Color Of Night
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by
Cinergi Pictures Cinergi Pictures Inc. was an American independent film production company founded by Andrew G. Vajna in 1989, after he had sold his interest in his first production company, Carolco International Pictures. The company had a number of major hit ...
and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its
Hollywood Pictures Hollywood Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner and then-studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood ...
label). Directed by Richard Rush, the film stars
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
and
Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...
. The cast also features
Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
,
Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...
,
Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...
,
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenn ...
, Kevin J. O'Connor and
Scott Bakula Scott Stewart Bakula (; born October 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in two science-fiction television series: as Sam Beckett on '' Quantum Leap'' and as Captain Jonathan Archer on '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. For ''Quantu ...
. It is one of two well-known works by director Rush, the other being ''
The Stunt Man ''The Stunt Man'' is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey. The film was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel of the same name by Paul Brodeu ...
'' 14 years before. ''Color of Night'' flopped at the box office and won a
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
as the worst film of 1994. It later, however, became one of the 20 most-rented films in the United States home video market in 1995. ''Maxim'' magazine also singled the film out as having the best sex scene in film history. In 2018,
Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...
(under license from
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
) released a special edition Blu-ray of the film; it contains an audio commentary by director Richard Rush.


Plot

Dr. Bill Capa, a New York psychologist, falls into a deep depression after Michelle, an unstable patient, commits suicide in front of him by jumping from his office window. The sight of the bloody body clad in a bright green dress causes Bill to suffer from psychosomatic
color blindness Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...
, taking away his ability to see the color red. Bill travels to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
to stay with a friend, fellow therapist Dr. Bob Moore, who invites him to sit in on a group therapy session. However, Bob is violently murdered in the office and Bill is plunged into the mystery of his friend's death. Lt. Hector Martinez considers everyone in Moore's therapy group, including Bill, as suspects in the murder. Bill continues to live in Bob's house and begins an affair with Rose, a beautiful but mysterious young woman who comes and goes. Bill takes over the therapy group, which includes: Clark, a temperamental OCD sufferer; Sondra, a
nymphomaniac Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...
and kleptomaniac; Buck, a
suicidal Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...
ex-cop; Casey, who paints
sado-masochistic Sadomasochism ( ) is the giving and receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation. Practitioners of sadomasochism may seek sexual pleasure from their acts. While the terms sadist and masochist refer ...
images; and Richie, a 16-year old with gender dysphoria and a history of drug use. After Casey is murdered, Bill becomes the target of several attempts on his life. He discovers that all but one of his patients have been romantically involved with Rose. He eventually learns that "Richie" is really Rose, and the murders were the work of her deranged brother, Dale. They once had an actual brother named Richie, who hanged himself after being
molested Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
by his child psychiatrist Dr. Niedelmeyer, who also abused Dale. After Richie committed suicide, Dale abused Rose into playing the part of their brother. Rose began to re-emerge during therapy and, under another personality named "Bonnie", started relationships with the other patients. Dale proceeded to kill them, fearing that they would soon link Rose to Richie. Dale kidnaps Rose, and tries to kill Capa and Martinez with a nail gun when they arrives to rescue her. At the last moment, however, Rose frees herself and kills Dale. Deeply
traumatized Psychological trauma, mental trauma or psychotrauma is an emotional response to a distressing event or series of events, such as accidents, rape, or natural disasters. Reactions such as psychological shock and psychological denial are typical. ...
, she then tries to commit suicide, but Capa convinces her to keep living. As they kiss, Capa regains the ability to see the color red.


