April 2003

Author: Jugu Abraham (jugu_abraham@yahoo.co.uk) from Trivandrum, Kerala, India

I saw an edited version on TV and though the story line is nothing to rave about the movie presents good cinema in fits and starts. Why?

The last one minute of the film is somewhat like the final minute of "The Usual Suspects". The difference is here the punch line is a combination of visuals, spoken words, and emotions packaged with a dark tragic twist, while in "The Usual Suspects" the final punch line was a combination of visuals and black comedy that provided the viewer entertainment. It is definitely not the usual Hollywood script.

While most critics seemed to throw brickbats at Friedkin and Eszterhas, a superior supporting performance by Donna Murphy as the investigating policewoman Karen Heller seem to have escaped attention of most viewers. She stood out in a film where performances were not exactly remarkable. Ms Murphy has immense talent and I hope some good director notices her potential.

Director Friedkin delivers what he is good at--car chases (French Connection) and outdoor shots. Nothing more. Screenplay writer Eszterhas, more sinned against than sinning, actually develops an interesting script with a steady stream of visual clues and interesting statements on psychology that unfortunately does not build up sufficient tempo to take off thanks to poor editing, direction, and last but not least uninspired acting by the lead characters. The script looks untidy and disjointed because of the lackluster editing and direction. Eszterhas' script may not be topnotch but definitely was not the reason for the end product--I blame the director for not being able to lift up the film to a higher plane. Friedkin has extracted great performances from Gene Hackman in the past, but in this film save for Donna Murphy he seems to have inspired none else in the cast. The cinematography of Andrzej Bartkowiak always impresses and the murder sequence in the crowded streets with the car was worthy of note of his talent.

The film can provide you enjoyment, if you attentively view the film.

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6 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Didn't Joe Eszterhas Write A Similar Script ?, 4 September 2005

Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute , Scotland

I'm the sort of guy who stays behind to read the closing credits of a movie . I'm also the sort of guy who makes a note of who the producer , director and screenwriter is . I guess that's the difference between the average IMDb user and the average movie watcher . The movie watcher is only interested in the genre of the movie and who stars in it and very little else . Being a regular contributor to this site means I notice names average movie watcher has little interest in . The downside to this is that a name appearing on the credits can prejudice my view of a film

Take JADE for instance which was written by Joe Eszterhas . Did my knowledge of Eszterhas mean that I think this movie is very similar in tone to BASIC INSTINCT whereas it's not and any comparison lies in my own biased knowledge of the screenwriter , or is JADE genuinely similar to BASIC INSTINCT ? Certainly this is a movie that seems to have been produced with the same market trend for erotic thrillers that were being made at the time , with the worst one being that one with Madonna and Willem Defoe

The plot revolves around a murder and a senior DA is brought in and the main suspect is a femme fatale with dubious sexual tastes . Cue lots of sexual intrigue , sleazy deviants and plot twists , few of which are convincing . And being the sort of guy who makes notes of who the director is I couldn't help noticing that William Friedkin is the guy who made THE FRENCH CONNECTION a film famous for a car chase . We get to see a car chase here which ends in the death of several million Chinese . If someone is thinking of doing a bio-pic on Chairman Mao they could do worse than hire Friedkin as the director !

I will say a couple of good things about JADE . The first is that Linda Fiorentino is very well cast as Trina Gavin who just oozes an understated smouldering sexuality , she's far better than than Sharon Stone in BASIC INSTINCT and a million miles better than Madonna in BODY OF EVIDENCE . Secondly I just love the very haunting quasi Celtic song The Mystic's Dream by Lorenna McKennitt . But apart from that JADE isn't really worth going out of your way to see

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Pretty Good. Fun and entertaining., 24 February 2003
Author: resist_refuse90 from Brisbane, Australia

for a film that gets a 4/10 here, i wasnt expecting much. But i was surprised. Top acting backed up by some skillful writing and direction. The car chase scene was great (i wish id watched it on DVD with surround sound). It was a pity this film did so bad at the box office while so much other crap thats churned out of the studios gets US$100m plus. If youre looking for some good, clean (well not clean, clean ;) ) fun then dont go past this. You'll like it im sure.

4 Stars

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Confusing movie wrapped around great car chase, 23 January 2003
Author: jbels from Chicago

Jade was very jumbled and difficult to follow but I will say that it does have one of the most imaginative car chases ever film, a la William Friedkin. The heart of the chase basically takes place on one city block in San Francisco's Chinatown during the Chinese New Year. The two cars are "chasing" each other through a pack crowd and parade, and they are basically going 2 miles per hour, nudging the crowd out of the way. This is brilliance on the director's part and you can hardly breathe during the sequence.

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Jade not even semi-precious, 6 November 2002
Author: david rayner from Oxford,UK

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

SPOILERS

A big budget B-Film.

1)Ridiculous The detective is sitting in the diner, sees his witness run over, leaves diner (does he pay his check?). Runs over to witness, confirms dead, runs to his car, and hit & run car is still in view!!

2) We never really get to understand Jade's dual personality (this is the key to film)

3) Jade retains her clothes in sex scenes, Gee Whizz!!!

Yet there was a film there somewhere

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