7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Ezekiel "Easy" Rawlins, a decorated African American war hero, returns home to the segregation of post-war America. Forced to accept an under-the-table job finding a missing socialite, Easy gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal.
Starring: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle, Maury ChaykinDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 42% |
Crime | 26% |
Mystery | 3% |
Period | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Carl Franklin's "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include archival audio commentary by Carl Franklin; new program with Don Cheadle and Carl Franklin; new program with writer Walter Mosley and critic Attica Locke; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
*Please note that the comments below were also used in our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of Devil in a Blue Dress. They address specific similarities and discrepancies between the 1080p and native 4K presentations of the film's new 4K restoration.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
This upcoming release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K restoration that was supervised and approved by director Carl Franklin. Obviously, this means that the technical presentation of the film isn't identical to the one from this Region-B release, which British label Indicator/Powerhouse Films produced in 2020. (I do not have any other releases of this film in my library to reference in our review). There is also an upcoming standard Blu-ray release, which we have listed here.
The entire film looks very sharp and all visuals boast outstanding density levels. Some parts of the film look strikingly vibrant too, but elsewhere there are various fluctuations that are introduced by specific stylistic choices. Most of these fluctuations are present during darker indoor and nighttime footage, but even outdoor daylight footage can be quite diverse. Of course, this isn't surprising because it is precisely how the film's period atmosphere is created. (See examples in screencaptures #2, 4, 15, and 20). However, because some of these stylistic choices utilize light, darkness, and shadows in very particular ways it may seem like detail isn't always properly exposed, which makes evaluating the overall quality of the presentation quite tricky. Here's a specific example: the sequence that screencapture #1 comes from has plenty of thick dark shadows leaving the impression that there is crushing that should have been avoided, but on the old master that was used to produce the Region-B release it is pretty clear that someone had attempted to compensate for the stylization by brightening up the darker areas. In fact, this appears to be the reason why the dynamic range on plenty of the daylight footage from the old release isn't always convincing as well. In other words, the intent was to expose more of the darker nuances, which is why grain tends to have the most powdery appearance there as well. This issue isn't present on the new presentation of the film. Furthermore, I viewed the entire film with Dolby Vision enabled and thought that the overall color balance is outstanding. However, I also tested the Blu-ray release and on the new 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration color balance is quite impressive as well. Primaries, supporting nuances, dark nuances, everything looks very, very good. So, the move from 1080p to native 4K with full dynamic range seems quite subtle, but only because the 1080p presentation is already very strong. Fluidity is most definitely better in native 4K, so if you have a larger screen the 4K presentation will definitely provide you with a superior viewing experience. Image stability is outstanding. Finally, the new 4K presentation does not have any of the flecks and minor blemishes that are present on the previous release. (Note: The 4K Blu-ray release is Region-Free).
BLU-RAY DISC
I like the 1080p presentation a lot. It gives the entire film a very pleasing and stable organic appearance that makes it just as easy to appreciate the improvements that are highlighted above. However, there are a couple of areas where I think trained eyes will easily recognize the small limitations of 1080p content. First, I think that density levels are just a tad better in native 4K, which is why all visuals appear tighter. (Admittedly, Dolby Vision does its usual enhancement as well, so this isn't just a standard limitation of the 1080p content). Second, I think that some of the most tricky dark content looks a tad more convincing in native 4K as well. Finally, if you have a very large screen it is easy to appreciate the superior fluidity of the visuals in native 4K as well. Of course, all of these are very minor details, but we are at a point in this hobby now where we have to try to recognize them. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I only viewed the 4K presentation of the new 4K restoration of Devil in a Blue Dress in its entirety. I did only a couple of quick tests with footge from the 1080p presentation of the restoration on the Blu-ray. My impression is that the 5.1 tracks on the 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray releases handle the original sound design of the film really well. For additional comments, please see our review of the 4K Blu-ray release.
It is a shame that Devil in a Blue Dress does not tell a better story because its period appearance is lovely. Certain parts of it are very promising, but it feels like Carl Franklin had to work with a screenplay that was missing proper quality material and did the best he could with it. Hopefully, Franklin's One False Move, which I have to wholeheartedly agree with Eddie Muller is one of the best crime films of the last couple of decades, will soon get a North American release as well so that more people can discover it. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release of Devil in a Blue Dress is sourced from an excellent exclusive new 4K master that was supervised and approved by Franklin. If you plan to add Devil in a Blue Dress to your collection, please keep in mind that there is also an upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack release, which we have reviewed and listed here.
2006
1942
1997
4K Restoration
1973
2009
1944
Limited Edition to 3000
1959
1946
1955
Includes They Call Me MISTER Tibbs! and The Organization on standard BD
1967-1971
2011
1981
2007
Warner Archive Collection
1944
2002
1971
Standard Edition
1974
1986
Män som hatar kvinnor
2009
2014