Director Watch Podcast Ep. 69 – ‘Devil in a Blue Dress’ (Carl Franklin, 1995)

Welcome to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter attempt to breakdown, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love. On episode 69 of the Director Watch Podcast, the boys discuss the next film in their Carl Franklin series, Devil in a Blue Dress (1995).

Following the massive success of One False Move, Franklin turned down the opportunity to work on bigger studio films to adapt a neo-noir mystery thriller based on the popular series of books by Walter Mosley. With an Oscar winning star, Denzel Washington, on the poster to go along with an impressive ensemble cast around him, detailed production design and world building within the script, this movie was destined to be the start of a new Hollywood movie series. But sadly, we never go to see more stories of Easy Rawlins on the big screen, with the film earning a cult status since its release, becoming another gem in Franklin’s filmography. Ryan and Jay break down their thoughts on the film, the history behind the making of this movie, their continued love for Denzel, the amazing performance from Don Cheadle, the film’s SAG nomination, the racial dynamics of the film, and answer why they think audiences didn’t connect with it when it came out.

You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 1h43m. The guys will be back next week to conclude their series on the films of Carl Franklin with a review of his film, Out of Time. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

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