Customer Reviews

Colors [VHS]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Hailed by critics as one of the more important films of the 80s, "Colors" nonetheless is a fairly straightforward tragedy--there's no other direction for the story to take. Robert Duvall plays a veteran police officer working L.A.'s mean streets; hothead Sean Penn joins his CRASH anti-gang unit, predictably testing the elder partner's patience and reserve as he just tries to keep the peace and make it through that final year to retirement. Both actors bring more depth to their cliched roles than might be expected, playing off each other surprisingly well, even in moments where they are given little more to do than react. But "Colors" offers no real answers to anything. The cops are presented mostly as well-armed zookeepers, while the gang members, blessed with youth and health but not much brains, run violently about, making the story mostly a series of aimless confrontations. Art imitating life? Maybe. But careful audiences might feel they've been bamboozled, despite director Dennis Hopper's rather lofty take on it. With some scenes that are genuinely tragic and gripping--the shooting of an unarmed suspect and the movie's final scene, to name two--and a romantic subplot that deserved more time--Maria Conchita Alonso seems to just get warmed up as a bad girl flirting with the notion of being good--"Colors" seems to have more going for it than it really does. Watch it mainly for the performances and the suggestion of complexity.

Dennis Hopper presented an unseen vision of Americana with EASY RIDER in 1969. It unsettled the masses. He did the same almost 20 years later with COLORS, a frightfully realistic look at urban gang warfare in Los Angeles. Hopper has always been a talent, both in front and behind the camera. COLORS could only be handled by the likes of an independent spirit like Hopper: It's tough, brutal, no watered down studio gloss, no techno effects. Hopper is an actors director and Robert Duvall and Sean Penn are a perfect fit. The oft told cop story of the veteran and the novice gets an injection of new life: the partners don't like each other, they tolerate each other for the sake of survival. Duvall and Penn give strong expected performances and the story rifles along free of expected cliches. Ice-T, in his rapper days (pre LAW & ORDER: SVU) is featured on the soundtrack.

I liked COLORS alot because it's a gritty, but realistic police drama. I grew up in bad urban streets, so I know how bad things can get. I also like the film because it explored the dangerous lives the Crypts and Bloods, who wear blue and red, naturally. There is still a bloody gang war between them, but COLORS wisely tells us they're bad background and potray them as human beings like us, and not vicious animals arrested by the police we see on TV.

Anyway, Dennis Hopper awkardly, but fantastically directed this film with Robert Duvall as a veteran cop and his young, headstrong apprentice Sean Penn, as they lead a Los Angeles gang unit against the petty crime in the streets fueled by the two rival gangs. But the boiled relationship with Duvall's calm manner and Penn's hair-trigger temper won't get them very far to survive in Watt's mean streets. That problem leads to a sad climax.

COLORS is a bit dated now when compared to more brutal, but nearly worthless gang movies nowadays. But it helped paved the way more better ones like BOYZ N THE HOOD and MENACE II SOCIETY. The film is different from both of those movies because it gives us a picturesque view of both the urban gang life and the police life.

The movie Colors is much more brutal & realistic than Boyz In Tha Hood, Menace II Society or New Jack City, its kind of like a documentary of hardcore street life in Southern Los Angeles from notorious street gangs such as 18th Street Posse, Florencia 13's, Latin Kings, MS13's, Grape Street Crips & Piru Street Bloods. But the movie is based on what the Cops go through their daily lifes through rough Barrios / Projects of Watts, Lynwood & South Central Los Angeles, CA. Colors also shows the brutal mentallity of how Cops deal with young blacks & latinos of the streets of Los Angeles, CA. Colors is both Dramatic & a Thrilling film, don't care who you are, good flick! Also! Ice-T debuts his hit song Colors on this movie, too!

I like this film because it is all 100% accurate as far as what it was like to work CRASH.

