O Corvo

I never had a goth phase growing up and I can't stand The Cure, but god help me, I love a good revenge flick. To that end, The Crow is as pure as they come; an attractive couple with a bright future, brutalized and murdered by a street gang; a kid with an absent mother; a good cop in a rotten system.

All of these characters exist in what is quite possibly the worst city there could be; an oppressively dark cesspool, somehow more dreary than Seven, more rainy than Blade Runner, cloaked in death. Just thinking about this depiction of Detroit is depressing, but it's what makes The Crow so well-realized, gives its antihero definition.

This is a movie I didn't want to like but can't help it. Brandon Lee personifies the roles, his life tragically mirroring that of the title character, all of this weaving into the film's tapestry. This isn't a movie, it's a cultural artifact, morose and impactful in its own right.

What can I say. Each day I find myself quoting The Crow at least a dozen times. Usually people just give me strange looks. Sometimes (like when I say, "I got stabbed! I shot the sonnovabitch! I watched the bullet hole close by itself. And then my business gets blown up real good. Other than that, my day sucked!") people call security on me.

This movie is a one-of-a-kind. It's grunge, it's goth, it's dark, it's funny, it's touching and it's inspiring... even if it merely inspires you to slap mime makeup on your face and walk the streets at night yelling, "I guess it's not a good day to be a bad guy, huh SKANK?!!"

Seriously, as Roger Ebert said, it's an experience. Even though the plot is pretty straightforward (rockstar gets killed & comes back from the grave to seek revenge), it's done in a way that keeps you riveted every minute. The same way "Peewee's Big Adventure" is just about a guy looking for his bike, The Crow takes the same approach of using a minimalist plot and coating it in heaps of style, music and surreal visuals. Except The Crow has a few dozen more murders than Peewee.

What makes this film a visual feast is the way it stylistically mirrors the comic book that inspired it. Like the comic, it's very monochrome... almost black & white, but with some icy tints to it. It has a very wet look to it, making it seem glossy and muted at the same time. Like another favourite film of mine "City of Lost Children", it achieves a certain vivid appearance even though the colour palette is very limited.

As far as action flicks go, this is quite a literary extravaganza. Quotes from Poe's "The Raven", Milton's "Paradise Lost", Thackeray's "Vanity Fair" and who knows what else, lend an air of classiness and antiquity to the film. And of course the movie generates its own memorable quotes. Like "Greed is for amateurs. Disorder, chaos, anarchy... now that's fun!"

Paired with an entertaining script full of great zingers, the acting is first rate all around. Each & every character, no matter how large or minor, delivers a memorable performance. Of course Brandon Lee is the standout, playing the cold-hearted, vengeful killer but with a gentleness that makes you want to take him home to meet your folks. Conversely, the bad guys are brutal but so comic you can't help but love them.

A word about Brandon's death... yes, it's true that he was killed by a malfunctioning prop gun during the apartment scene. But that reel of film was reportedly destroyed by the director. The movie still had several scenes that needed to be filmed, and the director compensated by recycling other scenes with some very interesting effects. For example, when Brandon punches the mirror, it's actually a double punching the mirror with Brandon's "reflection" (from another scene) digitally imposed on the glass. Tricks like that are not obvious, and they add a certain otherworldly feel to the movie. It also makes the film feel more fragmented and incomplete (in a good way), leaving more to the imagination. If you're like me and you hate movies that over-explain everything, the minimalistic presentation of The Crow will be right up your alley.

Lastly, the music. If you were alive & remotely cool in the 90s you'll love the soundtrack. The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Violent Femmes, Stone Temple Pilots, Henry Rollins, the list goes on...

If you're familiar with the director Alex Proyas, you'll recognize this as possibly his greatest work (alongside "Dark City", "Garage Days" and some great, surreal music videos like Sting "All This Time"). The feel of The Crow is also reminiscent of director Frank Miller's work ("The Spirit", "Sin City"). And although I haven't seen it, I've heard the Batman film "Dark Knight" pays tribute to this film, particularly Heath Ledger's Joker who is hauntingly close to Brandon Lee's character. If you like artsy movies, this fits right in, reminding me of Jean Pierre Jeunet ("City of Lost Children", "Delicatessen") and the darker side of Tim Burton ("Sweeny Todd"). Maybe there's even a bit of "Blade Runner" thrown in.

If you get a chance, see The Crow on a rainy night with all the lights off. Lose yourself in the mood, the music and the memory of Brandon, the greatest star who never was. Halloween is coming up, so get your favourite Crow costume ready. If you live in a sheltered town like mine, chances are nobody will recognize who you're supposed to be. Although quite a few people think I'm Edward Scissorhands who is also pretty cool, so whatever...

Based on the comic book created by James O'Barr. The Crow stars Brandon Lee as rock star Eric Draven, who, precisely one year after his murder, returns from the grave to take revenge on the vicious criminals responsible for the rape and death of his fiancée and his own untimely demise.

The basic plot for this supernatural thriller is rather simplistic, holding very few surprises and delivering little in the way of genuine suspense, but a poetic screenplay charged with dark romanticism, a terrific cast (Michael Wincott is particularly memorable as head villain Top Dollar) and extremely stylish direction from Alex Proyas ensure that the film is far from forgettable. Proyas, a prolific music video director, nails the comic book aesthetic, delivering a stream of impressive visuals, with grandiose, sweeping cinematography, stunning lighting, and incredible set design, all steeped in Gothic neo-noir atmosphere and set to a cool alt-rock soundtrack.

Brandon, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, gives a charismatic central performance, and would most likely have become a major star in his own right had his life not been tragically cut short by an accidental shooting on the set of this movie, a fact that only goes to make the finished article an even more tragic and haunting experience.

Nearly 25 years ago the only son of Bruce Lees final film came out and became a sensation and changed the way comic book movies were aimed at mature audiences. The alt rock soundtrack along with an epic score by Graham revell that has been used for trailers for movies such as pearl harbor makes this movie a must own.

I feel like this remains one of the best comic book movies of all time. While it's too well-received to be truly underrated, I feel like it's still deserving of more praise than it gets. It's unafraid to look like a comic book come to life, the visuals are bombastic and in-your-face, but almost always effective, and it takes place in a heightened, almost cartoonish word that always takes me a couple of scenes to adjust to. Once I do, this is the kind of film that never slows down or stops being great. Everything from Eric putting his make-up on (backed by The Cure) and onwards is top-tier stuff.

Brandon Lee is great, and I also think Michael Wincott and Ernie Hudson do amazing jobs at making their sort-of stock characters pop. The former is such an over-the-top villain, but in the best of ways, and the latter is a rebel cop with a good heart, trapped in an unfeeling institution, but Hudson makes him feel surprisingly human and real.

The tragedy behind the production unfortunately adds something to this. The film is both more unsettling and emotional than I think it would've ordinarily been; I don't want to say the film is "better" because of a tragedy, because what would have been better is if Brandon Lee had gone on to have the kind of career he deserved, but it's always something I can't shake. That, plus the fact he looks a bit like Heath Ledger and has a similar voice/appearance to the Joker (at least a little), whose passing also warped how The Dark Knight would feel and be viewed.

I'd be much harder on the editing in this film if I didn't know the behind-the-scenes stuff. There are some strange moments that I'm sure came about because they only had so much footage to work with. Also, I swear parts of the score sound a little like parts of The Last Temptation of Christ's score; that distracted me a little, but I still think the music - both soundtrack and score - do a great deal here.

This embodies the 1990s in a glorious way, features a simple yet well-told revenge story, looks stunning throughout, and was a great showcase for the late Brandon Lee. It's not perfect, but I do love it dearly.