Devil in a Blue Dress
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-Approved 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition Features
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Carl Franklin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- 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 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
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Julian Kimble
New cover by James Ransome
Director-Approved 4K UHD + Blu-Ray Special Edition Features
- New 4K digital restoration, approved by director Carl Franklin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- 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 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
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by critic Julian Kimble
New cover by James Ransome
Cast
- Denzel Washington
- Easy Rawlins
- Tom Sizemore
- Dewitt Albright
- Jennifer Beals
- Daphne Monet
- Don Cheadle
- Mouse
- Maury Chaykin
- Matthew Terell
- Terry Kinney
- Todd Carter
- Mel Winkler
- Joppy
- Albert Hall
- Odell
- Lisa Nicole Carson
- Coretta James
- Jernard Burks
- Dupree Bouchard
Credits
- Director
- Carl Franklin
- Produced by
- Jesse Beaton
- Gary Goetzman
- Screenplay by
- Carl Franklin
- Based on the book by
- Walter Mosley
- Executive producers
- Jonathan Demme
- Edward Saxon
- Director of photography
- Tak Fujimoto
- Production designer
- Gary Frutkoff
- Edited by
- Carole Kravetz
- Music composed by
- Elmer Bernstein
- Costume designer
- Sharen Davis
- Casting by
- Victoria Thomas
Trailer for Devil in a Blue Dress
