Main Cast: David Caruso, Linda Fiorentino, Chazz Palminteri, Michael Biehn, Richard Crenna
Release Year: 1995
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
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, All Movie Guide
Donna Murphy - Karen Heller; Darryl Chan - Tommy Joy; Ken King - Petey Vasko; Holt McCallany - Bill Barrett; Drew Snyder - Executive; Victor Talmadge - Lawyer; Kenneth Tigar - Corporate Man; Kevin Tighe - D.A. Arnold Clifford; John Wyman - Cop; Dick Ziker - Assistant D.A; Bobby Bass - Assistant D.A; Buddy Joe Hooker - Assistant D.A; David Hunt - Pat Callendar; Jay Jacobus - Justin Henderson; Ron Ulstad - Kyle Medford; Angie Everhart - Patrice Jacinto; Victor Wong - Mr Wong; Tom Walsh - Cop
Credit
Charles William Breen - Art Director, Ronnie Yeskel - Casting, George Goodman - Co-producer, Marilyn Vance - Costume Designer, Newt Arnold - First Assistant Director, Robin Oliver - First Assistant Director, William Friedkin - Director, John Chichester - Editor, Augie Hess - Editor, Joe Eszterhas - Executive Producer, William J. MacDonald - Executive Producer, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Michael Laudati - Makeup, Robert Ryan - Makeup, Alex Tavoularis - Production Designer, Andrzej Bartkowiak - Cinematographer, Gary Adelson - Producer, Craig Baumgarten - Producer, Robert Evans - Producer, Gary Fettis - Set Designer, John Chichester - Set Designer, Robert C. Goldstein - Set Designer, Kirk A. Francis - Sound/Sound Designer, Buddy Joe Hooker - Stunts, Pete Antico - Stunts, Joe Eszterhas - Screenwriter
An unrated version featuring additional scenes and more explicit sexual footage was later released to VHS, though it is now out of print; the theatrical cut was utilized for the DVD edition.
According to Eszterhas' autobiography, Friedkin changed the script so much that Eszterhas threatened to remove his name from the credits. He claimed Paramount settled by giving him a "blind script deal" worth two to four million dollars.[citation needed] In an interview in Linda Ruth Williams' book The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema, Friedkin admitted that he had virtually rewritten the script.[1]
This film and Kiss of Death, released the same year, worked in tandem to destroy David Caruso's movie career. Caruso, having just left NYPD Blue after a sensational single season as the series' leading man, was immediately cast as the lead in two important films but when they both failed at the box office, Caruso was out of work for two years before finally returning to television where he found fame in the hit show CSI: Miami.
San Francisco assistant district attorney David Corelli faces a potential conflict of interest when he learns that the prime suspect in a particularly gruesome murder is psychologist Katrina Gavin, an old flame who eventually married his close friend, prominent criminal attorney Matt Gavin.
The trail takes Corelli to the office of the governor, who is caught in compromising positions in photographs found in the murder victim's safe. Corelli also obtains a copy of a sex tape taken in the dead man's beach house of an enigmatic prostitute known only as Jade. As he searches for the identity of this unknown woman, believing she holds the key to the murder's solution, Corelli uncovers further secrets that threaten his life.
