COLOR
ME BLOOD RED (1965)
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
Something Weird DVD
Reviewed 03.18.04
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Art world be damned! Somewhere between
the shocking simplicity of Blood
Feast and the insane hilarity
of The Gruesome Twosome lies Herschell Gordon Lewis and
Dave Friedman’s Color
Me Blood Red, a tour-de-force
of strange movie excitement. Get
out your pigment and painter’s
smock, ‘cause it’s gonna
get messy...
Adam Sorg is a bug-eyed goon and
a professional artiste. Although
his paintings sell well and are
bringing in the big bucks, this
mini-Picasso still isn’t satisfied.
The local art critic (you’ll
know it’s him because he wears
a beret), considers Adam’s
work to be something less than stellar.
It makes you wonder why -- I mean,
aren’t paintings of pink bulls
and fish with legs usually considered
pretty hip? Frustrated, Adam sweatily
searches for inspiration, without
much result. That is, until his
leotard-clad girlfriend accidentally
spills some blood from a cut finger
onto Adam’s canvas. Eureka!
Monsieur Sorg begins painting with
blood from his own fingers like
a man possessed! Soon though, his
hemoglobes run out...time to search
for a new source of “color.”
You see, Adam’s new painting
style is a hit with the critics
and he’s got to keep it going...WHATEVER
THE COST!
As my grandfather would say, this
one’s a real hoot. Color
Me Blood Red is almost artsy
in itself. A film depicting such
a broad cliché of the “artist’s
life”, but filtered through
gore scenes and aqua bike riding
padding, screams beyond surreal
to anyone lucky enough to view it.
You’ll witness the most amazing
fake-painting-atrocities ever to
disgrace the movie screen and laugh
at each and every one. You’ll
do a double take as Adam begins
to paint on the canvas with his
girlfriend’s bloody head.
But wait, there’s more! The
film begins at the end, has a ridiculous
subplot involving the weirdest teens
you’ve ever seen, and explodes
with a shot of Adam snuffing out
a cigarette in his hand for no good
reason!
This was the last picture H.G. Lewis
and his partner, Dave Friedman,
produced together, and also the
last of the famous “Blood
Trilogy.” Although Color drags a bit towards the end, there
are certainly enough kicks to get
you through any swimming/aqua-bike
riding downtime. As a fitting closure
to the trilogy, what a way to go.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Beautiful print -- excellent colors,
very light on imperfections, and
solidly crisp. The mono sound is
also excellent. The dialogue is
sometimes difficult to decipher
(especially during scenes in the
art museum), but that’s definitely
due to the way it was originally
recorded, not the DVD presentation.
EXTRAS
As with most of SWV’s H.G.
Lewis DVDs, Color Me Blood
Red features a fantastic
commentary track with Lewis, Dave
Friedman, Something Weird owner
Mike Vraney, and Jim Maslon (who
owns the rights to all of Herschell’s
films). It’s every bit as
good as the picture itself -- one
of the highlights is the recounting
of the story behind why the Lewis-Friedman
team split up, as well as their
subsequent reunion. Very nice listen.
Rounding out the extras is a 10
minute reel of silent outtakes,
which is interesting but somewhat
boring, a great poster/ad/photo
gallery featuring all of the films
Friedman and Lewis produced together,
and a trailer.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Are you kidding me? This gem has
been way too overlooked on its own.
Anyway, poor Adam Sorg could use
the exposure. You must own it. |
Adam Sorg is it
Fun with aqua bikes
Too good
The way to a woman's heart
|
