The Crow (1994) Full Review

Film Scene Investigation

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00:00hey guys welcome back to another cult movie review in this video I'm going to be reviewing

00:19the 1994 gothic fantasy the crow now this past week marked the 30th anniversary of the film's

00:31release in North America so I thought what perfect time to sit down and review this 90s classic

00:39before we get into it guys of course if you haven't already please do consider subscribing

00:44it goes a long way to help me build the channel so the crow from 1994 was directed by Alex Proyas

00:54and starred the late Brandon Lee in the lead role while the screenplay was written by David Jay

01:02and John Shirley the actual movie was based on the 1989 graphic novel by creator James O'Barr

01:10produced on a budget of 23 million dollars the crow would go on to become a major hit with audiences

01:19and recoup over 90 million at the American box office since then the film has spawned a series

01:27of crow sequels which sadly have failed to live up to the original you know I still vaguely remember

01:37my first introduction to the crow back in the late 90s I think I was about nine years old at the time

01:46and I just remember coming out of school and seeing my cousin and him showing me the vhs copy of the film

01:53I distinctively remember the video cover art with Brandon Lee on the front with the crow makeup

02:01he was standing behind this fiery background with this sinister smirk on his face

02:09it just was an awesome visual and it immediately grabbed my attention

02:15and you know after seeing that I immediately wanted to go and watch the film but uh being so young at the

02:22time there was no way I was ever going to be allowed to but fortunately I did see the movie a few years

02:29later when I was about 13 or 14 and yeah immediately fell in love with it and thinking about it it was

02:38probably for the best that I never saw the film as a kid as there was a lot of aspects of the film

02:44that would have been lost on me you know by the time I actually got around to seeing the film I was

02:50already a fan of bands like the cure and nine inch nails both of whom contributed to the film's

02:57soundtrack I also knew about the grunge and goth movements of the early 90s so I was able to appreciate

03:06the crow on a much deeper level as a teenager now before we get into the review I have to address the

03:15tragic passing of actor Brandon Lee Brandon the son of martial artist Bruce Lee was accidentally shot

03:24while filming the crow in 1993 Brandon was on set and he was struck in the chest and immediately rushed

03:34to hospital where he later died being only 28 at the time yeah I mean such a tragic loss and the whole

03:42ordeal makes you think about the fragility of life the actor had so much potential and then it was all gone

03:54a few days ago I went back and read up on Brandon Lee's death and there was one major detail I was

04:02completely unaware of that detail was that Brandon Lee was accidentally shot by a co-star of his Michael Massey

04:12Massey was the one responsible for pulling the trigger that later killed Brandon Lee and I must say

04:20reading that I was quite surprised just because I was kind of like how did I miss that detail after all

04:28these years and so yet another layer of tragedy having Massey a young actor at the time caught up in this dire

04:39situation of course it was an accident but having that on your conscience would be hard for anyone it's

04:49just good to know that Massey was able to put that behind him and continue working in the industry until

04:56his death in 2016. So anyways let's get on with the review the film started with this beautiful

05:04lingering shot of Detroit on a rainy October night the police were responding to a brutal home invasion

05:13that just taken place we would later discover that the victims were musician Eric Draven and his fiancee

05:22Shelley Webster fast forward one year later and the dead and buried Eric Draven would suddenly rise from

05:30his grave guided by a crow Draven returned to his apartment and through a series of flashbacks we saw how

05:39the deadly incident unfolded the whole sequence with the flashbacks was laid out really well and it helped

05:46us the audience understand the severity of what had occurred just one year earlier the remainder of the film

05:55saw Eric methodically take revenge on the thugs responsible for his murder now there is a scene that

06:03I want to talk about where towards the end of the film we saw the crow Eric Draven gate crash a mob meeting

06:11you had all the henchmen sitting across this long table with their guns loaded ready to kill

06:17and then Draven walks in so confidently as if he was the one in charge the visual of Eric Draven sitting

06:26at the end of the table legs crossed with a smile on his face it's just so good you really got a sense

06:35that this crow guy Eric Draven had zero fear and it was just a matter of time before he got his hands

06:44on the ones responsible you know the scene itself would lead to an all-out gun battle which was filmed

06:51very well lots of practical effects with bullets flying and blood splatter and you know re-watching the

06:59scene scene again recently kind of made me realize just how much I miss this type of action I find

07:06action sequences in today's cinema to be way too polished and choreographed I mean John Wick is great

07:15don't get me wrong but it lacks the rawness that this film had now when it comes to Brandon Lee's

07:23performance it was truly remarkable you know he he practically owned the screen every time his

07:30character appeared Lee's towering performance elevated the whole project and it was absolutely

07:38Oscar worthy I understand that the man died before the film came out but a posthumous Oscar nomination

07:47would have been fitting the character Eric Draven was this man physically scarred and emotionally damaged

07:55this was all showcased perfectly through a range of emotions we saw the actor display on screen you

08:01know there's absolutely no denying that Brandon Lee fully immersed himself into this role and his

08:09incarnation of the crow really has transcended through multiple generations and if you ask me

08:17to this day his portrayal as Eric Draven has yet to be topped by any other actor furthermore the movie

08:25featured a solid cast of supporting actors including Michael Wincott John Pulito and David Patrick Kelly

08:34all of whom actually I'd previously seen in old episodes of Miami Vice having such a strong cast really

08:43propelled the movie's overall quality let's talk about the film's soundtrack here for a moment the album

08:52which was released in March 1994 featured an array of bands including the Jesus and Mary chain

09:00Pantera and the cure like the movie the soundtrack was also successful upon its release reaching the number

09:08one spot on the US Billboard chart now I personally love all those bands and having them include their

