The Crow (1994 film)
The Crow | |
---|---|
Directed by | Alex Proyas |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | The Crow by James O'Barr |
Produced by | |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Dariusz Wolski |
Edited by |
|
Music by | Graeme Revell |
Production companies |
|
Distributed by | Miramax Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $23 million[1] |
Box office | $94 million[2] |
The Crow is a 1994 American superhero film[3][4][5] directed by Alex Proyas and written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, based on the 1989 comic book series by James O'Barr. It stars Brandon Lee, in his final film appearance, as Eric Draven, a musician who is resurrected from the dead to seek vengeance against the gang who murdered him and his fiancée.
Lee was fatally wounded by a
The Crow was released in the United States on May 13, 1994 and received positive reviews.[7] It grossed $94 million on a $23 million budget and has gained a cult following. The success led to a media franchise that includes the sequels The Crow: City of Angels (1996), The Crow: Salvation (2000), and The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2005). The sequels, which mostly featured different characters and none of the original cast members, were unable to match the success of the first film. A remake of The Crow is set for release in 2024.
Plot
On Devil's Night, in a crime-ravaged and decrepit Detroit, a young woman, Shelly Webster, is raped and seriously wounded while her rock musician fiancé Eric Draven is shot and thrown to his death from the window of their loft apartment. Police Sergeant Daryl Albrecht accompanies Shelly to the hospital, but she eventually dies from her injuries. A narration states the legend of a crow that carries souls to the land of the dead, but if the person died in tragic circumstances the crow can resurrect their restless spirit to set things right.
One year later, Shelly's and Eric's graves are visited by Sarah, a young girl the pair cared for due to her absent mother. A crow lands on Eric's gravestone and taps on it, resurrecting him. Disoriented and distressed, Eric returns to his ravaged loft apartment and experiences flashbacks of the murders: A gang of men—Tin Tin, Funboy, T-Bird, and Skank—targeted the pair because they were protesting forced evictions in their apartment building which the gang's leader, ruthless crime boss Top Dollar, intended to seize. Realizing that any injuries he suffers are immediately healed, Eric dons black-and-white face paint and sets out to avenge himself and Shelly, guided by the crow.
The crow leads Eric to Tin Tin, whom Eric stabs to death. He next travels to the pawn shop where Tin Tin had pawned Shelly's engagement ring. Eric recovers the ring and blows up the shop, but spares the owner Gideon so he can alert Top Dollar's men that Eric is coming for them. Albrecht begins investigating the apparent vigilante disturbances while Eric finds Funboy taking drugs with Sarah's estranged drug addict mother, Darla. He gives Funboy a fatal overdose and purges the drugs from Darla's body, telling her that Sarah needs her.
Eric visits Albrecht and confirms his suspicions regarding the vigilante's identity. Albrecht tells Eric that he stayed with Shelly until she died, witnessing the thirty hours of suffering she experienced. Eric touches Albrecht, absorbing the pain Shelly felt. Later, Eric saves Sarah from being hit by a car, revealing to her that he has returned. Eric next targets T-Bird, killing him in an explosion. The following morning, Sarah and Darla reconcile and Sarah reunites with Eric at his apartment. Top Dollar holds a meeting with his associates to discuss his plans to burn the city to the ground on Devil's Night. Eric arrives for Skank but a gunfight erupts, ending with Eric throwing Skank from a window to his death. Top Dollar, his lover and half-sister Myca, and his right-hand man Grange escape. Myca correctly hypothesizes that the crow is the source of Eric's immortality.
Satisfied with his vengeance, Eric gifts Shelly's engagement ring to Sarah and returns to his grave. Grange abducts Sarah as she is walking home and takes her to an abandoned church with Myca and Top Dollar, who takes Shelly's ring. Eric is alerted to her plight by the crow and rushes to rescue her, but he is ambushed by Grange who wounds the crow, rendering Eric vulnerable. Albrecht arrives and kills Grange, while Myca attempts to take the crow for its immortality; it claws her eyes out, causing her to fall to her death from the bell tower. Top Dollar retreats to the church roof with Sarah, where he fights and badly wounds Eric. Eric transfers Shelly's pain into Top Dollar, causing him to stumble off the roof and be impaled on a gargoyle, killing him.
