Truly Dreadful Film

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The tale of "The Crow" begins almost fifty years ago, with the birth of the man who'd later become its creator...self-taught writer and artist James O'Barr.Born in a trailer to an unwed, alcoholic mother, the baby boy wasn't taken to a hospital until almost a week after his birth. James later recalled, "She was so drunk and out of it, she couldn't remember the exact day I was born." Told by his mother it was between Christmas and New Year's Day, the local authorities gave him the birthday of January 1st, 1961.Growing up in an orphanage, James wasn't adopted until he was seven years old. He was often "loaned out" to various families for the weekend, as was a common practice in those days. Upon his adoption by hard-working blue-collar Southerners, James rapidly became a self-imposed loner, who preferred to spend his free time absorbed in horror films or his burgeoning artwork. But his parents differed, seeing art as the equivalent of playing cards: a hobby, nothing more. James would later say, "It got so bad that I was forbidden to draw in the house." Working different jobs at auto-body shops or nursing homes, he stayed within himself, becoming what he would later describe as a "brooding and sarcastic" person.However, that began to change when, at age 16, he met a young woman named Bethany. Described by James as a "bright light" who "never said a word against anyone", their connection was apparently the embodiment of the phrase "opposites attract". When James would verbally assault someone, Bethany would point out their good or positive attributes. It was a balanced relationship that James clearly loved and cherished. They were together for three years, and planned to marry after graduation.But then, tragedy struck. While crossing the street one night, Bethany was killed by a drunk driver. James was not present at the time; he was later told by her father. The emotional stability that James had once craved was now gone in his life, and shortly afterward, he enlisted in the Marines, where he hoped the regimented lifestyle overseas would help him vent his anger. Instead, it only made him feel worse. Drawing combat manuals by day, James would immerse himself in nightly barfights, hoping that one of them would end his life as well. Upon his return to the States, James had one intention: to kill the driver who'd taken Bethany from him. But when he discovered the driver had died from natural causes, his anger and rage threatened to destroy him. Desperate for some kind of cathartic release, he channeled his pain and hatred into his artwork as a form of personal therapy. Explaining years later, he said, "It was a lot cheaper than seeing a therapist or something."Honing his artistry, James opted against using comic books as his inspiration, citing common illustration methods as "an exaggeration of an exaggeration...twice removed from life." Instead, he studied ancient paintings and marble statues of the human form. However, James was uncomfortable sketching scenes of himself, so to better express his inner darkness, he created an avatar named Eric. The role was visually reminiscent of James' enjoyment of hard rock music, with bands like Joy Division, The Cure, and Iggy Pop all serving as cultural models for the character's appearance and mannerisms. In the pages of his "therapy", Eric often spoke in lyrical statements and poetic flair. But his temperment was not so subtle: he was a deadly avenger of untold violence, with little compassion to speak of, if any at all.The story which eventually became "The Crow" was first put to paper in 1981. However, due to the immense pain and anger James felt, he could only complete so much of it at a time. The book was finally finished in 1989, eight years later. In it, the story is that of Eric and his love, Shelley, who are murdered by ruthless gang members when their car breaks down on a desolate road. Eric is mortally wounded, powerless to intervene as Shelley is raped and killed by the sadistic criminals. But Eric's soul does not rest, and one year later he is resurrected as an immortal being with one agenda: those who destroyed he and Shelley's lives will die. No trials, no appeals, none of what mass society would consider proper justice...only death. James would later intone, "There is pure anger on each page."Sadly, the completion of "The Crow" didn't really grant James the peace he had hoped for; instead, it made him more angry and depressed, in various ways. But another shift took place when he was working as a T-shirt artist in a comic shop. The owner liked his work very much, and aksed if he had any comics at home. On a whim, James presented "The Crow", and the owner asked for permission to publish it under his emerging company, Caliber Comics; James agreed. Within two years, offers were being made from various studios, who were interested in filming the project. But things got progressively worse as the higher-ups of American cinema desperately sought to rework the concept. Having sold the film rights, James had very little say in the matter; at one point, producers even suggested the film as a musical, with Michael Jackson as Eric and Julian Temple directing. It looked as if the film would bear little resemblance (if any) to O'Barr's work...until director Alex Proyas stepped in. Soon, another talent was brought into the mix, who was a self-described fan of the book, and wanted to preserve it as closely as possible. This was actor Brandon Lee, son of famed martial artist Bruce. At Lee's and Proyas' insistence, the film was reined in, and returned to an approach more in line with James' original story. James and Brandon would foster a close friendship over the course of the production...but tragedy would soon strike again.As Proyas' film of "The Crow" neared its final days of principal photography, a terrible disaster shook everyone involved. During the filming of a flashback scene to Eric and Shelley's murders, Brandon Lee was to enter the apartment with a bag of groceries. Conatined in the bag was a "squib", or a small bag of fake blood rigged with a tiny, remote-controlled explosive. Actor Michael Massee (who played the villain "Funboy") was to fire in Brandon's general direction, and the squib would be detonated to simulate Eric being shot. But instead, Lee crumpled to the floor, and when he didn't get up, the crew realized the unthinkable had happened: Brandon had been shot for real. Twelve hours later, he died in the hospital from internal bleeding. Even more painful was the timing of his death: he was set to wed his long-time girlfriend, Eliza Hutton, just two weeks after filming wrapped.Police officials later ruled Brandon's death an accident, explaining that a "dummy bullet" (powderless shell casing) had become lodged in the barrel of the gun which Massee had held. When powder was inserted for a close-up scene so the weapon would flash, both ingredients combined in a deadly manner. For everyone involved, Lee's death was heartbreaking beyond words...and of them all, the four who likely took it the hardest were Lee's mother Linda, his sister Shannon, fiancee Eliza Hutton, and James O'Barr. To James, it was like Bethany being killed all over again, and infinitely worse. To add further insult, Miramax Films failed to pay full royalties to O'Barr; what little cash he made from the project, he donated to charity, considering it "blood money". Offered the chance to scrap the film if he so chose, director Alex Proyas consulted Linda Lee, who asked it be finished in Brandon's memory. Released in 1994, the movie became a box-office smash, due to both the visceral, emotional story, and the media-fueled notoriety brought about by the death of its star.But for James, he felt worse than ever. After fighting Miramax for the money he was rightfully owed (which still has not been delivered in full), James began making his living as a "starving artist", touring the convention circuit, selling custom sketches and small memorabilia based on the book. He later married, and now has two young children. While his character has been reinvented multiple times in sequels and spinoffs, O'Barr has seen none of the rewards (save for a small amount from Miramax, and a minor contract job for the third film's soundtrack). Today, he says, "I'm actually happier than I've been since I was 16 years old", in reference to his wife and family. At nearly 50 years of age, he continues to make the rounds at conventions, now residing near Granbury, Texas.

