{"id":2670,"date":"2024-08-22T15:19:05","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T15:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=2670"},"modified":"2024-10-12T20:59:21","modified_gmt":"2024-10-12T20:59:21","slug":"the-crow-1994","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/08\/22\/the-crow-1994\/","title":{"rendered":"The Crow (1994)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Crow<\/strong> (1994)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miramax\/Action-Fantasy-Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 102 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong violence and language, drug use, some sexuality)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Alex Proyas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: David J. Schow and John Shirley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Graeme Revell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: May 13, 1994 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, David Patrick Kelly, Tony Todd, Michael Massee, Laurence Mason, Angel David, Sofia Shinas, Jon Polito, Anna Thomson, Bill Raymond, Marco Rodriguez, Kim Sykes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $50.7M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0By the time The Crow<\/strong> landed in theaters in May \u201994, everybody was aware of the tragedy that occurred during filming. I\u2019m talking, of course, about the accidental shooting of star Brandon Lee after a prop gun malfunctioned and fired a dummy round into the actor\u2019s abdomen with the same force as a live round. Attempts to save his life failed and 28YO Lee died (March 31, 1993). The producers decided to finish making the movie using a stand-in with Lee\u2019s face digitally superimposed onto his (for some shots). After a few minor script rewrites, they continued and completed the movie. It could have gone either way, but The Crow<\/strong> opened to much acclaim and made a nice amount of money at the box office.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I think The Crow<\/strong> is brilliant. Based on James O\u2019Barr\u2019s 1989 comic book, it\u2019s a dark action-fantasy about a dead rock star rising from the grave to avenge his own murder as well as the rape and murder of his fiancee. It all starts on Devil\u2019s Night (October 30) when a Detroit street gang led by T-Bird (Kelly, The Warriors) murder Eric Draven (Lee) and his fiancee Shelly (singer Shinas). A year later, a crow lands on Draven\u2019s grave and he climbs out. He goes to his old apartment and experiences flashbacks that reveal the identity of the killers. He also learns that any wounds he receives heal immediately. He paints his face (he resembles a deranged harlequin) and heads out into the city to take his revenge.<\/p>\n

\u00a0He goes after the whole gang- T-Bird, Tin-Tin (Mason, Hackers), Funboy (Massee, Seven) and Skank (David, Kiss of Death)- as well the crime boss, Top Dollar (Wincott, Strange Days), who ordered the killings and his associates, half sister\/lover Myca (Ling, Red Corner) and Grange (Todd, Candyman). The only ones aware of Draven\u2019s resurrection are Sgt. Albrecht (Hudson, Ghostbusters), the first cop on the scene of his and Shelly\u2019s murders, and Sarah (Davis), the young girl that Shelly and Eric looked after due to her neglectful mother\u2019s (Thomson) heroin addiction.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Crow<\/strong> can be interpreted as a revenge story (which it is), but it\u2019s more than that. It\u2019s also a love story. It\u2019s a testament to the everlasting power of love and how it extends beyond the realm of the living. It\u2019s both soulful and haunting. Its visual style is dark, lurid and grungy. The city of Detroit, as depicted here, reminds one of Gotham City with the looming structures and crazed criminals roaming freely through the streets. Like Blade Runner, The Crow<\/strong> is a real work of art in terms of visuals and production design.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The cast is top-of-the-line. Wincott and Kelly are two of my favorite character actors. They are GREAT in The Crow<\/strong>. Jon Polito (Miller\u2019s Crossing) is suitably sleazy as a pawn shop owner who crosses paths with Draven\/Crow. One of the film\u2019s best performances comes from Davis (12 at the time of filming) as Sarah. She plays the preteen skateboarder as tough but vulnerable. She\u2019s seen a lot in her young life, but isn\u2019t immune to tears. It\u2019s rare an actress so young is able to maintain such a delicate balance. That The Crow<\/strong> is her acting debut makes her performance all the more impressive. As for Lee, this is his best performance EVER! This should have been his breakthrough film. He shows remarkable emotional depth as the grieving undead lover. While it\u2019s sad this is his last film, it\u2019s a fitting epitaph for a young actor that showed great promise, one that will never be fulfilled.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The grunge rock soundtrack is absolutely perfect. It matches the tone of the movie. It includes cuts from Nine Inch Nails (\u201cDead Souls\u201d), Stone Temple Pilots (\u201cBig Empty\u201d), The Cure (\u201cBurn\u201d), Rage Against the Machine (\u201cDarkness\u201d) and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (\u201cAfter the Flesh\u201d). The score by Graeme Revell is beautiful and haunting. The action scenes are violent, bloody and well-orchestrated. The scenes where Draven\/Crow kills his intended targets are cool. There\u2019s just so much to love about The Crow<\/strong>. It\u2019s one of those rare films that transcend its genre and take it to a higher level. Director Alex Proyas (Dark City), in his feature-film debut, hits the mark dead-on. He has an eye for visuals and a knack for storytelling. The screenplay by David J. Schow and John Shirley is very well-written. The Crow<\/strong> is, at once, a dark love story, a grungy fairy tale, a bad ass revenge flick and a feast for the eyes. It walks the line between fever dream and nightmare. There\u2019s a reason it immediately attained cult status. It\u2019s an outstanding and beautiful film.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Crow<\/strong> is dedicated to Lee and his fiancee Eliza who he was set to marry when filming ended. May their love last until after the end of time. RIP Brandon. I miss you.\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Crow (1994)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Miramax\/Action-Fantasy-Horror\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 102 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong violence and language, drug use, some sexuality)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Alex Proyas\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: David J. Schow and John Shirley\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Graeme Revell\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: May 13, 1994 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, David Patrick Kelly, Tony Todd, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cool-cult-flicks"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/The-Crow-1994-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2670"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2670\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3588,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2670\/revisions\/3588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}