Sarah and a wounded Albrecht are recovered from the church while a pained Eric goes to Shelly's grave where her spirit arrives to comfort him and return his body to rest. Sometime later, Sarah visits the graves and the crow returns Shelly's ring to her.
Cast
- Brandon Lee as Eric Draven / The Crow
- Rochelle Davis as Sarah Mohr
- Ernie Hudson as Sergeant Daryl Albrecht
- Michael Wincott as Top Dollar
- Bai Ling as Myca
- Sofia Shinas as Shelly Webster
- Anna Levine as Darla Mohr
- David Patrick Kelly as T-Bird
- Angel David as Skank
- Laurence Mason as Tin Tin
- Michael Massee as Funboy
- Tony Todd as Grange
- Jon Polito as Gideon
- Bill Raymond as Mickey
- Marco Rodríguez as Detective Torres
Michael Berryman filmed scenes as the Skull Cowboy, Eric's spirit guide, but his scenes were cut from the finished film. Chad Stahelski was Brandon Lee's stunt double in several scenes.
Production
Development
Filming
Production began on The Crow in February 1993 in Wilmington, North Carolina and was scheduled to last 54 days.[21][14]
Brandon Lee's death
On March 31, 1993, at
In the fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be actually fired at Lee from a distance of 12–15 feet, the dummy cartridges were exchanged for
After Lee's death, the producers were faced with the decision of whether or not to continue with the film. Lee had completed most of his scenes for the film and was scheduled to shoot for only three more days.[1] The rest of the cast and crew, except for Ernie Hudson, whose brother-in-law had just died, stayed in Wilmington. Paramount Pictures, which was initially interested in distributing The Crow theatrically (originally a direct-to-video feature), opted out of involvement due to delays in filming and some controversy over the violent content being inappropriate given Lee's death. However, Miramax picked it up with the intention of releasing it in theatres and injected a further $8 million to complete the production, taking its budget to approximately $23 million.[1] The cast and crew then took a break for script rewrites of the flashback scenes that had yet to be completed.[23] The script was rewritten by Walon Green, Terry Hayes, René Balcer, and Michael S. Chernuchin, adding narration and new scenes.[27][28] Lee's stunt double Chad Stahelski was used as a stand-in and digital face replacement was used to superimpose Lee's face onto the head of the double. The beginning of the movie, which had not been finished, was rewritten, and the apartment scene remade using computer graphics from an earlier scene of Lee.[29]
A character from the original comic book called Skull Cowboy was originally planned to be part of the adaptation and even had scenes filmed. He acted as a guide for Eric Draven between the worlds of the dead and the living. He was set to be played by Michael Berryman, but the role was cut from the film due to Lee's death.[30]
O'Barr later remarked that losing Lee was like losing his fiancée all over again, and he regretted ever writing the comic in the first place.[31]
Reception
Box office
The film opened at number one in the United States in 1,573 theaters with $11,774,332 and averaging $7,485 per theater, making it Miramax's biggest ever opening.[32][33] Some industry sources believed that Miramax overstated the weekend gross by as much as $1 million.[34] The film ultimately grossed $50,693,129 in the United States and Canada, and $43 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $93.7 million against its budget of $23 million.[35][2] It ranked at number 24 for all films released in the US in 1994, the 24th highest-grossing film worldwide for 1994 and number 10 for R-rated films released that year.[36][2]
In Europe, the film grossed £1,245,403 in the United Kingdom (where it was
Critical response
The Crow has an approval rating of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 61 reviews and an average rating of 7.1/10. The critical consensus states: "Filled with style and dark, lurid energy, The Crow is an action-packed visual feast that also has a soul in the performance of the late Brandon Lee."[7] The film also has a score of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 14 critics, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[41]
Reviewers praised the action and visual style.[42][43] Rolling Stone called it a "dazzling fever dream of a movie"; Caryn James, writing for The New York Times, called it "a genre film of a high order, stylish and smooth"; and Roger Ebert called it "a stunning work of visual style".[43][44][45] The Los Angeles Times praised the film also.[46][47]
