Colors (Colores de guerra)

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.

It was about 1988 when people in my suburban world first became aware of the inner city war between Bloods, Crips, and many of the fringe groups. This film, along with the rise of "gangster rap" were probably my first exposure to this culture. And its safe to say that if anything, the problem has only gotten worse in the past two decades. Gangs are still killing each other, and they seldom need a reason to do so.

Colors is a fairly daring film directed by Dennis Hopper. The story wishes to point out the plight of inner-city youths caught up in gangs as well as the futility of law enforcement in dealing with them. Robert Duvall and Sean Penn play basically the timeless "good cop/bad cop" duo out to learn what they can on the street and help prevent as much gang crime as possible. The film starts out strongly detailing the differences in their respective approaches to the job. Both men are a joy to watch, and continue to be so to this day. There are few American actors as talented as either man. However, as the story progresses, these two main characters seem to get kind of lost in the shuffle, and the story becomes more about the gang members. They are mostly interesting people, but you're going to find yourself wishing for more of the two leads.

The film is packed with shootouts and car chases.... perhaps a few too many. A lot of thought went into stunt work, fight scenes, and explosions. Most are not needed. Had Colors stayed more of a thoughtful drama instead of an action pic, it would have had a much bigger impact. The Los Angeles we see here is well filmed, and seems off limits to those who don't live there. This was certainly the intention. There are some wonderful little details that project the local flare. In one scene for example, while Penn and Duvall are questioning a group of Hispanic suspects in the Barrio, you can hear a rooster crowing just off screen. The cast is teeming with soon-to-be famous folks like Damon Wayans, Don Cheadle, Glen Plummer and many others. Look out for a young Mario Lopez as a young gang member. But what on earth was Malakai from Children of the Corn doing in the Barrio???? 7 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

Until I checked this out on IMDB, I had no idea that Dennis Hopper was the director. Wow, that says a lot about his directing ability.

In a void, this movie might not be great. Someone from the UK complained about it. I'm not from Compton but, this movie rates up there with the other true-to-lifers like Boyz in the Hood, and other gang related "classics" (as they deserve to be called).

This is a great movie with great acting and a great plotline. It's a pretty realistic view (again, I'm not a gang banger, so maybe my view is skewed) of the gang life in L.A. And it was the first to really portray it... I'm still a big fan of Boyz in the Hood (not for excitement, but for a good story about a tough life). But this was the first (as I recall) and Hopper deserves a great deal of credit for that. Penn and Duvall are fantastic actors and both come through in a big way in this movie.

My personal opinion: This movie has been, by far, underrated...

Colors (1988)

*** (out of 4)

A veteran L.A. police officer (Robert Duvall) gets teamed up with a new, hot-tempered officer (Sean Penn) just as a war between rival gangs breaks out in the streets. The two officers are constantly butting heads over the proper way to handle the situations of the street and things don't get any better once the gangs start fighting back. COLORS was a very popular movie in the day but it's not really a great film. I think there are many very good and many great things in the film but I think a major re-write on the screenplay could have really helped things because no matter how many times I watch the film I can't help but think they're trying to do way too much and end up missing a lot of stuff that should have been simple. On one hand you're looking at a cop-buddy picture and then you have a film trying to show people the law of the streets. I'm sure many were seeing these type of gangs for the first time and director Hopper certainly tries to make one understand why they're in these gangs and why they're willing to lay down their blood for their cause. What doesn't work overly well are a couple side plots dealing with Penn and his relationship with a Mexican woman (Maria Conchita Alonso) with connections to the street. Another thing that doesn't work overly well are all sorts of other subplots dealing with lower entry gang members that never really add up to much. I think there are some moments where the film goes away from the two leads for too long, which certainly makes the film drag in spots. What does work however are the performances by those two leads with both actors doing a great job and even better is the chemistry they have together. The old school Duvall and the new school Penn were the perfect selection for partners here because their acting styles are just so different that they end up mixing together so well. No actor can sell a veteran as great as Duvall and Penn was certainly starting to come into his own around this point in his career and that hot-tempered manor of his was nailed perfectly. The supporting players add some nice performances including Ron Delaney, Larry Sylvester, Don Cheadle and Marlon Wayans in a small role. I've read some reviews that say COLORS is nothing more than a blaxploitation flick for white people but I think this is a tad bit unfair. I think Hopper did a very good job at showing this gang life without glamorizing it and I also think the film does a good job at making the members humans and not just some sort of targets. Hopper certainly seemed to know the material quite well and his direction gets the job done but I think less could have been more.

Consider the range and the capture of characters in one movie, Colors delivers multiple plot lines from a number of sides.

I remember when this movie first came out I was in Jr. high school. Colors was a controversial movie talked about by teachers, principles and parents because, believe it or not, it had a tendency for glorification and encouraging gang membership.

To my surprise, the movie has little glorification in it and was a grim summary of Los Angeles gang life (and even that of law enforcement.) The movie does not spoon feed its audience, save for a few minor comments that were cheesy at their worst and cleverly woven in at their best.

In some cases the portrayal of gang life in LA might have been TOO broad and sophisticated for many viewers. The title COLORS and its implication was meant to explain the rival Crip and Blood gangs but in fact that was merely a pretext. Soon into the movie the viewer is taken into various other neighborhoods as well as other gangs, including WHITE FENCE and 21st Street.

For those that denounce this movie as being outdated, cheesy or otherwise, it's hard for me to understand what you are paying attention to. If you remember the 80's in the slightest, it was a time of decadent and flamboyant neon glow ala Prince, Michael Jackson and various other nonsense. The irony is that COLORS portrays a world that was virtually isolated and separate from the 80's because that is what it was MEANT to point out. This was gang life at its peak, before any of the gangster rap hit white suburbia and became a marketable fad. This was BEFORE white folks thought it was cool. It was isolated from the look and feel of the rest of the 80's because this world was isolated from the general population.

For this reason I am surprised that anyone would call the movie outdated in any way. "Timeless" is the word I use to describe it.

Despite all this, Hopper manages to incorporate the storyline between Duval and Penn. Not only is this a brilliant interaction between two great actors, it also has a more marketable value to a white audience that would otherwise have been turned off by the subject matter and considered it, unfairly, as a "blacksploitation" film. Let's face it, Hollywood is big business. The ability to market this movie with ANY semblance of a good plot line but making it even remotely realistic is an amazing achievement.

Hopper goes beyond doing both. I would not be surprised to see this movie in the classics section, someday.