"Color of Night" is a forgotten film from the '90s starring Bruce Willis. If the movie were 90 minutes, it might be considered a comedic masterpiece. However, it's nearly two and a half hours long, partly due to disputes between the director Richard Rush and the producers, each creating their own cut. The final version, directed by Rush, runs at 136 minutes but failed to enhance the movie's quality.
During the '90s, a slew of thrillers and erotic thrillers emerged following the success of films like "Fatal Attraction" and "Basic Instinct." "Color of Night" attempted to swim in these waters but ended up being a genre mishmash with Ridiculous storytelling elements combined with attempts at being a thriller. The film includes Bruce Willis in a role where he seems miscast, showing a lack of engagement with the character he portrays.
Despite its star-studded cast, including Barbara Schenrer, Scott Baclua, and Lesley Ann Warren, the movie did not leave a mark either critically or commercially. Its narrative features mysterious suicides, disguises, gender identity discussions treated through a dated lens, and murder, but these elements fail to cohere into a satisfying whole.
The direction is clumsy, setting a tone that swings wildly between a thriller and unintentional comedy. This is further reinforced by the score’s awkward shifts from romantic to bombastic, often at times that result in odd fits of laughter rather than suspense. Even the resolution of the protagonist overcoming a psychosomatic vision loss doesn't connect meaningfully to the plot.
"Color of Night" ultimately remains an intriguing artifact of its time, especially within the milieu of Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone, studios owned by Disney that focused on more mature content. However, rather than being a hidden gem, it languishes under the weight of its own ambitions.