Cast

*
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
as Dr. Bill Capa *
Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...
as Rose *
Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
as Hector Martinez *
Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...
as Sondra Dorio *
Scott Bakula Scott Stewart Bakula (; born October 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in two science-fiction television series: as Sam Beckett on '' Quantum Leap'' and as Captain Jonathan Archer on '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. For ''Quantu ...
as Bob Moore *
Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...
as Clark *
Lance Henriksen Lance Henriksen (born May 5, 1940) is an American actor. He is known for his works in various science fiction, action and horror films, such as that of Bishop in the ''Alien'' film franchise, and Frank Black in Fox television series ''Millenn ...
as Buck * Kevin J. O'Connor as Casey Heinz *
Eriq La Salle Erik Ki La Salle (born July 23, 1962), professionally known as Eriq La Salle, is an American actor, director, writer and producer. La Salle is best known for his performance in the film ''Coming to America'' (1988) and especially as Dr. Pete ...
as Anderson *Andrew Lowery as Dale Dexter *
Kathleen Wilhoite Kathleen Wilhoite (born June 29, 1964) is an American actress and musician. She made her feature film debut in ''Private School'' (1983) before having a leading role in '' Murphy's Law'' (1986), followed by supporting parts in '' Witchboard'' (a ...
as Michelle * Jeff Corey as Dr Larry Ashland *
Shirley Knight Shirley Knight Hopkins (July 5, 1936 – April 22, 2020) was an American actress who appeared in more than 50 feature films, television films, television series, and Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in her career, playing leading and charac ...
as Edith Niedelmeyer


Music


Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''Color of Night'' as composed by Dominic Frontiere, with songs from
Lauren Christy Lauren Christy is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Originally a solo artist, she found success as part of the writing production trio The Matrix. The Matrix received numerous Grammy nominations including best producer. Bio ...
, Jud Friedman,
Brian McKnight Brian Kelly McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, radio host and multi-instrumentalist. He is most recognized for his strong head voice, high belting range and melisma. McKnight is known for h ...
, and
Lowen & Navarro Lowen & Navarro was a songwriting team composed of David Eric Lowen and Dan Navarro, who met in Los Angeles, California, in the 1980s. They wrote the song "We Belong," which became a major hit for Pat Benatar in 1984, and the song "Hammerhead Sha ...
was released on August 9, 1994, by
Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...
.


Release


Theatrical

Richard Rush turned his cut of the film over to producer
Andrew Vajna Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarians, Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo (film series), Rambo'' series, ''Total Recall (1990 film), Tota ...
in late 1993. Vajna was concerned about the film's commercial prospects and demanded a recut, something Rush refused. Nonetheless, Vajna mandated he had final cut per contractual obligation, and insisted on testing his own version of the film. After both versions were given a number of test screenings, Vajna determined that his cut would be released and fired Rush in April 1994. This ultimately escalated into a battle between Rush and Vajna that received coverage in the Los Angeles trades. Rush commented that his version tested higher than Vajna's cut; his statements were defended in ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' and by film critic Bill Arnold, who attended a test screening of Rush's version in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'', meanwhile, defended Vajna, stating that Rush stubbornly refused any input from the studio. The
Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
attempted to intervene on the matter. The battle ultimately ended when Rush suffered a near-fatal heart attack and became hospitalized. Months later, after Rush recovered, he compromised with Vajna that the producer's cut would be released theatrically and that the director's cut would see a video release. Eventually, four versions were released: *The R-Rated theatrical release from the USA *The international theatrical release *The R-Rated Director's Cut *The Unrated Director's Cut (Among them, international theatrical release version also contains numerous scenes that are not included in the Unrated Director's Cut.)


Reception


Box office

The film opened at number 4 at the US box office, grossing $6,610,488 its opening weekend playing at a total of 1,740 theaters. The film grossed only $19,750,470 in the United States and Canada but grossed $27 million internationally for a worldwide total of $46.7 million compared to its $40 million production budget.


Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
retrospectively reported that 22% of 51 critics gave the film a positive review, with an average rating of 4.4/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Bruce willie shot aside, the only other things popping out in ''Color of Night'' are some ridiculous plot contortions and majorly camp moments."
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
assigned the film a weighted average score of 36 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale. Referring to the film as "memorably bizarre,"
Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
in her August 19, 1994 ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' review wrote: "The enthusiastically nutty ''Color of Night'' has the single-mindedness of a bad dream and about as much reliance on everyday logic." She also cited the revelation of the murderer, "whose disguise won't fool anyone, anywhere." Roger Ebert of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' wrote: "I was, frankly, stupefied. To call it absurd would be missing the point, since any shred of credibility was obviously the first thing thrown overboard. It's so lurid in its melodrama and so goofy in its plotting that with just a bit more trouble, it could have been a comedy." Luke Y. Thompson of ''The New Times'' praised March's performance and wrote: "Minority opinion here, I know, but I found the sex scenes hot and March's performance truly impressive." Brian McKay of eFilmCritic.com stated the film was a "Mediocre L.A. noir thriller made more tolerable by Jane March disrobing frequently." Ken Hanke of the ''
Mountain Xpress The ''Mountain Xpress'' is an alternative newspaper covering news, arts, local politics, and events in Asheville and western North Carolina, USA. Published each Wednesday in print and online, it has a print circulation of about 29,000. The Mounta ...
'' ( Asheville, North Carolina) wrote the film was "Underrated, but far from great." The film is listed in
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
founder John Wilson's book ''
The Official Razzie Movie Guide ''The Official Razzie Movie Guide: Enjoying the Best of Hollywood's Worst'' is a book about the booby prize award show the Golden Raspberry Awards (Razzies), written by John Wilson, founder of the awards ceremony. The book was published in 2005 ...
'' as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.


