Product Details

• Actors: Sean Penn, Robert Duvall, Maria Conchita Alonso, Randy Brooks, Grand L. Bush
• Directors: Dennis Hopper
• Writers: Michael Schiffer, Richard Di Lello
• Producers: Paul Lewis, Robert H. Solo
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles: Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• DVD Release Date: October 2, 2001
• Run Time: 120 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005N89M
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,296 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Colors" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Robert Duvall plays a veteran street cop assigned to a Los Angeles gang unit. He takes a headstrong young cop (Sean Penn) under his wing as a partner and shows him the ropes on Watts's mean streets. Penn soon realizes that his testosterone-fueled ways and hair-trigger temper won't get him very far when dealing with the gang-ridden neighborhoods of L.A. Colors is a landmark movie in several respects: it helped bring director Dennis Hopper back into the spotlight after years of self-induced obscurity. Its success at the box office forced Los Angeles's gang problems into the public consciousness and prefigured the next wave of "hood" movies (Boyz N the Hood, Menace II Society, New Jack City) by several years. Though the late-'80s milieu is a bit dated, Colors is still a vivid, absorbing film. Hopper and screenwriter Michael Schiffer give all the characters a very human dimension and go to great lengths to show gang life from both the cops' and the gangsters' points of view. Wisely, they stir in elements of the cop drama, buddy movie, and action genres, leavened with a bit of humor here and there, while keeping a social conscience. Duvall is excellent as always, as the sympathetic cop, and Penn brings a great deal of depth to what could be an unlikable character. Violent, unsettling, and highly recommended. --Jerry Renshaw

Product Description

Academy Award® winner* Robert Duvall (Tender Mercies) and Sean Penn (Dead Man Walking) star in a film that captures the vivid mark that gang life has left upon Los Angeles (The New York Times). Directed by the legendary Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider) and based on a compelling story by Michael Schiffer and Richard DiLello Colors is grimy hard-edged heart-thumping action (Movieline)! Seasoned street cop Bob Hodges (Duvall) and his new young know-it-all partner Danny McGavin (Penn) are forced to work together in the L.A.P.D. s renowned C.R.A.S.H. anti-gang unit. Together they set out to investigate a murder between two rival gangs. Hated and hunted by both sides the cops get trapped in the middle of a turf war. With nowhere to turn they are ambushed double-crossed and shot at in a take-no-prisoners street battle. As the violence escalates these two diametrically opposed men must come to terms with one important fact -- to stay alive they must come together!System Requirements: Running Time 120 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC: 027616867711 Manufacturer No: 1002570

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stylish But It Could Use More Substance, May 11, 2003

By	Stephen Kaczmarek "Educator, Writer, Consultant" (Columbus, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars THE TURF IS REAL IN "COLORS"., August 9, 2004

By	Gregory Saffady (Michigan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must See Movie, February 13, 2006

By	The Dude "Jeffrey Lebowski" (EH CT) - See all my reviews

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