Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Colors Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson March 10, 2017

A few years ago, my colleague Dr. Svet Atanasov reviewed the global Blu-ray debut of COLORS (1988) courtesy of UK-based Second Sight. Shout Select has released a "Collector's Edition" BD of Dennis Hopper's film that integrates additional footage from the TV cut and international version.

At a pre-production meeting in the mid eighties, Orion Pictures Vice President Mike Medavoy and Sean Penn met with aspiring screenwriter Michael Schiffer to discuss a new project at the studio. Medavoy and Penn were discussing a story treatment that looked at the country's fledgling gangs in the inner cites and asked Schiffer what kind of characters and narrative arc his script could center around. Without knowing anything about gangs, Schiffer abruptly responded that it would be about a senior police officer and rookie cop aiming to take down a community's most notorious gangs. Initially to be set in Chicago, Schiffer relocated the action to Los Angeles where the LAPD were combating gangs with a historically high drug epidemic. Schiffer road along with a photographer and gang unit, putting in fourteen-hour days worth of ethnographic research. In his fourth film as a director, Hopper brought high-octane energy and a hard edge to the material. The movie also saw Hopper reunite with fellow Apocalypse Now alum, Robert Duvall, although Colors was actually the third film that the two were involved in. The brash Danny McGavin seems like a role tailor-made for Penn, who embraces it with rugged individualism. It is important to remember that Penn staked his reputation for playing anti-authoritarian figures in such films as Bad Boys (1983) and The Falcon and the Snowman (1985).

Duvall and Penn play off each other's antics and jokes very well. (I don't want to spoil any for viewers who haven't seen the film.) Officers Bob Hodges (Duvall) and McGavin (Penn) are assigned as partners to cover the South and Central bureaus as part of the LAPD's newly implemented C.R.A.S.H. initiative. (The acronym stands for Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums.) Hodges and McGavin's first case together is to investigate the drive-by shooting of (Brian Davis), a member of the Bloods gang. McGavin discovers that it's difficult to ferret information out of the youth gang members. He prefers to instigate brute force on suspects and accomplices, which differs from the more restrained and systematic means of intelligence gathering that Hodges has long practiced. McGavin's role in C.R.A.S.H. gets complicated when he becomes romantically involved with the attractive Hispanic woman, Louisa Gomez (Maria Conchita Alonso), who turns out to have a cousin that McGavin interrogates.

Partners in crime.

Colors represents, on the one hand, the blood red of LA's Combat Zone and on the other hand, the dark blue symbolizing LAPD's street crime unit. The title also reflects the diverse composition and makeup of LA's various gangs. The "Bloods" are opposed by the rival gang of the "Crips," while the barrio stands somewhere in between. The Crips are led by Rocket (Don Cheadle), Killer-Bee (Leon Robinson), T-Bone (Damon Wayans), among several others. Rocket occupies an important role in the plot of Colors but because his character is both a mystery man and a suspect pursued by the cops, he goes away for a large chunk of the narrative as Hodges and McGavin chase leads. Casting director Lauren Lloyd deserves credit for recognizing Cheadle's talent. The actor had done some TV work and had a bit role as a solider in Hamburger Hill, released a year earlier. Rocket is laconic and pensive-looking as he calculates his next move inside of a navy blue van or a graffiti-covered shack. High Top (Glenn Plummer) also becomes a person of interest as the cops hunt for Rocket. This film also showcases some of Plummer's raw talent, who went on to a major breakthrough starring role in the indie, South Central, which was released four years later.