Accolades

''Color of Night'' won the
Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
for Worst Picture, and was also nominated in eight other categories including Worst Actor (
Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
also for ''
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...
''), Worst Actress (
Jane March Jane March Horwood (born 20 March 1973) is an English film actress and former model. Early life and education March was born Jane March Horwood in Edgware, London. Her father, Bernard Horwood, was a design and technology secondary school teac ...
), Worst Director ( Richard Rush), Worst Screenplay, Worst Original Song ("The Color of the Night"), Worst Screen Couple ("Any combination of two people from the entire cast"), Worst Supporting Actor (Jane March as Richie) and Worst Supporting Actress (
Lesley Ann Warren Lesley Ann Warren (born August 16, 1946) is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in 1963, aged 17, in '' 110 in the Shade''. In 1965 she received wide recognition for playing the title role in the television musical prod ...
). At the
1994 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards The 17th Stinkers Bad Movie Awards were released by the Hastings Bad Cinema Society in 1995 to honour the worst films the film industry had to offer in 1994. Founder Mike Lancaster put '' Ready to Wear'' as the one 1994 film among his five worst ...
, Bruce Willis won the award for Worst Actor (also for ''North'') while Jane March received a mere nomination for Worst Actress. On more positive notes, ''Color of Night'' received a Golden Globe nomination in the category Best Original Song — Motion Picture for its theme song "The Color of the Night", performed by
Lauren Christy Lauren Christy is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. Originally a solo artist, she found success as part of the writing production trio The Matrix. The Matrix received numerous Grammy nominations including best producer. Bio ...
. ''Maxim'' magazine also awarded ''Color of Night'' for having the Best Sex Scene in film history; Rush was especially proud of the award, and he kept it in his bathroom.


Year-end lists

* 3rd worst –
Desson Howe Desson Patrick Thomson is a former speechwriter for the Obama administration and former film critic for ''The Washington Post''. He was known as Desson Howe until 2003 when he changed his name after reuniting with his birth father. Biography ...
, ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' * 3rd worst – Dan Craft, ''
The Pantagraph ''The Pantagraph'' is a daily newspaper that serves Bloomington–Normal, Illinois, along with 60 communities and eight counties in the Central Illinois area. Its headquarters are in Bloomington and it is owned by Lee Enterprises. The name is ...
''


References


External links

* * * * * {{Razzie Award for Worst Picture 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s erotic thriller films 1990s mystery thriller films 1990s psychological thriller films 1990s romantic thriller films 1994 crime thriller films 1994 films 1994 LGBT-related films American crime thriller films American erotic romance films American erotic thriller films American LGBT-related films American mystery thriller films American neo-noir films American psychological thriller films American romantic thriller films Bisexuality-related films Cinergi Pictures films Disney controversies Erotic mystery films Films about obsessive–compulsive disorder Films about self-harm Films about sexuality Films about trans women Films directed by Richard Rush Films produced by Andrew G. Vajna Films produced by Buzz Feitshans Films scored by Dominic Frontiere Films set in Los Angeles Films set in New York City Films with screenplays by Billy Ray Fratricide in fiction Golden Raspberry Award winning films Hollywood Pictures films Incest in film Lesbian-related films LGBT-related controversies in film LGBT-related thriller films Film controversies Obscenity controversies in film Rating controversies in film Romantic crime films