221 Devil in a Blue Dress

Discuss releases by Indicator and the films on them.

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MichaelB
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221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#1 Post by MichaelB » Thu Sep 17, 2020 4:45 am

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DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS
(Carl Franklin, 1995)
Release date: 14 December 2020
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK Blu-ray premiere)


Carl Franklin confirmed his name as one of the key voices of the nineties neo-noir revival when he followed up the 1991 modern classic One False Move with this 1995 adaptation of Walter Mosley’s Easy Rawlins novel. Denzel Washington plays Rawlins, a private investigator in post-war Los Angeles who uncovers a web of corruption while on the search for the mistress of a wealthy businessman.


INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• 2K restoration
• Alternative 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround soundtrack options
• Audio commentary with writer and director Carl Franklin (2005)
Dancing with the Devil (2018): archival interview with Franklin, conducted by the Film Noir Foundation’s Eddie Muller at a Noir City screening of Devil in a Blue Dress
Don Cheadle Screen Test (1994): videotape footage of the actor auditioning for the role of Mouse, with introduction by Franklin
• Original theatrical trailer
• Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials
• New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
• Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Keith Harris, an archival interview with Carl Franklin from Positif magazine, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

#PHILTD221
BBFC cert: 15
REGION B
EAN: 5060697921076

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Dr Amicus
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#2 Post by Dr Amicus » Thu Sep 17, 2020 8:05 am

A stunning film, I remember seeing it at that year's LFF and it was the film I enjoyed most at the festival. It will replace my ancient Laserdisc which suffered from laser rot making it seem as if LA was in the midst of a snow storm. Two disappointing things about it though, firstly that Don Cheadle didn't get an Oscar nomination, secondly that planned sequels never happened due to the film's box office failure.

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domino harvey
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#3 Post by domino harvey » Thu Sep 17, 2020 11:38 am

My thoughts from the noir thread
domino harvey wrote:
Mon Jun 06, 2016 3:06 pm
Devil in a Blue Dress (Carl Franklin 1995) A frustrating failure. There’s so much good here in how the typical noir tropes are upended and transferred to different codes of behavior and conduct when our noir protagonist is a black man (I especially loved how Denzel Washington had to maneuver his confrontation with the crooked police in such a way that he gains the upper hand without being “disrespectful” to the white man), but Franklin is not a natural filmmaker and the editing choices are horrid, 90s Lindt truffles commercial-quality. And the central mystery is so painfully in the Pinky mold from the outset that its reveal is anything but a surprise, and the narrative is nowhere near as interesting as it should be. But the novel touch of the race angle is so good and effective that I can understand why some people would make excuses for the other aspects, even if I can’t quite do the same.

MikeFH
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#4 Post by MikeFH » Fri Sep 18, 2020 12:04 pm

.

Can anyone explain to me the rationale for the big gap in spine numbers here and there?

Looking forward to this release by the way.

.

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MichaelB
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#5 Post by MichaelB » Fri Sep 18, 2020 12:07 pm

Everything gets assigned a consecutive spine number at the time of acquisition, but recent events have made it much harder to release stuff in the order that was originally planned - in particular, right now it's very hard to create original extras that involve third-party input.

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rapta
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#6 Post by rapta » Tue Sep 22, 2020 6:01 pm

Finally some love for Denzel! And I'm hoping the tease in the description for One False Move is exactly that (a tease). Never seen this but piqued my interest when I read about it a few years ago - an easy blind-buy (along with the rest of the December lineup).

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MichaelB
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#7 Post by MichaelB » Tue Nov 03, 2020 5:52 am

Final specs:

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MichaelB
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#8 Post by MichaelB » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:19 pm


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Finch
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#9 Post by Finch » Sun Dec 13, 2020 5:28 pm

Indicator's 2k resto looks slightly less vibrant than the TT to my eyes, if we take into account that Gary's caps can be less than ideal. I've seen the film only once and came away thinking, I was very entertained while watching it but it also didn't leave a lasting impression in the same way One False Move did. I like Little White Lies's way of reviewing where they split it into Anticipation, Enjoyment and In Retrospect. Along those lines, I'd give Devil In A Blue Dress a 9/8/7.

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MichaelB
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Re: 221 Devil in a Blue Dress

#10 Post by MichaelB » Sat Dec 19, 2020 2:21 pm


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