Brandon Lee (R.I.P) is absolutely brilliant as Eric Draven 'The Crow', and gives one of the finest comic book film performances of all time. The picture opens with a police officer discovering their bodies, and to showcase what actually happened, the director decided to use flashbacks which work very well, as he does not want to glamorize their murder, simply show the audience how bad and disgusting these scumbags were, so kudos to Alex Proyas for doing great work there. The story is more than your basic revenge story, Eric Draven's character is a man with personality, bravery and he and his girlfriend before there death looked after and hung out with a young girl, Sarah played by Rochelle Davis, they were there for her when Sarah's mother was either mixing with scumbags or doing drugs, this too me show two good natured people, and later on in the picture Eric comes as a blessing in disguise to Sarah Mother, and tells her to be a better mother, she instantly changes, paying more attention to her daughter, this is one of many good things Eric does in the picture.It's obvious than Eric will exact revenge on the filth that murdered his wife, and when he does, it's well shot, original and extremely satisfying, Proyas keeps the action moving, with great choreography and a fast pace, much like the picture which has one of the darkest atmosphere's and mood's you'll see in a comic book film, and much like 2008's The Dark Knight, this is a comic book film for adults, leaving out the immaturity we have come to expect from most of Disney Marvel's outings. The performances here are all effective, though none match the sheer brilliance of Lee, among the supporting cast are Ernie Hudson as good hearted cop Sergeant Albrecht, Rochelle Davis as Sarah, Michael Wincott as the very menacing villain Top Dollar, his right hand woman Myca played by Bai Ling, Anna Levine as Darla, Sarah's mother and Tony Todd as Top Dollar's henchman Grange, and they are all very good. Also good are the four thugs responsible for the murder, David Patrick Kelly as T-Bird, Laurence Mason as Tin Tin, Michael Massee as Funboy and Angel David as Skank.The only thing that could have been better, was the backstory and development for Top Dollar, I would have liked to know a bit more about his past and perhaps his organization, luckily the villain is interesting, bad-ass and very good despite this. The Crow also has a great Rock n Roll soundtrack, impressive Gothic production values that include some well suited, well-crafted costumes and make-up. The action is high octane, highly enjoyable and the picture has one or two adequate surprises in store as well. Overall The Crow is a brilliant comic book picture with a perfect mood, atmosphere, fast paced, coherent action and a stunning, memorable performance from Brandon Lee, who will be remembered as one of the greatest Comic book performances of all time.

It was so interesting to watch one of the most infamous movies ever made. It's not infamous because of its content but because of its production. The movie stars Brandon Lee, the son of the famous Bruce Lee. There was actually an accident on the set that actually killed him in real life. Yep, really. I feel bad for not liking this movie more if only because I want to remember a film that was truly made in remembrance to someone. Of course, it's a good film for me. It was based on an Image comic that I wasn't quite aware of.I recognized Ernie Hudson which was cool because I believe he's the most prolific black actor in history. I admit that some of the story doesn't make that much sense, especially near the end. It's still great to watch a good superhero movie from the 1990's before the golden age really hit. I personally didn't care that much for "Blade" and think this works better as an R-rated superhero movie. Brandon Lee is of course wonderful and we get lots of great imagery and lighting effects. The mood and atmosphere are perfect in this film that doesn't get too dark. ***

I'm a big fan from Proyas's work mainly because Dark City that to me is a real gem and my favorite but for first time l watch The Crow and it's fantastic visual of darkness...Brandon Lee was great in the role of dark avenger...and every men who killed you and violated your fiancée gets a proper revenge,every character is mad and evil who give us a sensation of the vengeance is normal and applicable....another good action is Ernie Hudson who proves as a good actor....score for good soundtrack,great picture really but sadly the DVD haven't no extras unfortunately!!