EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

gavin6942 An experienced cop (Robert Duvall) and his rookie partner (Sean Penn) patrol the streets of East Los Angeles while trying to keep the gang violence under control.Looking back now (2017), this film seems so normal, something that could be included in a long list of L.A. gang movies, with the Crips and Bloods fighting it out for turf. We all know about "gangsta rap" and Compton and South Central and all of that. But then you look at the date this film was released -- 1988 -- and you see that all these things we take for granted had never been explored in any detail before. (Merriam-Webster, for example, does not even think the term "gangsta rap" was invented until 1989, even if Schoolly D and Ice-T were already around.)Although it is probably not true that "Colors" is the first film about gang violence in Los Angeles, it was probably the most influential at the time it came out. Allegedly, some reviews found it even hard to believe that gangs existed in L.A. -- that is just how novel the premise was. Director Dennis Hopper does an excellent job in laying out what these neighborhoods are like and really tackles the crack epidemic head on.The original script by Richard DiLello (best known as a Beatles historian) actually took place in Chicago (the traditional gang stronghold) and was more about drug dealing than individual gang members. Hopper ordered changes, so Michael Schiffer was hired and the setting was changed to Los Angeles with the focus of the story becoming more about the day-to-day world of gang members. This switch may be the single best decision Hopper made while developing and shooting the film.What makes the film valuable today, besides its historic aspect, is seeing just how great the casting was, too. Don Cheadle before he was widely known. Tony Todd before "Candyman". Damon Wayans before his entire family became big stars. Even a young Mario Lopez shows up. The idea of having a white kid (Courtney Gains) in a Latino gang seems strange, but as Gains himself says, that was written into the script and he just happened to be lucky enough to get the part.Thanks to Shout! Factory and their Shout Select label, we now have the full, uncut film on Blu-ray, looking great and sounding fantastic. The Herbie Hancock score is dynamite, to say the least. Special features are a little bit slim, unfortunately -- no commentary and not a single actor interview -- but we do have a look back at both the writing process and the gang situation in 1980s Los Angeles.

Predrag Dennis 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.Both actors bring more depth to their clichéd 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... This allows an ending, where the now older policeman repeats an old joke to a newer one.Why do people form gangs? It's a form of socialization or group support. In some other places it could be the volunteer fire department (a replacement for the long-forgotten militia) or a church or social club. No mention of ethnic grouping, more likely in some other places. This movie does not explain why they live there or do not move away. All in all, its an average story that is somewhat educational in its characters.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Mr-Fusion Two great performances from Robert Duvall and Sean Penn, and some great direction by Dennis Hopper gives "Colors" an engrossing quality that's still alive and well, 25 years later. Duvall is the experienced cop, still working the streets and counting the days to retirement. Penn, his rookie partner with a mean streak that borders on sadistic. Forced to work together, the two LAPD uniforms butt heads as they struggle to keep L.A.'s streets safe from the ever-worsening gang warfare."Colors" shares similarities with "To Live and Die in L.A." Though far less taut than Friedkin's signature cop film, Hopper's filming on the streets of inner-city L.A. brings loads of authenticity to the proceedings. And like Friedkin, Hopper puts the audience in the front seat during a great car chase, while the busts are in-your-face and manage to excite, even after so many intervening years. The result is a gritty cop movie that seeks to address the gang problems from both sides. Showcasing several familiar faces in their pre-fame days (Leon, Don Cheadle and Damon Wayans), and boasting a surprisingly effective Herbie Hancock score, Hopper's understated cop drama is a solid effort.7/10

oneguyrambling I'll make one concession to the America spelling of "Colors" because it is the film's title after all.I was amazed 20 years ago when Dennis Hopper made a cop drama set in the LA gang scene, I am amazed even now that it actually happened – and that aside from some minor quibbles it actually holds up very well. For those under say 30 in the 80s the "urban" (read non-white) areas in Los Angeles were beset by crime, both petty and more serious. Two rival gangs rose up and at their peaks had many thousand members each who despised any members of the rival gangs… all of them despised the cops even worse.A brief preamble shows that the gangs numbered greater than 70,000, the cops 250. Not good odds.The two gangs were called the Crips and the Bloods and were distinguishable by the "Colours" that they worse, Crips were blue, the Bloods were obviously Red. As Ice T says in the theme song "Wear the wrong colour and your life might end…" The gang members even had to be kept separate in prison or else they would kill each other there! In the midst of all this were simply not enough cops charged with maintaining the peace, keeping drugs off the streets and preventing the two gangs from killing each other. Drive by shootings were a constant threat and violent crime was rife.Colours mostly follows two cops. The experienced and soon to retire McGavin (Robert Duvall) and new gung-ho, hotheaded rookie Hodges (Sean Penn). McGavin knows the streets and the right people on both sides of the law, Hodges just wants results quickly, and thinks McGavin is past it and should get out of his way. In the early scenes this tense dynamic comes to a head on more than one occasion as they jostle for control. Each of the two have their own moments of success and failure, they bicker and fight at times, each thinking the other has a lot to learn.Colours is less about a series of defined events than it is a month or two in the life of a couple of cops, they perform the normal duties that I must assume were required in the era, patrols, raids, questioning suspects and generally striving to keep the peace when all around resent them – even those they are trying to protect. McGavin has a strong relationship, almost a friendship with certain known gang members who give him snippets of information, in return he seems to leave them alone to take care of themselves.Eventually though the partners find themselves on the wrong side of some particularly naughty gang bangers (who include Don Cheadle and Damon Wayans), and they are subsequently targeted. Again this is not so much built up as a major plot development but handled as a logical outcome to providing resistance to violent criminals.The same thing that makes Colours hard to describe is actually its strength, this is not a car-chase… shootout… manhunt… shootout… big explosion film with snappy one-liners and a huge bodycount, but a more realistic imagining of a period in time as seen by a couple of cops. By necessity it does contain elements as mentioned above but they never seem forced or simply there for entertainment value.Colours is reasonably low key, gritty at times and deliberately paced. It is by no means the definitive LA Gang's film (Boyz in the Hood) but it is an interesting couple of house with solid performances and a fairly believable plot. You could do a lot worse.And to think Dennis Hopper made it!!! Final Rating – 6 / 10. Nothing mind-blowing, but a solid urban cop drama that is never boring.