Jade (1995)

16% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
32% of users liked it
(6,863 ratings)

An investigator seeking the truth behind the death of a noted art dealer uncovers a web of sexual deception in this erotic thriller. David Caruso plays David Corelli, a San Francisco District Attorney who faces a potential conflict of interest when he learns that the prime suspect in the murder is… More An investigator seeking the truth behind the death of a noted art dealer uncovers a web of sexual deception in this erotic thriller. David Caruso plays David Corelli, a San Francisco District Attorney who faces a potential conflict of interest when he learns that the prime suspect in the murder is psychologist Katrina Gavin (Linda Fiorentino), an old flame who eventually married Corelli's close friend (Chazz Palminteri). Despite this, he continues on the case and discovers that the dealer owned a series of photographs showing prominent public figures in compromising positions with an enigmatic prostitute known only as Jade. As Corelli searches for the identity of this unknown woman, believing she holds the key to the murder's solution, he uncovers further secrets that ultimately threaten his own life. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: William Friedkin
Written By: Joe Eszterhas
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Oct 13, 1995 Wide
On DVD: Feb 16, 1999
Studio: Paramount

Critic Reviews

, USA Today
This is the second high-profile Joe Eszterhas script in three weeks, and were it not sleazy enough to make his Showgirls howlerama pass for fun, you could debate whether he or Mark Fuhrman has had a worse fall season.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It's a good, solid thriller with some terrific touches by Friedkin and some truly bizarre ones by Eszterhas.
Clint Morris, Moviehole
An Erotic Thriller that's as unsexy as it is unthrilling
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
A fairly suspenseful and entertaining thriller.
Victoria Alexander, FilmsInReview.com
What happened here?
Frank Ochieng, TheWorldJournal.com
A monotonous and misguided sexual thriller that certainly doesn't cater to the typical Friedkin vibes. And Caruso left his top-rated critically-acclaimed ABC-TV cop show for this?
Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
Post-viewing showers should be mandatory.

Read all 7 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Veronique K

i always harbor an oddball appreciation for the pulp b-movies, especially when they mesh all those classic stereotypes in an awesomely campy manner which is so bold it's almost "epic fail"...jade is one of the cases. most of all, the scriptor joe ezsterhas, also the… More
i always harbor an oddball appreciation for the pulp b-movies, especially when they mesh all those classic stereotypes in an awesomely campy manner which is so bold it's almost "epic fail"...jade is one of the cases. most of all, the scriptor joe ezsterhas, also the writer of basic instinct, is the sleazy genius behind the whole picture. it toys with some of the formuli formed in basic instinct: highly educated intelligent but sexually corrupted sexy women of upper class who happens to be a shrink, the uncompromised hard-boiled detective who is more than anxious to set the justice right even thru pervert voyeurism, and priviledged aristocratic men with masochistic preference for the dominatrix-type woman, who gains her pleasure of sex through extreme hard-core acts like bondage and role-playings. and they happen again in SAN FRANSISCO! and ezsterhas adds the morally corrupted lawyer-womanizer into the picture to savour up the delicious rot of jade. in this time, linda fiorention is his fetishized seductive murderess whose super-cunt literally owns the movie! here are all the fun facts. first of all, the name title jade has a exotic undertone, jade is a dominatrix whore who takes an oriental name to entice her men-prey. and among the remains of the victim, pubic hair is stored within a elegant box made of silver, inscribed with a chinese character of jade. second of all, some of the scenes are deliberately arranged within some chinese festival in frisco's china-town to give the picture an other-worldly feeling, and some of oriental decorations are used as the adorments in those secret rooms for the purpose of illicit sex. (in the script, it's called THE FUCK HOUSE.) if you read raymond chandler's the big sleep, chandler seems to favor associating the oriental exotica with sexual perversions. (bisexuality and promiscuity...the world of pagans always has an aura of emanicipation from puritanical abstinence, to the westerners)...now we witness the modern homage to the metaphors of vintage stereotypes. third of all, one of those most interesting dialogue in the movie is a naked woman in solitude, leaving some desperate message in his answering machine while the man is about to engage in a sexual dalliance with his adulteress: "i'm reaching hysterical blindness, you better be careful, i might give in to one of those uncontrollable urges," which is repeated in the end of the movie by the man as the real murderer is exposed. david caruso from csi crime scene is still quite dreary as ever while chazz palminteri still remains as the fantastically sleazy typecast of the nasty power-obsessed slick man in b-noir flicks. (king of sleaze!) how about linda florentino? all i could say is that i never knew she was that super-sexy back in the good old 1990s while her husky voice spells out like "i dare you to do me" manifesto which fulfills every frame of picture. and those demure-lady garments seem particularly obscene while you envision all those wild crazy things are done under those conservative customes. jade is a b-movie-cult homage to noir, just like basic instinct, which is redeemed into a flick due to its strong production backset (which means..they just used all those top-class director, actors and cinematographers,,to make a b-movie), but jade also adapts the chiaroscuro technique to render protagonist's mental states, for example, woman on bed, the dichotomy of light and shadow appears on her face to symbolize something dark is looming within the woman's mind. jade might be a messily, loosely made b-movie, but it's definitely far from boring! (at least, better than show-girl, another ezsterhas' campy cheer of sleaze.)
Michael S

Ofcourse it's bad, that's a given; It's also enjoyable in that so bad it's good sort of way.
jay n

Linda Fiorentino is excellent as always but this is junk.
danny d

trippy but not terrible
Deb S

"Jade" has enough sex, nudity, and violence to keep it from becoming boring. The plot is about a brutal murder on an important art dealer in San Francisco. When the assistant district attorney (David Caruso) investigates the mysterious death, he discovers that the first… More
"Jade" has enough sex, nudity, and violence to keep it from becoming boring. The plot is about a brutal murder on an important art dealer in San Francisco. When the assistant district attorney (David Caruso) investigates the mysterious death, he discovers that the first suspect in this case is a friend of his, who is married to a powerful but corrupt attorney Chazz Palminteri. Dr. Katrina Gavin's (Jade) stunning performance will knock you out as the psychopathic psychiatrist, sensual, damaged but brilliant who likes to manipulate men. Sleazily and stylishly directed by crafty director William Friedkin, 'Jade' is an edge-of-your seat thriller. It was sexy, raunchy, clever, scary and dirty, all at the same time with one of the greatest car chase ever. The ending is quite unexpected, and you'll never guess who the killer was.
Remi L

I remember seeing the opening scene as a child and being greatly disturbed (one by the music choice "Rites of Spring" and by the violence) and thinking, "wow, this movie's gonna be creepy". Well, this movie wasn't creepy more than it was unnaturally… More
I remember seeing the opening scene as a child and being greatly disturbed (one by the music choice "Rites of Spring" and by the violence) and thinking, "wow, this movie's gonna be creepy". Well, this movie wasn't creepy more than it was unnaturally violent for a 90s movie. This kind of violence, I think, is usually reserved for Rambo, Terminator, action movies. This movie was very porn-ish because of the nudity and STRONG sexual content (which the movie channel I watched it on neglected to mention). I love CSI:Miami and I like Chazz Palminteri, so I thought I'd give it a watch. I say watch this if you're really bored...and horny..and you just want to see strong sexual and violent content on TV..don't waste your money on a rental, you'll hate yourself.
Anthony V

Eszterhas got paid how much for this script?!