Film Snail

The Crow
The Crow

7.5

The Crow

R·1994·102m

Summary

Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven—watched over by a hypnotic crow—returns from the grave to exact revenge.

Crew

Director

Alex Proyas

Comic Book

James O'Barr

Screenplay

David J. Schow

Screenplay

John Shirley

Reviews

John Chard

John Chard

February 4, 2015

10

The Crow (1994)

I hadn't seen it for about ten years and as the full moon came beaming through my apartment window late last night, it just felt right to indulge in some Proyas Gothic excellence.

The question still taps away at all our doors, namely would the film be the cult classic it became without the Brandon Lee tragedy? That's a tricky one to answer because we all deep down have a morbid curiosity about us, especially with films and their stars. This is why I got a lot more from re-watching the movie after a very long period of time, namely that it may have drew many of us in years ago because of the tragedy and heart aching back story to writer James O'Barr's birthing of Eric Draven the character, but it can now enthral, thrill and shatter emotions of its own accord.

The Gothic art design and the soundtrack are emo personified before such a label was invented, Lee is lithe and skilful and serving notice to what a talent we were robbed of that fateful day in March 1993. The villains are a roll call of go to guys for such roles, Kelly, Wincott, Todd, while Ernie Hudson fronts up as good cop personified. And finally Proyas, struggling with the budget even before Brandon's death, that he manages to create this world of perpetual bleakness, but still offer hope and beauty - the latter via tracking shots, pull aways and intricate frame shots of a tormented Draven, shows him to be a purveyor of considerable skills.

All told, The Crow (1994) deserves to not be thought of as a cult classic, but just as a classic, period. 9.5/10

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$23,000,000.00

Revenue:

$93,722,164.00

Keywords

martial arts
superhero
supernatural
halloween
crow
based on comic
revenge
arson
vigilante
tragic hero
back from the dead
sadist
detroit, michigan
gothic
urban setting
aggressive
neo-noir
urban gothic
supernatural power
vigilante justice
good versus evil
horror
bold
straightforward
tragic