Colors (1998) France
Colors Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:Dennis Hopper
Studio:MGM (Video & DVD)
Producer:Paul Lewis, Robert H. Solo
Writer:Joe Klein, Elaine May
Rating:4
Rated:R
Date Added:2007-03-06
Purchased On:2007-06-03
ASIN:0792841778
UPC:0027616775436
Price:$9.94
Awards:Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 15 nominations
Genre:Buddies
Release:1999-05-10
IMDb:0119942
Duration:127
Picture Format:Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:Dolby
Languages:English, Dolby Digital 5.1, French, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles:English, Spanish
Features:Original recording reissued
Dennis Hopper  ...  (Director)
Joe Klein, Elaine May  ...  (Writer)
 
Sean Penn  ...  
Robert Duvall  ...  
Maria Conchita Alonso  ...  
Randy Brooks  ...  
Grand L. Bush  ...  
Don Cheadle  ...  
Gerardo Mejía  ...  
Glenn Plummer  ...  
Rudy Ramos  ...  
Sy Richardson  ...  
Trinidad Silva  ...  
Charles Walker  ...  
Damon Wayans  ...  
Fred Asparagus  ...  
Sherman Augustus  ...  
Bruce Beatty  ...  
Paula Bellamy  ...  
Brandon Bluhm  ...  
Mark Booker  ...  
Ron Boyd  ...  
John Travolta  ...  Governor Jack Stanton
Emma Thompson  ...  Susan Stanton
Billy Bob Thornton  ...  Richard Jemmons
Kathy Bates  ...  Libby Holden
Adrian Lester  ...  Henry Burton
Maura Tierney  ...  Daisy Green
Larry Hagman  ...  Gov. Fred Picker
Diane Ladd  ...  Mamma Stanton
Paul Guilfoyle  ...  Howard Ferguson
Rebecca Walker  ...  March
Caroline Aaron  ...  Lucille Kaufman
Tommy Hollis  ...  William McCullison (Fat Willie)
Rob Reiner  ...  Izzy Rosenblatt
Ben Jones  ...  Arlen Sporken
J.C. Quinn  ...  Uncle Charlie
Haskell Wexler  ...  Cinematographer
Robert Estrin  ...  Editor
Comments: What went down on the way to the top.

Summary: 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