The Crow (1994)

It Can't Rain All The Time...

Tragedy was thick with the production of this film. Not only did a relative of star Ernie Hudson's die during production, we also lost a great actor and indeed a great person on the set with Brandon Lee, who died of a malfunction during a scene in which he gets shot. Ironic and tragic, Brandon Lee left us with a fantastic swansong, and a bitter taste of what would have come had he not tragically met fate during shooting.

As sad as that is, we are blessed with a beautiful, moody film that can only be described as a true gothic offering. James O'Barr's simple, yet completely captivating, comic set the grounds for what can easily be described as one of the best comic book movies to ever grace the cinematic world.

Eric Draven, along with his fiancee, Shelly, are brutally murdered by a gang of vicious thugs the night before their wedding- October 31st. Exactly one year later, Eric is brought back from the dead to avenge their deaths, and in his quest for vengeance, clean up the streets of the city in which they lived.

Alex Proyas shot a film that easily defined his career. There's an abundance of moody, gothic atmosphere that has the classic feel of an Edgar Allen Poe world. Indeed, the film matches up to the very definition of Gothic, both in terms of the set pieces and the overall look of the film. Everything seems so saturated, with greys and blacks being the primary colors, but we also get to be treated to a tone of orange and reds throughout the film. Alex got everything he could out of his actors, but with such a stunning cast as it was, he didn't have to give much direction to any of them.

Astounding in the role of Eric Draven is Brandon Lee, who was the definitive Crow, and also the only man I can ever see playing the Crow. Brandon really embodied the role, seeming to put a lot of himself into, though I doubt Brandon was such a vindictive person in real life. Even though coated with makeup, you could still tell that this was Brandon Lee, the ultimate Brandon Lee, the only and only Brandon Lee. Like Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker, we can see that to Lee, this was more than just another role- this was something that Brandon believed in, and he gave it his all, both in terms of what he was able to do as an actor and, tragically, his own life.

Ernie Hudson, who I have always thought is an extremely underrated actor, gives us a great performance as Sergeant Albrecht. He is witty, smart, clever, and extremely unique, doing things his own way and not caring what the consequences may be. His eventual role as a partner to Eric is completely believable, and to see him in one of his best roles ever was a breath of fresh air.

Young Rochelle Davis as Sarah also did a good job, though at time I felt that she was a little too dry, and that she didn't really know at times what she was doing. In some ways, that worked in her favor. It described the naivety of children, and also fit her character at times, who has seen darkness and just stopped caring about the light. Her tragic loss of two people that took care of her, loved her, is apparent, and you can't help but feel something when she finally reunites with Eric.

We don't even need to go into how good Michael Wincott was as Top Dollar, nor do we need to dissect David Patrick Kelly as T-Bird. These two did a fantastic job in their respective roles, bringing truly evil characters to life.

What this DVD has for us is something wonderful. Deleted scenes, an interview with James O'Barr, a behind-the-scenes feaurette with some great interviews with Brandon Lee and Ernie Hudson, story boards, extended scenes- everything you could want from a movie. The folks at Miramax gave us what will probably always be the definitive version of the film, and they did a good job with what they gave us. There could be more, but I am happy with what we were given.

All in all, The Crow is a intense, moody film, packed with rich, interesting characters played by top-notch performers. Tragic that Brandon Lee is no longer with us, but we can always thank him for giving us this triumphant film, and hope that wherever he is, he knows that we have not forgotten about him. Rest in peace, Brandon Lee. You are dearly missed. December 14, 2008

R.I.P. Brandon Lee

This is such a great movie. It has the look of Batman and Batman Returns, and has the feel of all the gothic literature/films that have been seen. Brandon Lee's (sadly) final performance is a treat: he is the one and only "Eric Draven", and all the others are just copycats of him. Pacing and direction of this film is compelling, while the wicked art direction stands out. Action sequences are a must-see, and the script is purely well-written. ***** out of *****. October 7, 2008

A great DVD!!! A real collector's item!!!

This is one of my all time favorite DVD's and I was so fortunate to find it available on Amazon at an amazing price. It is now safely in my collection where I will watch it over and over again. September 3, 2008

Great movie

This was a really good movie. As always, the product from Amazon was excellent August 6, 2008

THE BEST CROW EVER

There was the Crow comic book, and there is this movie.
the orignal comic and this movie are by far the best versions of The Crow.

after this movie were several movie and comic sequils, a tv series that remade the story, and a comic series that did the same thing.

NONE of these were in any way interesting.

this IS the BEST version of the Crow. just as the orignal comic is the best of the comics.
the rest is garbage.

there have been other actors cast in the roll and one even playing the same charture of Eric Draven.

frankly I think that is a diservice to the memory of Brandon Lee
to recast his role and have someone else do it.

lee is the ONLY actor who does it well.

and it is not only lee who plays his part so well.
there is
Michael Wincott
who is excelent as the villen, Top Doller, he steals all his sceans.

the fact is becaus of lee's tragic death, on the set of this very movie, some sceans were shot with a stunt double.
and yet Lee is still very much a large part in the movie with several sceans.

this movie is about the dead coming back to life.
and that is very much punchuated by having Lee brought back to life in this movie.

so this movie is the only one that is need for a collention.

the rest are not worth the price of admission.

the story is of Eric Draven who is killed along with his girl friend. some time later Draven is back to take revenge against the muggers who killed him. he faces Top Doller in a final battle and gains peace in the end.

this movie is about reserection, revenge, atonment, and redemption.

again with the movie having lee it is the theme of the dead returning.

one of my favorite sceans is when one of the muggers is about to hurt Draven's girl friend and he quotes from some book about the Devil fearing good, and the mugger only mocks that. he mocks the power of good. but then Draven straps him to his own car with a bomb. and the mugger then sees the 'awful power' of goodness. I rather like that.

this is one of the best movies ever made.
defitly a great 'superhero' movie.

and again.
the best version of the Crow story Ive ever seen.

June 19, 2008

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