#1135: FRANKLIN, Carl: Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)
FRANKLIN, Carl (United States)
Devil In A Blue Dress [1995]
The bone-deep disillusionment of postwar film noir becomes a powerful vehicle to explore America’s racial injustices in Carl Franklin’s richly atmospheric Devil in a Blue Dress, an adaptation of the hard-boiled novel by Walter Mosley. Denzel Washington has charisma to burn as the jobless ex-GI Easy Rawlins, who sees a chance to make some quick cash when he’s recruited to find the missing lover (Jennifer Beals) of a wealthy mayoral candidate in late-1940s Los Angeles—only to find himself embroiled in murder, political intrigue, and a scandal that crosses the treacherous color lines of a segregated society. Featuring breakout work by Don Cheadle as Rawlins’s cheerfully trigger-happy sidekick, this stylish mystery both channels and subverts classic noir tropes as it exposes the bitter racial realities underlying the American dream.
Director/Writer
Commentary
Featuring Franklin.
Conversation 1
Between Franklin and actor Cheadle.
Conversation 2
Between Mosley, author of the novel on which the film is based, and novelist and screenwriter Attica Locke.
Onstage conversation
Between Franklin and film historian Eddie Muller, recorded at the 2018 Noir City Film Festival in Chicago.
Screen test for Cheadle
Trailer
Extras Rating (0-40):
Devil In A Blue Dress [1995]
Spine #1135
Blu-ray
The bone-deep disillusionment of postwar film noir becomes a powerful vehicle to explore America’s racial injustices in Carl Franklin’s richly atmospheric Devil in a Blue Dress, an adaptation of the hard-boiled novel by Walter Mosley. Denzel Washington has charisma to burn as the jobless ex-GI Easy Rawlins, who sees a chance to make some quick cash when he’s recruited to find the missing lover (Jennifer Beals) of a wealthy mayoral candidate in late-1940s Los Angeles—only to find himself embroiled in murder, political intrigue, and a scandal that crosses the treacherous color lines of a segregated society. Featuring breakout work by Don Cheadle as Rawlins’s cheerfully trigger-happy sidekick, this stylish mystery both channels and subverts classic noir tropes as it exposes the bitter racial realities underlying the American dream.
101 minutes
Color
Color
5.1 Surround
1:85:1 aspect ratio
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2022
Based on the book by Walter Mosely.
Franklin was 46 when he wrote and directed Devil in a Blue Dress.
Other Franklin films in the Collection:
#1187: One False Move [1992]
The Film
Franklin was 46 when he wrote and directed Devil in a Blue Dress.
Other Franklin films in the Collection:
#1187: One False Move [1992]
The Film
a
Film Rating (0-60):
The Booklet
Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Julian Kimble.
60
The ExtrasThe Booklet
Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic Julian Kimble.
Commentary
Featuring Franklin.
Conversation 1
Between Franklin and actor Cheadle.
Conversation 2
Between Mosley, author of the novel on which the film is based, and novelist and screenwriter Attica Locke.
Onstage conversation
Between Franklin and film historian Eddie Muller, recorded at the 2018 Noir City Film Festival in Chicago.
Screen test for Cheadle
Trailer
Extras Rating (0-40):
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