Lee's death was alleged to have a melancholic effect on viewers; Desson Howe of The Washington Post wrote that Lee "haunts every frame" and James Berardinelli called the film "a case of 'art imitating death', and that specter will always hang over The Crow".[42][43][48] Both Berardinelli and Howe called it an appropriate epitaph to Lee, and Ebert stated that not only was this Lee's best film, but it was better than any of his father's.[42][43][48] Critics generally thought that this would have been a breakthrough film for Lee, although Berardinelli disagreed.[43][48][49] The changes made to the film after Lee's death were noted by reviewers, most of whom saw them as an improvement. Howe said that it had been transformed into something compelling.[42] Berardinelli, although terming it a genre film, said that it had become more mainstream because of the changes.[48]
The film was widely compared to other films, particularly Tim Burton's Batman movies and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.[48][49] Critics described The Crow as a darker film than the others;[48] Ebert called it a grungier and more forbidding story than those of Batman and Blade Runner, and Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that "it’s set in a generic inner city so hellish it makes Gotham City look like the Emerald City".[49]
While the plot and characterization were found to be lacking,[42][48][49] these faults were considered to be overcome by the action and visual style.[43][48] The cinematography by Dariusz Wolski and the production design by Alex McDowell were also praised. The cityscape designed by McDowell and the production team was described by McCarthy as rendered imaginatively.[49] The film's comic book origins were noted, and Ebert called it the best version of a comic book universe he had seen.[43] McCarthy agreed, calling it "one of the most effective live-actioners ever derived from a comic strip".[49] Critics felt that the soundtrack complemented this visual style, calling it blistering, edgy and boisterous.[42][44][49] Graeme Revell was praised for his "moody" score;[49] Howe said that it "drapes the story in a postmodern pall."[42]
Negative reviews of the film were generally similar in theme to the positive ones but said that the interesting and "OK" special effects did not make up for the "superficial" plot, "badly-written" screenplay and "one-dimensional" characters.[50][51]
The Crow is mentioned in Empire's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time; it ranked at number 468.[52] It has since become a cult film.[53]
Accolades
Year-end lists
- 7th – Sandi Davis, The Oklahoman[54]
- Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Matt Zoller Seitz, Dallas Observer[55]
- Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Mayo, The Roanoke Times[56]
- Top 10 (not ranked) – Betsy Pickle, Knoxville News-Sentinel[57]
- Top 12 worst (Alphabetically ordered, not ranked) – David Elliott, The San Diego Union-Tribune[58]
- Top 3 "Best in-your-face exploitation" (not ranked) – Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News[59]
Awards
Award | Category | Recipient | Result |
---|---|---|---|
MTV Movie Award[60] | Best Movie of the Year | Nominated | |
Best Actor | Brandon Lee (posthumous) | Nominated | |
Best Song | Stone Temple Pilots For the song "Big Empty" |
Won | |
Saturn Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | |
Best Director | Alex Proyas | ||
Best Costume Design | Arianne Phillips | ||
Best Special Effects | Andrew Mason (International Creative Effects) |
Soundtracks
The original soundtrack album for The Crow features songs from the film, and was a chart-topping album. It included work by
Several groups contributed covers. Nine Inch Nails rendered Joy Division's "Dead Souls", Rollins Band covered Suicide's "Ghost Rider" and Pantera performed Poison Idea's "The Badge".
The bands Medicine and My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult make cameo appearances in the film on stage in the nightclub below Top Dollar's headquarters.
The score consists of original, mostly orchestral music, with some electronic and guitar elements, written for the film by Graeme Revell.
Sequels
In 1996, a sequel was released, called
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven was a 1998 Canadian television series created by Bryce Zabel and starring Mark Dacascos in the lead role as Eric Draven.
The third film,
The fourth film, The Crow: Wicked Prayer, was released in 2005. Directed by Lance Mungia, it stars Edward Furlong, David Boreanaz, Tara Reid, Tito Ortiz, Dennis Hopper, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Danny Trejo. It was inspired by Norman Partridge's novel of the same title. It had a one-week theatrical première on June 3, 2005, at AMC Pacific Place Theatre in Seattle, Washington, before being released to video on July 19, 2005. Like the other sequels, it had a poor critical reception.
