(1988)
4
Michael Betzold
A freewheeling slice of Los Angeles street life, Colors is a daring, horrifyingly vivid drama about police and street gangs in the modern urban trenches. Directed by veteran rogue Dennis Hopper, the film pairs an old hand (Robert Duvall) with a rookie cop (Sean Penn). The images are jarring, the rap music soundtrack pulsating, and the effect unsettling. The stunning visuals are courtesy of the renowned Haskell Wexler, and Hopper demonstrates his ability to work weird wonders on either side of the camera. The film is an unflinching look at the world of gangs and their battles for supremacy; it's like West Side Story drained of all romantic sentiment. The actors and filmmakers make the drama compelling and unusually bracing. Hopper's directing jobs came infrequently; this was only his third picture in the two decades since his debut in Easy Rider.
Colors on AllMovie
Colors (1988)
