"I am a nightmare walking
Psychopath talking
King of my jungle just a gangster stalking"
These were the immortal words of Ice-T in the theme song for "Colors." It is still one of the best rap theme songs ever. Hip hop was evolving at the same time the ghettos were and it seemed as the ghettos got more desperate and violent the rap music did the same, but it was also getting better.
This was the first real gang movie I'd ever seen. "Warriors" and other gang movies came out before but they weren't very realistic or relatable. "Colors" was a lot grittier, rawer, and realistic. It is more explicitly about the Crips and the Bloods while still covering other gangs on the streets of L.A. These two main gangs, as well as other gangs, existed before the mid-80's, but they were never so violent. What made them into the vicious territorial killers they became? Drugs. Specifically crack. Now the gangbangers had more to fight for than just a rep or a block, now they were fighting for sales and profits and that made the fight deadly.
"Colors" touches on the drug issue but it doesn't spotlight it. Robert Duvall and Sean Penn as Bob Hodges and Danny "Pacman" McGavin were more of a focus. Through their eyes we saw how the different gangs operated and how the two officers operated as members of C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums). Hodges was a wily veteran that commanded at least a modicum of respect from the locals whereas McGavin was a wild hothead that was looking to earn respect via the Billy Club.
This movie was as tragic as it was good. It's hard to believe that "Colors" is about a place in America, it looked more akin to a third world country. Several movies would be released after "Colors" in the same vein-- some better, some worse--but I consider "Colors" the father of them all.
Psychopath talking
King of my jungle just a gangster stalking"
These were the immortal words of Ice-T in the theme song for "Colors." It is still one of the best rap theme songs ever. Hip hop was evolving at the same time the ghettos were and it seemed as the ghettos got more desperate and violent the rap music did the same, but it was also getting better.
This was the first real gang movie I'd ever seen. "Warriors" and other gang movies came out before but they weren't very realistic or relatable. "Colors" was a lot grittier, rawer, and realistic. It is more explicitly about the Crips and the Bloods while still covering other gangs on the streets of L.A. These two main gangs, as well as other gangs, existed before the mid-80's, but they were never so violent. What made them into the vicious territorial killers they became? Drugs. Specifically crack. Now the gangbangers had more to fight for than just a rep or a block, now they were fighting for sales and profits and that made the fight deadly.
"Colors" touches on the drug issue but it doesn't spotlight it. Robert Duvall and Sean Penn as Bob Hodges and Danny "Pacman" McGavin were more of a focus. Through their eyes we saw how the different gangs operated and how the two officers operated as members of C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums). Hodges was a wily veteran that commanded at least a modicum of respect from the locals whereas McGavin was a wild hothead that was looking to earn respect via the Billy Club.
This movie was as tragic as it was good. It's hard to believe that "Colors" is about a place in America, it looked more akin to a third world country. Several movies would be released after "Colors" in the same vein-- some better, some worse--but I consider "Colors" the father of them all.