Devil in a blue dress

Author

Carl Franklin

Call Number

• BLU-RAY MYSTERY/THRILLER (CEN, EAS)

Edition

Director-approved Blu-ray special edition.

Languages

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Performers

Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury Chaykin, Terry Kinney.

Publication Information

[Irvington, NY] : Criterion Collection, [2022]

Physical Description

1 videodisc (101 minutes) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in. + 1 folded sheet (color illustrations ; 17 cm.)

Audience

MPAA rating: R.

Summary

"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 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."--Container.

Notes

Based on the book by Walter Mosley.

Originally released as a motion picture in 1995.

Special features: New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Carl Franklin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack ; audio commentary featuring Franklin ; new conversation between Franklin and actor Don Cheadle ; new conversation between Walter Mosley, author of the novel on which the film is based, and novelist and screewriter 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.