This extended cut of Colors devotes more screen time to the barrio and its charismatic senior leader, Frog (Trinidad Silva), than it does to the Crips and other gangs. The strength of Colors is that it allows the audience to eavesdrop on these gangs and learn about their inner dynamics. However, I wish that Schiffer and Hopper had spent more time with the Crips. I realize that Duvall and Penn are the central stars but there's a disproportion allocation of scenes between the Bloods, Crips, and Frog's (mostly) Hispanic gang members. The narrative choice to focus on Frog and his posse is dictated by McGavin's love affair with Gomez. (In this version, you'll see an extended love-making scene between the couple and another scene where the young Latinos go after McGavin's car.) McGavin sees Hodges nearing retirement and enjoying the spare time he shares with his wife and kids. The young McGavin also yearns to settle down with Gomez and start a family.

Colors presages many of the hood films that were to follow, including the genre classics Boyz n the Hood (1991), New Jack City (1991), and Menace II Society (1993). Colors also features a killer hip hop sound track, with songs by Ice-T, Salt-n-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, and Kool G. Rap.

Colors Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Colors make its US debut courtesy of Shout Select (#12 in the catalog) on this AVC-encoded BD-50. The label presents the film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1, with an encode that carries an average video bitrate of 30993 kbps and a total bitrate of 34.50 mbps. Authoring and compression are marginally better on this disc than the UK BD-50 that Svet reviewed in 2015. (The average bitrate was 29961 kbps.) When MGM released Colors on DVD in 2001, the transfer was solid but Shout bests that and the others here. I was a little worried at the transfer's prospects when I spotted white speckles over the Orion Pictures logo. During the main titles, there was some dirt and debris hovering around the credits, too. However, after the first reel, damage marks are kept to a minimum. Grain is erratic throughout the film but the improved resolution shows in day-lit scenes where Hodges and McGavin are out on patrol. Skin tones look natural and unmanipulated. Detail is good, if not exceptional.

Shout advertises this version as the "Unrated Cut" including scenes that were not released in theaters as well as additional scenes from the international cut. Second Sight included over eight minutes of deleted scenes on its disc and the good news is that Shout has reintegrated them into the film, presumably in original order from a longer cut. Four of the excised scenes on the UK disc were presented in 1.33:1 but Shout has restored them to their original widescreen glory. There were some print defects on the UK's 1080p 1.85:1 cut scenes but Shout has cleaned those up. I have uploaded several screenshots from scenes that were not in the US theatrical version. The only regret is that Shout did not include the original theatrical cut of Colors along with an option for "seamless branching."

Unlike Second Sight, Shout has provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Colors Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Shout renders the film's original stereo as a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. The recording is also superior to Second Sight's sound track, which was LPCM 2.0 with an encode of 1536 kbps (16-bit). Shout's 24-bit recording edges ahead with 1704 kbps. With the exception of the songs, dialogue is front- heavy. Shout makes equal use of the center and front channels. Composer Herbie Hancock was hot coming off his Oscar-winning jazz score for 'Round Midnight (1986) and his keyboard-based score for Colors suits the onscreen action well, though it's repetitive. During the end credits, the background vocals of Ice-T's "Colors" provide accompaniment on the surround channels. Overall, the track is in very good shape.

Colors Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Cry of Alarm: An Interview With Screenwriter Michael Schiffer (28:47, 1080p) - a sit-down chat with Schiffer that originally appeared on the Second Sight Blu-ray. In English, not subtitled.

• Cops & Robbers: An Interview With Technical Advisor/LAPD Gang Division Dennis Fanning (16:54, 1080p) - another interview recycled form the UK BD. In English, not subtitled.

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1:54, 1080p) - Orion's trailer for Colors presented in 1.85:1 and appearing in solid condition. In English, not subtitled.

• Easter Egg (2:17, 1080p) - additional interview snippets with Schiffer. In English, not subtitled.

Colors Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Colors was already a very good film and the additional footage helps make a few modest improvements in character development. Although this is not a frame-by-frame restoration, the transfer for Colors looks quite sharp. Shout has also ported over the bonus materials from Second Sight's disc and retained the trailer from MGM's DVD. Fans of Hopper, Duvall, Penn, and cinematographer Haskell Wexler will want to indulge in this package. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.