The Crow (1994)

Director:

Alex Proyas

Writers (WGA):

James O'Barr (comic book series and comic strip)
David J. Schow (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 May 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

It Can't Rain All The Time

Plot:

A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée's murder.

Plot Keywords:

Crow | Death | Halloween | The Crow | Revenge

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Jan. 17

12:00 PM

SYFY

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Brandon Lee	...	Eric Draven
Rochelle Davis	...	Sarah
Ernie Hudson	...	Sergeant Albrecht
Michael Wincott	...	Top Dollar
Ling Bai	...	Myca (as Bai Ling)
Sofia Shinas	...	Shelly Webster
Anna Levine	...	Darla (as Anna Thomson)
David Patrick Kelly	...	T-Bird
Angel David	...	Skank
Laurence Mason	...	Tin Tin
Michael Massee	...	Funboy
Tony Todd	...	Grange
Jon Polito	...	Gideon, Pawn Shop Owner
Bill Raymond	...	Mickey, Lunch Stand Owner
Marco Rodríguez	...	Torres, Homicide Detective

MPAA:

Rated R for a great amount of strong violence and language, and for drug use and some sexuality.

Runtime:

102 min | Germany:98 min (cut version) | Australia:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Hungary:16 | Finland:K-16 (1994) (cut) (video rating) | Finland:K-18 (1999) (uncut) (video re-rating) | Finland:K-18 (1994) (theatrical release) | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:16 | Italy:VM14 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Crowvision Inc.

Trivia:

Director Alex Proyas originally wanted to shoot the entire movie in "black and white" closer to the comics and only using color in Draven's flash backs scenes with high contrast theme, but the studio executives didn't allow him to experiment with approach. This made Proyas shoot much of the movie in a monochromatic color theme mixed with red and dark gray.

Goofs:

Continuity: Police car #48 is damaged when it collides with Skank's car, but appears soon after undamaged.

Quotes:

Albrecht: Police! Don't move! I said, "Don't move!"
Eric Draven: I thought the police always said, "Freeze!"
Albrecht: Well, I am the police, and I say, "Don't move" Snow White. You move, you're dead.
Eric Draven: And I say, "I'm dead," and I move.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Il 7 e l'8 (2007)

Soundtrack:

BIG EMPTY

It's too bad that this would be Brandon Lee's swan song...

Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), a rock musician, and his fiancée Shelly are brutally murdered by thugs representing depraved master criminal Top Dollar (Michael Wincott). One year later, Eric is brought back to life - and guided by a crow - so that he can seek vengeance on these scummy lowlifes.

Although the idea of revenge has been overdone for years in a variety of films, this film does have its bonuses; it's done with style, it looks great, it has entertaining heroes and villains, and has a decent rock soundtrack. The death of Brandon Lee during filming gives an added sense of tragedy to the whole film. It's so sad, thinking of what happened to him...

I can also tell this was based on a comic book series; it does have that sort of look and feel to it.

I think it deserves at least an eight out of ten.