Before Dennis Hopper's "Colors" was released in 1988, no major motion picture had ever really attempted to accurately portray the gritty reality of Los Angeles gang-life. The film comes on fast and furious; the performances are mesmerizing, the violence is unrelenting. Kudos to Penn and Duvall for giving such commanding performance. Ranks among the best films of 1988, and, along with Spike Lee's "Clockers" and John Singleton's excellent if overrated "Boyz N the Hood," "Colors" ranks among the best of the genre.

This was a great movie. If you want to see a realistic and authentic portrayal of street cops and jail deputies this is it. Duvall clearly did his research for this role. His mannerisms flawlessly represent a veteran cop without appearing contrived or overly dramatized. Penn did a credible job also; his swagger and poor judgment accurately reflected an officer with 4 to 8 years tenure. Watching this movie causes the same stir in the pit of my stomach that I felt 25 years ago breaking line-up and loading up the squad car for another futile day in the Heights. Any time I feel like reminiscing I just watch this movie. The gang violence was graphic, but not gratuitously so. Watching the jail deputies withhold medical care until the bloody inmate coughs up some useful intel was fairly humorous and realistic. Duvall's final scene sent a chill up my spine. Having cradled the head of a grievously injured officer after finding her laying in a pool of her own blood, this scene was all too real for me. The only distraction was casting Trinidad Silva as the same smooth-talking aging gangster diplomat that he played on Hill Street Blues. Had it not been for that character, watching this movie would have been just like going to work. Silva's character reminded me that this was only a movie. Whether or not this movie deserves critical acclaim is out of my domain. The movie works on a very visceral level. For the most part, it is an accurate and authentic depiction of the interaction between a seasoned veteran cop and a young buck full of piss and vinegar. It is a poignant reminder that good guys don't always finish first, and sometimes they even get killed. And it serves as a legitimate testament that gang violence is a very real and very serious problem. Rent this movie--you won't be disappointed.

This is one of my favorite movies that I have seen Duval and Penn are great in this movie
It is about being a cop working the beat and being mixed up in the middle of the Crypts Bloods and other minor gangs in the area , showing what the cops went through at those times in history and how some cops would sometimes cut some guys a break but could wind up regretting it I would spoil any of the movie for you thats all Iam gonna say Rent or buy it , either way you must see it
Highly Recomended

Dennis Hopper directed this gritty gang drama set in the late 80's. Haskell Wexler, the director of 'Medium Cool', was his cinematographer. Since scenes depicting gang life are handled so sensitively the film could almost pass for a documentary. Before things can get too serious Hopper throws in a good mix of sex and violence. Pop Hodges (Robert Duvall) is pissed off when he gets paired with young hot shot Danny McGavin (Sean Penn). Pop served five years on the streets during the Bloods and Crips war and currently enjoys an administrative position. This explains why he doesn't feel the need to chase down perps like Danny does. McGavin is a loose cannon who roughs up his suspects whereas Pop takes the time to get to know them and lets them off with a warning. This makes him friends on the street but it makes him an enemy to Danny. The two butt heads when it's discovered that a prime suspect (Don Cheadle) in the murder of a Blood by a Crip is a man Hodges let off with a warning. The film is definitely gritty and the police work is well portrayed. The film's authenticity sets it apart. Things get confusing since there are so many cops, gang members, informants, reformed gang bangers and so forth that you're never certain who's on what side of the law. The beautiful and sexy Maria Conchita Alonso co stars as Danny's new girlfriend who enters into their relationship knowing that her life is at risk. Set to an awesome soundtrack that alternates between Herbie Hancock, Willie Nelson, and Ice-T,'Colors' works because of the strong acting of Duvall and Penn. It isn't as effective as Hopper's other films as director but like all his previous work the ending is devastating.

A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of L.A. about to explode in violence in this look at the gang culture enforced by the colors that members wear. This movie is an intense, powerful movie that takes you to the streets in an extremely realistic way. "Colors" has many different plot levels that all come together very nicely. Sean Penn and Robert Duvall are right on the mark as the two officers on the beat. Dennis Hopper did an excellent job in directing this movie. If you like gripping action/dramas about police vs. the war on crime, then "Colors" is for you. It's not for everyone. A solid crime thriller.