There are only three scenes throughout the entire film that actually use color in them. The first scene is at the beginning of the movie when the four boys are walking past the pet store window and look in at the fish tank of four rumble fish. The four rumble fish, which are in the foreground of the shot, are all in color. Everything else in the scene is in black and white, which makes the fish stand out. The second scene is also located in the pet store. Motorcycle Boy and Rusty James go to look at the rumble fish in the pet store, which are again in color. In this scene, Motorcycle Boy explains to Rusty James that that rumble fish must be separated from each other when they are in a confined space or else they will fight and kill each other. They only live peacefully together when they are free. This ends up being a metaphor for the boys in the film. The third scene with color in it is the ending scene where Motorcycle Boy is killed by the cop when trying to set the rumble fish free. The fish are in color, as well as two shots when Rusty James is being escorted by the police. The police siren flashes in color, and Rusty James sees his reflection in color for a brief instant.
These shots in color could be argued to be some of the most critical spots in the film. The rumble fish represent Motorcycle Boy, Rusty James, and their friends. Special attention is to be brought to the fish to make their symbolism in the film more apparent and the audience won"t blow them off as "just fish". The scene where Rusty James sees his reflection in color is the moment when he realizes that he must be free and cannot be contained anymore. Color is used as self-realization. Rusty James sees his true self in the color reflection and realizes that he wants to escape.
The director of the film also uses very vibrant colors when he chooses to use colors at all. He uses fire engine red and royal blue to color the rumble fish.