The Crow: 2037 was a planned sequel written and scheduled to be directed by Rob Zombie in the late 1990s;[62] however, it was never made.[63][64]
Remake
On April 1, 2022, a new attempt at a remake was announced by The Hollywood Reporter, with Bill Skarsgård set to star as Draven, Rupert Sanders directing, and Edward R. Pressman and Malcolm Gray co-producing.[65] Days later, the site also reported that FKA Twigs had been cast as Draven's fiancée.[66] In July 2022, production on the remake was reportedly underway in Prague, Czech Republic.[67] By August 26, 2022, Danny Huston was cast in an undisclosed role.[68] On September 16, 2022, the film wrapped production.[69][70] The film is set to be theatrically released on August 23, 2024 by Lionsgate Films, in the United States.[71]
Home video
The Crow was first released on
See also
References
- ^ a b c Ascher-Walsh, Rebecca (May 13, 1994), "How the Crow Flew", Entertainment Weekly, Time Inc., archived from the original on June 6, 2011, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ a b c "Worldwide rentals beat domestic take". Variety. February 13, 1995. p. 28.
- ^ a b Power, Ed (May 21, 2019). "Some Like it Goth: How The Crow Transcended the Tragic, On-Camera Death of Its Star to Become a Superhero Classic". The Independent. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ a b Kaye, Don (May 13, 2019). "The Superhero Movie Legacy of The Crow". Den of Geek. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (April 20, 2018). "Tragically and fashionably, The Crow turned superhero cinema into a death dance". The A.V. Club. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ Robey, Tim (October 27, 2016). "Brandon Lee, Michael Massee and the 'curse' of The Crow". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Crow". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ^ Gallagher, Danny (August 5, 2016). "Hurst Resident and Creator of The Crow, James O'Barr, on the Comic That Made Him Famous". Dallas Observer. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ "CCC09: James O'Barr". CBR. August 10, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ a b McCracken, Colin (August 24, 2017). "Shadow's Wing: Legacy of The Crow (Exclusive Cast and Crew Interviews)". Medium. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ Levine, Robert (May 30, 1994). "From the Beginning, The Crow Had a Grim Side : Movies: James O'Barr's Comic Book Might Have Adapted Smoothly To The Big Screen, But It Was Spurred By Personal Tragedy". LA Times. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ISBN 978-1870048545.
- ISBN 978-1870048545.
- ^ a b Harrington, Richard (May 15, 1994). "The Shadow of The Crow". Washington Post. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Downey, Ryan (October 24, 2017). "10 Things About The Crow You Never Knew". MovieWeb. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ McCarthy, Erin (February 2, 2016). "18 Fascinating Facts About The Crow". Mental Floss. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Downey, Ryan (October 27, 2009). "The Crow: 15 Years Of Devil's Night". MTV. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Owen, Luke (June 1, 2020). "The Tragic Story Behind The Death Of Brandon Lee On The Set Of The Crow". FlickeringMyth. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Travers, Peter. "The Crow". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ "Brandon Lee's Last Interview". Entertainment Weekly. May 13, 1994. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ "D.A. Announces Negligence Caused Death of The Crow Actor Brandon Lee". History. April 27, 1993. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
- ^ Welkos, Robert W. (April 1, 1993). "Bruce Lee's Son, Brandon, Killed in Movie Accident". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c Conner & Zuckerman, pp. 35–36
- ^ a b Brown, Dave, "Filming with Firearms", Film Courage, archived from the original on August 8, 2014, retrieved August 15, 2014
- The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
- ^ Harris, Mark (April 16, 1993). "The brief life and unnecessary death of Brandon Lee". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 24, 2012). "UPDATE: F. Javier Gutierrez To Helm Jesse Wigutow-Scripted 'The Crow' Remake". Deadline. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "As 'The Crow' flies". www.ew.com. October 22, 1993. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
- ^ Friedman, David R. (1996). "The Mysterious Legacy of Brandon Leen". Todays Chiropr. 25: 34–38.
- ^ Cotter, Padraig (June 21, 2019). "The Crow Movie: The Deleted Skull Cowboy Explained". Screenrant. Screen Rant. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
- ^ Lauren Milici (April 14, 2022). "Why The Crow deserves a comeback". gamesradar. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
- ^ Fox, David J. (May 16, 1994), "'The Crow' Takes Off at Box Office", Los Angeles Times, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ "Miramax in hit land". Screen International. August 22, 1997. p. 33.