09:15music into the film really added to the film's overall gothic tone and vibe and their music just was the

09:23perfect fit for the crow now what I found interesting was that the filmmakers incorporated the heavy rock

09:32music into the actual story and when I think about it that makes perfect sense because the Eric Draven

09:41character was a musician playing in a band before he was murdered and so the heavy soundtrack that we

09:49heard kind of embodied Draven's personality in who he was before he was killed I personally love Draven's

09:58journey from aspiring musician to vengeful assassin in regards to the cinematography Darius Wolski the film

10:08cinematographer created some unforgettable imagery that does deserve high praise I mean the impressive

10:17camera work and set design really helped Wolski create his fully realized vision of Motor City Detroit

10:24I mean it was wet it was grotty it was grimy and definitely a place you would not want to visit

10:33you know when when people look back at the crow many aspects of the film are rightfully praised people

10:42love the performances and they love the action but in terms of the film's overall tone and vibe I feel

10:50Wolski's work gets overlooked the same way the cinematographer Anton first collaborated with Tim Burton

10:59on the 1989 Batman movie bringing Gotham City to life Wolski combined with director Alex Proyas proved to

11:08be the perfect combination in bringing the crow adaptation to the big screen now the crow has not only become a cult

11:17classic but it's inspired many and has had a lasting impact on pop culture ever since its release in 1994

11:27and in terms of lasting impact I had to take a moment to mention the professional wrestler Steve Borden

11:35now Borden aka Sting was a huge attraction for wrestling fans in the late 90s

11:41he was a hard-hitting wrestler that became world everweight champion multiple times in his career

11:48now the reason I bring up Steve Borden the wrestler is because midway through his career he adopted the

11:55crow aesthetic with the long hair and face paint in fact the changes that Sting made to his appearance only

12:03heightened his popularity and he's now regarded as a wrestling icon

12:08now I remember watching Sting years ago on tv and I had no idea at the time his look was heavily inspired by the

12:18Eric Draven character

12:21if only a few years later did I realize the connection between the two

12:25so yeah just one example of the lasting impact the crow movie had on pop culture

12:33it inspired so many and spawned a whole generation of fans

12:40and Sue dislikes for the crow 1994 my main dislike for the movie would have to be the Sarah character

12:50played by Rochelle Davis the Sarah character acted as Eric's sidekick helping him throughout the film

12:59now before we get into it I just want to say this is a small dislike of mine and overall I thoroughly

13:05enjoyed the movie it's just at times I found the Sarah character to be quite annoying now I don't want to be

13:14too critical because the actress was very young and fairly inexperienced at the time but for me

13:22I found her performance very dull and one-dimensional her acting at times felt forced and her line delivery

13:33was also poor I don't know I just would have preferred a more versatile actress in the role

13:42as someone who may have had more of a screen presence when I think of the Sarah character

13:50the more I get Terminator 2 John Connor vibes it just felt like one of those old school Hollywood

13:58tropes inserting a kid into a very adult story was it necessary not exactly but if you are going to do it

14:09it I think you have to cast a quality actor but hey on a positive note I will say that whenever Davis

14:17was on screen with Brandon Lee she did well and there seemed to be a genuine natural chemistry between

14:24the two actors another dislike I want to mention would be the lack of screen time for actor Tony Todd

14:34Todd played the gangster Grange one of the henchmen in the film now I've been a huge fan of Tony Todd

14:41ever since I watched him in the Candyman all those years ago you know Todd is a very talented actor but

14:49yeah he's underutilized in the crow the actor is capable of so much more yet he's wasted as a side

14:59character in the story now as we know Brandon Lee's death caused many changes to take place in post

15:06production certain scenes were removed and re-edited and you know I don't know this for sure but I gather

15:15Tony Todd fell victim to the changes and you know I say that because it just doesn't make sense to me that

15:23the filmmakers would cast a high caliber actor like Tony Todd and then yeah just waste his talent

15:31it's not a huge deal but seeing the film again and seeing Tony Todd it just made me think of the

15:38missed opportunities and so ratings for the crow 1994 I'm going to be rating this movie a solid

15:497.5 out of 10. the crow is this haunting piece of cinema that really stands on its own merits

15:59it's somewhat of a poetic film that incorporated several genres including horror action and romance

16:09the film's mood and atmosphere was well established and all the action set pieces were executed perfectly

16:19as mentioned the soundtrack was strong and almost acted as his own character within the movie

16:27creator James O'Barr produced a story of anger pain and love while Alex Proyas turned his vision into this

16:38gothic masterpiece you know I've seen some people online criticize the movie and argue that Brandon Lee's death

16:47propelled the movie into achieving its cut status

16:50as in if Lee had never died on set this movie would never have been taken seriously and would just be forgotten

16:58you know I strongly disagree with that because you know while there's no denying that the death

17:04certainly overshadowed the film I truly believe the movie would have gained a cult status regardless of the on-set accident

17:12you know taking a step back and looking at the whole project

17:17there was just too much good stuff going on here for it to be disregarded

17:21so yeah people have their opinions and they're entitled to them

17:25but that's something that I don't agree with

17:28even though this was based on a comic book adaptation it's safe to say that Eric Draven is no superhero

17:38his story wasn't about setting a moral example to the people of Detroit

17:43it's actually about a man being given a second chance to right the wrongs of those who took everything

17:51away from him you know many sequels have come and gone but it's only this original movie that has

17:58stood the test of time you know it's been 30 years since the movie was released and it's still a poignant

18:08movie experience that reminds us all that life is fleeting but love is forever and yeah that's all from me

18:17today guys hope you've enjoyed this review of the crow i'll be back next week with more movie reviews

18:24if you haven't already please do subscribe and of course take care i'll see you all real soon

18:54you

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