William Friedkin

[Stefan Andersson]

Interesting quote about Friedkin´s tendency to revise the photography of his films:
"we all know what he did to The French Connection on his first try. He got his knuckles rapped pretty hard over that. Unfortunately, everyone was so focused on that one they didn't notice how he did the same thing to The Boys in the Band."

First time I saw that Friedkin had revised The Boys in the Band also.

Source: https://www.hometheaterforum.com/commun ... 477/page-5 - post 86

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

The existing HD master Boys in the Band (which was used for the DVD as well, so you'd have to go back to the VHS/laserdisc releases for something different) definitely has that bizarre "smeary" look from the original French Connection BD. (I saw that one compared to a colorization job and I think that's pretty apt, though at this point I've seen more convincing honest-to-god colorizations.) The DVD Beaver caps demonstrate it well enough. I wasn't as bothered by it as I would've been with The French Connection, where I'd seen the film more than once before (including on 35mm) and knew on some level what it had previously looked like, but there's still something obviously off. I've never listened to the commentary, but per the DVD Beaver writeup, Friedkin specifically talks about overseeing the color on the remaster.

[Altair]

I just watched Friedkin's Jade - it's pretty fun. The script is ridiculous, but Linda Fiorentino is terrific, as usual, with her husky voice purring, and Friedkin directs the hell out of it, with dizzying steadicam shots, a great score, and serves to create a fun atmosphere with all the fetish masks and so on (although narrative-wise, far more should have been done with them). The opening sequence is probably the strongest part of the film and put me in mind of Eyes Wide Shut a little. The San Francisco lcoales are quite fun to spot.

I saw the theatrical cut and now I'm reading that there's a longer, more explicit director's cut, but it doesn't seem to have been released on BD. Does anyone know how best to see it?

[domino harvey]

I believe it was released on laserdisc and that’s what’s circulating for the longer cut

[Mr Sausage]

All I remember about Jade is how it couldn't make up its mind if David Caruso is a cop or a lawyer. He introduces himself as the ADA, but he also shows up to crime scenes, handles evidence, participates in investigations, and even chases down suspects.

[beamish14]

The opening sequence is probably the strongest part of the film and put me in mind of Eyes Wide Shut a little.

Friedkin and Eyes Wide Shut, you say?

I like this film a lot, too. The Chinatown parade sequence is great. David Caruso was widely criticized for being an idiot to leave NYPD Blue, but this and Kiss of Death are both fun

[therewillbeblus]

Friedkin directs Jade with admirable gusto, though I can't help but wonder how it would've played with Verhoeven's panache. He's the only director to fully transform Eszterhas' trash into Art. Friedkin seems interested to go back to To Live and Die in L.A. terrain (who could blame him?) and the material doesn't always gel with that approach, or rather the meld threatens to take the script too seriously at times. Overall, it's something that could've been much better, either by meeting the material on its level a tad more, or bolstering the script and story to meet Friedkin's serious energy where it's at. The curt handling of the ending is perfect, though, in leaving the audience with a shuddering tone that kind-of nullifies a lot of the silliness that came before

[hearthesilence]

I like this film a lot, too. The Chinatown parade sequence is great. David Caruso was widely criticized for being an idiot to leave NYPD Blue, but this and Kiss of Death are both fun

He never delivered on the potential some thought he had from his one full season on NYPD Blue, but I really wish he did - I have mixed feelings about the show, but Caruso's season was the best one they did and he was a big reason for it. (Jimmy Smits was an excellent replacement though.)

[Altair]

I believe it was released on laserdisc and that’s what’s circulating for the longer cut

Thank you, that's good to know.

As Mr Sausage says, the Caruso character is absurd and indeed, as the character is written, is incredibly passive and also gets everything wrong about the case. He's not much of a hero - Linda Fiorentino is far more intriguing as a character. The main interest of the film is Friedkin's phenomenal direction, which really elevates a sub-Basic Instinct rip-off.

[Altair]

To follow myself up, apparently the Jade director's cut is available to rent in SD on Amazon Prime.

[thirtyframesasecond]

Friedkin directs Jade with admirable gusto, though I can't help but wonder how it would've played with Verhoeven's panache. He's the only director to fully transform Eszterhas' trash into Art. Friedkin seems interested to go back to To Live and Die in L.A. terrain (who could blame him?) and the material doesn't always gel with that approach, or rather the meld threatens to take the script too seriously at times. Overall, it's something that could've been much better, either by meeting the material on its level a tad more, or bolstering the script and story to meet Friedkin's serious energy where it's at. The curt handling of the ending is perfect, though, in leaving the audience with a shuddering tone that kind-of nullifies a lot of the silliness that came before

Costa-Gavras directed two political films from an Eszterhas script; 'Betrayed' and 'Music Box'. Whilst I wouldn't say either are great films, they are in-keeping with his broader left-wing politics. I noticed his last movie was about the Syriza government (based on Varoufakis's book).