- Daily Variety. p. 1.
- ^ "The Crow". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "The Crow (1994)", Box Office Mojo, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ "The Crow". 25th Frame. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ "The Crow (1994)". JP's Box-Office. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- KinoPoisk(in Russian). Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ "영화정보". KOFIC. Korean Film Council. Retrieved August 26, 2019.
- Fandom, Inc.Retrieved May 2, 2022.
- ^ Howe, Desson (May 13, 1994), "'The Crow' (R)", The Washington Post, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g Ebert, Roger (May 13, 1994), "The Crow", Chicago Sun-Times, Sun-Times Media Group, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ a b Travers, Peter (May 11, 1994), "The Crow", Rolling Stone, Wenner Media, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ James, Caryn (May 11, 1994), "Eerie Links Between Living and Dead", The New York Times, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ Rainer, Peter (May 11, 1994), "Movie Review: 'The Crow' Flies With Grim Glee", Los Angeles Times, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ Welkos, Robert W. (May 11, 1994), "Movie Review: Life After Death: A Hit in the Offing?", Los Angeles Times, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ a b c d e f g h Berardinelli, James (1994), "Review: the Crow", ReelViews, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ Reed Business Information, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ Hicks, Chris (September 20, 2001), "The Crow", Deseret News, Deseret News Publishing Company, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ "The Crow", Montreal Film Journal, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time", Empire, Bauer Media Group, retrieved March 12, 2011
- ^ Ritman, Alex (October 24, 2014). "'The Crow' Remake Aiming for Spring 2015 Production Start". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
- ^ Davis, Sandi (January 1, 1995). "Oklahoman Movie Critics Rank Their Favorites for the Year "Forrest Gump" The Very Best, Sandi Declares". The Oklahoman. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
- ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (January 12, 1995). "Personal best From a year full of startling and memorable movies, here are our favorites". Dallas Observer.
- ^ Mayo, Mike (December 30, 1994). "The Hits and Misses at the Movies in '94". The Roanoke Times (Metro ed.). p. 1.
- ^ Pickle, Betsy (December 30, 1994). "Searching for the Top 10... Whenever They May Be". Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. 3.
- ^ Elliott, David (December 25, 1994). "On the big screen, color it a satisfying time". The San Diego Union-Tribune (1, 2 ed.). p. E=8.
- San Jose Mercury News(Morning Final ed.). p. 3.
- ^ "Content International's Film Library", Content International, archived from the original on April 7, 2008, retrieved March 12, 2011
- IMDb
- ^ "Zombie Will Write/Direct Next "Crow" Flick". MTV. February 11, 1997. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- ^ "The Crow: 2037 A New World of Gods and Monster | Scripts On The Net". Roteiro de Cinema. September 22, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (August 10, 2012). "100 Wonderful and Terrible Movies That Never Existed". Gizmodo. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
- ^ "Bill Skarsgard to Star in 'The Crow' Reboot, Rupert Sanders Directing (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "FKA Twigs Joins Bill Skarsgard in 'The Crow' Reboot". The Hollywood Reporter. April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ "'The Crow', starring Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs, now filming in Prague". The Prague Reporter. July 13, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
- ^ Taylor, Drew (August 26, 2022). "Danny Huston Joins Bill Skarsgård in 'The Crow' Reimagining". TheWrap. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ "'The Crow' reboot, starring Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven, wraps production in Prague". The Prague Reporter. September 16, 2022. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ Burlingame, Russ (September 30, 2022). "The Crow Reboot Reportedly Wraps Production". ComicBook. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 9, 2024). "'The Crow' Flies To August, Halle Berry Pic 'Never Let Go' Sets Fall, 'Saw XI' To Slice 2025, 'Best Christmas Pageant Ever' Earlier – Lionsgate Release Date Changes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
- ^ Nichols, Peter M. (September 9, 1994). "Home Video". The New York Times. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
- ^ "The Crow - High-Def Digest". Bluray.highdefdigest.com. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
- Conner, Jeff; Zuckerman, Robert (1993), The Crow: The Movie, ISBN 0-87816-285-2
External links
- The Crow at IMDb
- The Crow at the TCM Movie Database
- The Crow at AllMovie