196 Jagged Edge

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yoloswegmaster
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196 Jagged Edge

#1 Post by yoloswegmaster » Fri May 29, 2020 9:27 pm

Indicator to release 'Jagged Edge'. Can't wait for the next Joe Eszterhas clue!

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swo17
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#2 Post by swo17 » Fri May 29, 2020 9:35 pm

Another Marquand film, interesting

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domino harvey
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#3 Post by domino harvey » Fri May 29, 2020 9:37 pm

Robert Loggia’s Oscar nomination for Jagged Edge is one of the most inexplicable of the Academy’s occasional weirdo noms (and I like Loggia!)

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#4 Post by therewillbeblus » Fri May 29, 2020 9:37 pm

Return of the Jedi next obv

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domino harvey
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#5 Post by domino harvey » Fri May 29, 2020 9:39 pm

My writeup from the 80s List
domino harvey wrote:
Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:03 am
Jagged Edge (Richard Marquand 1985) I am reminded of the rather awful Joseph Cotten "mystery" Blueprint for Murder, where the solution to the whodunnit is so obvious and blatant that for most of the film, the audience is teetering towards believing it must be a work of misdirection, because no film could be that stupid. And then, you know... Same here, unfortunately. Robert Loggia has five minutes screentime and no interesting lines, story- or dialog-wise, or other points of interest that would point to his receiving a Best Supporting Actor nom, but that happened too, and why that happened is the real whodunnit here.

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#6 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Sat May 30, 2020 3:58 am

It's this and the Ridley Scott that deliver the shit to make the roses grow.

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colinr0380
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#7 Post by colinr0380 » Sat May 30, 2020 6:41 am

Well Jagged Edge is sort of
SpoilerShow
Basic Instinct if done straight and gender swapped. In that sense I have always found it an essential companion piece to the Verhoeven film, and to see how Basic Instinct ramps all the standard beats by that stage of such a 'did he or didn't he?' plot up to 11. I like it very much on those terms.

It is also in that brief trend of 'female crusading lawyers falling for their shifty clients and/or jurors series of 80s films (probably coming in the wake of this film) with the Peter Yates film Suspect starring Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson a couple of years afterwards feeling somewhat in the same territory.
Last edited by colinr0380 on Sun May 31, 2020 10:20 am, edited 2 times in total.

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cdnchris
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#8 Post by cdnchris » Sat May 30, 2020 1:10 pm

This was the movie so ineptly done that people couldn't recognize who the killer was when their face was finally revealed (spoilers of course). Though he was told it was confusing, the director thought it was fine.

I remember it being painfully obvious who the killer was going to be, but Jesus, I had to freeze the VHS at the reveal to actually make sure.

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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#9 Post by What A Disgrace » Sat May 30, 2020 2:02 pm

If they're going to make it a habit of releasing random films directed by people who made a Star Wars, then I hope this is the last of the Marquands, because the others sound dire.

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domino harvey
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#10 Post by domino harvey » Sat May 30, 2020 2:03 pm

cdnchris wrote:
Sat May 30, 2020 1:10 pm
This was the movie so ineptly done that people couldn't recognize who the killer was when their face was finally revealed (spoilers of course). Though he was told it was confusing, the director thought it was fine.

I remember it being painfully obvious who the killer was going to be, but Jesus, I had to freeze the VHS at the reveal to actually make sure.
How could someone who had seen as many movies as Siskel actually think who he thought was the murderer before the reveal was the murderer? Did... did he not watch the film?

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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#11 Post by cdnchris » Sat May 30, 2020 2:16 pm

I was surprised by that part as well! It's an incredibly shitty shot but anyone who has seen a thriller before (and especially someone who has seen as many as Siskel) will know. It's only because of the bad angle of the reveal you have to look harder to confirm what you already knew, making sure they didn't actually pull the rug out from under you.



