A high efficiency, long life, video rate, electrophoretic display comprises fluid containing sub-pixel structures that are periodic, and aligned with a color filter array. A fluid comprising of electrophoretically mobile particles is compartmentalized at the size scale of the individual filters (one per filter) such that the particles may be moved to either allow light to be returned through the same filter back towards the viewer by total internal reflection (TIR) or conventional reflection to create a light state or to be absorbed by the particles to create a dark state. High reflectance is achieved through the use of structures that avoid ITO layers in the light path and reflecting most light, by virtue of a dual control of light by TIR and transmission to a reflector. In one embodiment the structures are in the shape of truncated pyramids.