Color of Night

''Color of Night'' is a 1994 American erotic mystery thriller film produced by Cinergi Pictures and released in the United States by Buena Vista Pictures (through its Hollywood Pictures label). The film was directed by Richard Rush, was jointly written by Billy Ray and Matthew Chapman and stars Bruce Willis opposite Jane March.

The cast also features Rubén Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, Brad Dourif, Lance Henriksen, Kevin J. O'Connor and Scott Bakula. It is one of two well-known works by director Rush, the other being '' The Stunt Man'' 14 years before.

''Color of Night'' was considered a box office bomb upon release and won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture at the 15th Golden Raspberry Awards, where it received a leading nine nominations. 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. It is noted for its style, akin to the Italian ''giallo'' genre, and has gone on to achieve cult status.

In 2018, Kino Lorber (under license from Disney) released a special edition Blu-ray of the film; it contains an audio commentary by director Richard Rush. In 2023, the film was streamed on the Criterion Channel.

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, 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 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 Bob'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 individual with OCD; Sondra, a nymphomaniac and kleptomaniac; Buck, a suicidal former police officer; Casey, who paints 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 molested 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 arrive to rescue her. At the last moment, however, Rose frees herself and kills Dale. Deeply traumatized, she tries to commit suicide, but Capa convinces her to keep living. As they kiss, Capa regains the ability to see the color red.

Cast

Music

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 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'' 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 as one of the 100 most enjoyably bad movies ever made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John J. B. Wilson's book '' The Official Razzie Movie Guide'' (2005).

Accolades

At the 15th Golden Raspberry Awards, ''Color of Night'' received a leading nine nominations and won a single award, the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture. To date it is the only Worst Picture winner to fail to win in any other category. The other categories it was nominated in were Worst Director, Worst Actor (Bruce Willis), Worst Actress (Jane March), Worst Supporting Actor (also for March), Worst Supporting Actress (Lesley Ann Warren), Worst Screenplay, Worst Screen Couple/Combo ("Any combination of two people from the entire cast of ''Color of Night''") and Worst Original Song ("The Color of the Night").

At the 1994 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards, Bruce Willis won the award for Worst Actor (also for ''North'') while Jane March received a nomination for Worst Actress.

''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.

''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''
* Worst (not ranked) – Bob Ross, ''The Tampa Tribune''
* #4 Worst - Michael Medved, '' Sneak Previews''

References

External links

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{{Razzie Award for Worst Picture

1990s American films
1990s English-language films
1990s erotic thriller films
1990s mystery thriller films
1994 psychological thriller films
1990s slasher films
1990s romantic thriller films
1994 crime thriller films
1994 films
1994 independent films
1994 LGBTQ-related films
American independent films
American crime thriller films
American erotic romance films
American erotic thriller films
American LGBTQ-related films
American mystery thriller films
American neo-noir films
American slasher films
American thriller films
American psychological thriller films
American romantic thriller films
Bisexuality-related films
Cinergi Pictures films
Disney controversies
Disney and LGBTQ
Erotic mystery films
English-language erotic thriller films
English-language independent films
Films about obsessive–compulsive disorder
Films about dissociative identity disorder
Films about mental disorders
Films about self-harm
Films about sexuality
Films about siblicide
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
Golden Raspberry Award–winning films
Hollywood Pictures films
Films about incest
Lesbian-related films
LGBTQ-related controversies in film
LGBTQ-related thriller films
Film controversies
Obscenity controversies in film
Rating controversies in film
Romantic crime films
English-language crime thriller films
English-language romantic thriller films
English-language mystery thriller films
LGBTQ-related independent films