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brundlefly
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#12 Post by brundlefly » Sat May 30, 2020 7:12 pm

Siskel took it to the airwaves as well. I remembered this awkward "turn down the volume and I'll whisper" segment more vividly than anything about the film. Look away, lip readers.

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Dr Amicus
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#13 Post by Dr Amicus » Sun May 31, 2020 5:36 am

I have a soft spot for this film, it was the first 18 certificate film I got to see at a cinema. I was 16 at the time and it was the first 18 film that the reopened cinema here in Guernsey had shown (our Gaumont closed in 1984 and the local leisure centre was refitted to act as a part time cinema to reopen in 86). Anecdotally, the talking point I was aware of was the massive jump scare near the end - it really worked in a packed cinema auditorium - and was what one of my friends who'd seen it in the UK had said about the film beforehand. But it's nice to know I wasn't the only one really confused by the reveal shot - and I knew the ending (thanks to a review in the Observer of a later film with one of its cast members)!

Actually, my memories are that the film - at least in the UK - got really solid reviews and ended up on a couple of best-of lists for the year. I remember enjoying it well enough and still liking it when it turned up on telly. This relates back to the rating - I was surprised by the certificate thinking it should have been a 15 not an 18 - but this got a LOT of complaints when it was shown on TV due to the graphic description of the opening murder.

And on the subject of not dissimilar Joe Eszterhas screenplays - don't forget the Costa-Gavras directed Betrayed and The Music Box, two more is-my-loved-one-a-wrong'un films.

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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#14 Post by colinr0380 » Sun May 31, 2020 9:58 am

brundlefly wrote:
Sat May 30, 2020 7:12 pm
Look away, lip readers.
SpoilerShow
Who or what is "Cleft Smidges?" Is it the DA?
I'm actually looking forward to Arrow or some other company releasing Jade, which I think may be my favourite William Friedkin film.
Last edited by colinr0380 on Sun May 31, 2020 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#15 Post by MichaelB » Sun May 31, 2020 10:04 am

I apply a very light-touch moderation policy to the Indicator threads - and by "light-touch", I pretty much mean "hands-off" 99.9% of the time - but can we not post blatant spoilers here without tagging them upfront?

Giving away the Psycho shower murder or the finger-pointing at the end of the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers is one thing, but not everyone will have seen this film, and they might prefer not to have the ending given away, even in the form of a joke.

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colinr0380
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Re: Forthcoming: Jagged Edge

#16 Post by colinr0380 » Sun May 31, 2020 10:07 am

You are of course right that 35 years is nowhere near enough time to talk about a film without spoiler tags. Many apologies.

(EDIT: Now 36 years)
Last edited by colinr0380 on Thu May 20, 2021 1:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#17 Post by MichaelB » Thu May 20, 2021 4:54 am

Official announcement:

Image
JAGGED EDGE
(Richard Marquand, 1985)
Release date: 16 August 2021
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK Blu-ray premiere)


Pre-order here

A classic neo-noir and a definitive 1980s erotic thriller, Jagged Edge stars Jeff Bridges (Fat City, Winter Kills) as a dashing newspaper publisher accused of brutally slaying his rich socialite wife in order to inherit her fortune. Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction) plays the high-achieving female attorney who is compromised when she enters into a torrid and steamy love affair with the accused.

Sleek, stylish and suspenseful, Jagged Edge benefits from assured direction by Richard Marquand (The Legacy), an ingenious script from Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct), and seasoned character actors Robert Loggia (The Garment Jungle, Scarface) and Peter Coyote (Bitter Moon) providing memorable support.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original stereo audio
• Alternative 5.1 surround sound track
• Interview with writer Joe Eszterhas (2021)
Cutting Edge (2021): interview with editor Sean Barton
• David Huckvale on John Barry (2021): appreciation of the score by the acclaimed author and musicologist
• Original theatrical trailer
• Radio spot
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Maitland McDonagh, extracts from archival interviews with director Richard Marquand, a look at the making of the film, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies
• Extras subject to change

#PHILTD196
BBFC cert: 18
REGION B
EAN: 5060697920611

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Cash Flagg
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#18 Post by Cash Flagg » Thu May 20, 2021 5:55 am

Wonderful, I just googled ‘Jagged Edge review’ and the ending was immediately spoiled (no need to even click a link). So those who haven’t seen it should research with extreme caution.

