A bright assistant D.A. investigates a gruesome hatchet murder and hides a clue he found at the crime scene. Under professional threats and an attempt on his life, he goes on heartbroken bec... Read allA bright assistant D.A. investigates a gruesome hatchet murder and hides a clue he found at the crime scene. Under professional threats and an attempt on his life, he goes on heartbroken because evidence point to the woman he still loves.A bright assistant D.A. investigates a gruesome hatchet murder and hides a clue he found at the crime scene. Under professional threats and an attempt on his life, he goes on heartbroken because evidence point to the woman he still loves.
- Awards
- 2 nominations
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to Joe Eszterhas's autobiography, he hated the final film. Director William Friedkin changed Eszterhas's script so much, he threatened to remove his name from the credits. Paramount settled with him by giving him a "blind script deal" worth $2-4 million. Later, Friedkin admitted that he did virtually rewrite the script, but Friedkin also said that this was his favorite film.
- GoofsWhen David is chasing the black car you can clearly see his airbag coming out with the second jump. In the next scene the airbag is gone.
- Quotes
David Corelli: Cristal, Baluga, Wolfgang Puck... it's a fuckhouse.
- Alternate versionsWilliam Friedkin created a director's cut of the film, approximately twelve minutes longer, which added quite a few scenes including a different ending. This version aired exclusively on USA cable network Cinemax in August/September 1996. It has also been posted on Hulu.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Green Fog (2017)
- SoundtracksThe Mystic's Dream
Written, Performed and Produced by Loreena McKennitt
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Records Inc.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products and Quinlan Road Limited
Featured review
not completely bad
San Francisco ADA David Corelli (David Caruso) is attending a ball with friend Matt Gavin (Chazz Palminteri) and his wife, David's former love, Trina (Linda Fiorentino). David is called away to the brutal murder of a wealthy businessman. He finds a silver case engraved with the Chinese character Jade. The police uncovers photos of Governor Edwards (Richard Crenna) with an unknown woman later identified as prostitute Patrice Jacinto (Angie Everhart). Bob Hargrove (Michael Biehn) is a disagreeable police detective. As the investigation continues, the Gavins are pulled into the sexual political intrigue.
Joe Eszterhas' psycho-sexual script may not be fitting material for director William Friedkin. The rewriting is evident of that and not necessarily fixed anything. This concentrates more on the lurid in this stylized erotic thriller. Bless his heart, Friedkin tried. There are some car action on the steep streets but he has done better work before. Driving thru the parade may be an interesting idea. The execution is more frustrating than thriller.
The movie got caught up with the Caruso factor during its initial release. He is a perfectly serviceable actor if he doesn't get romantic. His sex appeal is limited and any attempt at sexuality is awkward at best. His character is rarely a lawyer and runs around investigating like a cop. He plays a better cop than a lawyer. Corelli should have been a police detective. Fiorentino has her great smoldering dark sexuality and that helps in this role. The story is a little messy and drags sometimes. It needs a little simplification to allow better flow and heightened tension. None of it is that compelling but it's not completely bad.
Joe Eszterhas' psycho-sexual script may not be fitting material for director William Friedkin. The rewriting is evident of that and not necessarily fixed anything. This concentrates more on the lurid in this stylized erotic thriller. Bless his heart, Friedkin tried. There are some car action on the steep streets but he has done better work before. Driving thru the parade may be an interesting idea. The execution is more frustrating than thriller.
The movie got caught up with the Caruso factor during its initial release. He is a perfectly serviceable actor if he doesn't get romantic. His sex appeal is limited and any attempt at sexuality is awkward at best. His character is rarely a lawyer and runs around investigating like a cop. He plays a better cop than a lawyer. Corelli should have been a police detective. Fiorentino has her great smoldering dark sexuality and that helps in this role. The story is a little messy and drags sometimes. It needs a little simplification to allow better flow and heightened tension. None of it is that compelling but it's not completely bad.
helpful•172
- SnoopyStyle
- Mar 30, 2017
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $50,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,851,610
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $4,284,246
- Oct 15, 1995
- Gross worldwide
- $9,851,610
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content