Plot
Dr. Bill Capa, a New York City, New York psychologist, falls into a deep major depressive disorder, 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 somatic symptom disorder, psychosomatic color blindness, taking away his ability to see the color red. Bill travels to Los Angeles to stay with a friend, fellow therapist Dr. Bob Moore, who invites him to sit in on a group psychotherapy, 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 obsessive–compulsive disorder, OCD sufferer; Sondra, a hypersexuality, nymphomaniac and kleptomaniac; Buck, a suicide, suicidal ex-cop; Casey, who paints Sadomasochism, sado-masochistic 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 child sexual abuse, molested by his Child and adolescent psychiatry, 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 dissociative identity disorder, 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 psychological trauma, traumatized, 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 as Dr. Bill Capa *Jane March as Rose *Ruben Blades as Hector Martinez *Lesley Ann Warren as Sondra Dorio *Scott Bakula as Bob Moore *Brad Dourif as Clark *Lance Henriksen as Buck *Kevin J. O'Connor (actor), Kevin J. O'Connor as Casey Heinz *Eriq La Salle as Anderson *Andrew Lowery as Dale Dexter *Kathleen Wilhoite as Michelle *Jeff Corey as Dr Larry Ashland *Shirley Knight as Edith NiedelmeyerMusic
Soundtrack
The soundtrack to ''Color of Night'' as composed by Dominic Frontiere, with songs from Lauren Christy, Jud Friedman, Brian McKnight, and Lowen & Navarro was released on August 9, 1994, by Mercury Records.Release
Theatrical
Richard Rush turned his cut of the film over to producer Andrew Vajna in late 1993. Vajna was concerned about the film's commercial prospects and demanded a recut, something Rush refused. Nonetheless, Vajna mandated he had wikt:final cut, 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 (magazine), Variety'' and by film critic Bill Arnold, who attended a test screening of Rush's version in Seattle, Washington. The ''Los Angeles Times'', meanwhile, defended Vajna, stating that Rush stubbornly refused any input from the studio. The Directors Guild of America 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 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 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 in her August 19, 1994 ''The New York Times'' 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'' 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'' (Asheville, North Carolina) wrote the film was "Underrated, but far from great." The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John J. B. Wilson, John Wilson's book ''The Official Razzie Movie Guide'' as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.Accolades
''Color of Night'' won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture, and was also nominated in eight other categories including Worst Actor (Bruce Willis also for ''North (1994 film), North''), Worst Actress (Jane March), Worst Director (Richard Rush (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). At the 1994 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, 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 Award, Golden Globe nomination in the category Best Original Song — Motion Picture for its theme song "The Color of the Night", performed by Lauren Christy. Maxim (magazine), ''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, ''The Washington Post'' * 3rd worst – Dan Craft, ''The Pantagraph''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