The Love Scene In Color Of Night That Took Fans To The Edge Of Cringe
The same year he was hunting for his father's watch on "Pulp Fiction," Bruce Willis starred in a very different movie whose reputation couldn't be any more different. Released in 1994, "Color of Night" is an erotic thriller starring Willis as psychologist Dr. Bill Capa who finds himself infatuated with a mysterious young woman named Rose (Jane March), who appears to be connected to several members of a therapy group and the grisly murder of a close friend. The second to last film directed by Richard Rush, which starred Willis, March, Rubén Blades, Lesley Ann Warren, and Brad Dourif, was not well-received upon its release — to put it nicely.
The film was demolished at the box office, making only $19 million on a $40 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). As can be imagined, critics ripped the film to shreds, as its 22% Tomatometer Score per Rotten Tomatoes and Golden Raspberry Award for the worst picture can attest (via IMDb). While the entirety of the 121-minute-long venture (or 139 if you're watching the director's cut) is chock full of eccentricities and bizarre quirks, it is within the film's first few moments that audiences can truly get a taste of what's in store.
What was even that gun scene?
In the same decade that birthed such acclaimed erotic thrillers as "Basic Instinct" and "Eyes Wide Shut," "Color of Night" offered one of the genre's strangest offerings. For many, it didn't take long to realize just what they were getting themselves into.
A Reddit thread started by u/Sons_of_the_Desert lists out some of the most ridiculous scenes in the film. On the top of that list, they note, "It features a woman fellating a gun within the first five minutes, immediately cluing the viewer into exactly what kind of film it's going to be." The woman in question, Michelle (Kathleen Wilhoite), is seen nearly about to shoot herself through the head using the weapon, but it soon turns into a much more passionate oral embrace.
The scene, and the film in general, have left audiences scratching their heads. Another Reddit thread discussing the film saw u/The_Atoll comment that "The sex scene in the director's cut is SO FUNNY! It's super long and it full stops half way through ... My best friend and I could not believe how strange it was." Others admitted their love for the strange offering either way, such as u/crclOv9, who says, "This movie rules for almost every wrong reason," and u/lonestarr357, who similarly comments, "An absolute guilty pleasure."
Regardless of its status, director Richard Rush was proud of the film, even keeping his "Best Sex Scene Ever Filmed" award from Maxim Magazine in his bathroom.