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MichaelB
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#19 Post by MichaelB » Thu May 20, 2021 7:15 am

Yes, and people posting in this thread really shouldn't blithely assume that everyone's already seen it - this isn't Psycho or the 1978 Invasion of the Body Snatchers where the big shock moments have already been memed to oblivion. I've already had to retrospectively add spoiler tags to one post.

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Dr Amicus
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#20 Post by Dr Amicus » Thu May 20, 2021 8:59 am

It's a long time since I last watched this (30 years?) but I recall enjoying the two or three times I caught it. It's probably the most conventional of the Eszterhas scripts noted before, it lacks the social issues of the Costa-Gavras films as I recall, but it made for a solidly entertaining couple of hours.

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colinr0380
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#21 Post by colinr0380 » Thu May 20, 2021 12:46 pm

I'll remember to hold my tongue when Suspect is inevitably released :wink:

But I still contend that it is important to see this film to understand and enjoy even more fully what Basic Instinct was riffing on in a far blunter (some would say cruder!) manner (almost parodical and exasperated at notions of 'spoilers' when there is so much else going on over an above the plot mechanics), with:
SpoilerShow
the 'twist' being that there was no twist!
And to be unable to seriously discuss that for what was quite a big film at the time is a bit like trying to talk about Psycho without mentioning the entire film's reason for being! If it does not stand up to repeat viewing even after knowing that (and I think Jagged Edge actually does. Along with other thrillers from the same time that hinge on a 'revelation', such as Presumed Innocent, but still remain entertaining if not more so on rewatching), then it would not be much of a film.

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MichaelB
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#22 Post by MichaelB » Thu May 20, 2021 1:25 pm

colinr0380 wrote:
Thu May 20, 2021 12:46 pm
And to be unable to seriously discuss that for what was quite a big film at the time is a bit like trying to talk about Psycho without mentioning the entire film's reason for being!
Nobody's seeking to prevent anyone from discussing this film in as much detail as they like, but I would politely ask people to use spoiler tags when it comes to revealing the killer's identity. Jagged Edge was a big hit back in 1985, but its plot details aren't universally known in the way that Psycho's are.
If it does not stand up to repeat viewing even after knowing that (and I think Jagged Edge actually does. Along with other thrillers from the same time that hinge on a 'revelation', such as Presumed Innocent, but still remain entertaining if not more so on rewatching), then it would not be much of a film.
It's not repeat viewers I'm concerned about, but first-time ones. I saw the film without any prior knowledge of how it panned out, and I'd very much like purchasers of the Indicator edition to be able to enjoy the same experience. Cash Flagg has posted directly in this thread about how irritating it was to have the ending spoiled without any warning.
colinr0380 wrote:
Thu May 20, 2021 12:46 pm
I'll remember to hold my tongue when Suspect is inevitably released :wink:
I'd very much appreciate this personally, as I haven't seen it myself!

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therewillbeblus
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#23 Post by therewillbeblus » Thu May 20, 2021 2:55 pm

At the very least, this conversation is prompting me to watch the film as soon as possible to avoid any accidental spoilers when I would inevitably research it in the future before making a blind purchase

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swo17
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#24 Post by swo17 » Thu May 20, 2021 2:56 pm

Knowing there is a plot point to spoil is itself a spoiler

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Pavel
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Re: 196 Jagged Edge

#25 Post by Pavel » Thu May 20, 2021 3:01 pm

I blind buy most Indicator titles I haven't seen, but I'm almost certainly going to watch this one soon just to find out what the twist is. The uncertainty is killing me

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