Ah ... The Crow starring Brandon Lee... what a huge hit! Miramax
became what it is today because of this film. Using the revenue
generated from The Crow, Miramax released Pulp Fiction (another
master piece).
The Crow, simply the greatest of gothic flicks in American
film, starring the late Brandon Lee.
The movie was adapted from the comic by James O'Barr, but as with most
adaptations this film lacked some of the on the cutting room floor.
One such scene, which never made it to the final production, involved
the Skeleton advisor
(which was in the comic) telling Eric Draven
that he would lose all of his power if he cared more for the living
instead of for revenge (his actual purpose for returning as an
undead). This is the reason why he was injured when he went into
the church, NOT because the crow had been shot. Speaking of
being shot, Brandon Lee lost his life during the production. As the
story goes, to cut cost there was no ammunition expert hired to
examine every blank used in film. During the scene where Draven is
shot by everyone while standing on the table, a live round was fired,
and it hit Brandon in the stomach. Brandon died in the hospital from
excessive blood loss and damaged internal organs. The film was dropped
by the original company and picked up by Miramax which finished the
production using computer generated scenes. One such piece is where
Draven is walking through a hallway soaking wet; Brandon was cut out
of one scene and placed in the hallway which was made damp to coincide
with Draven's dampness. Other scenes involved actors with Brandon's
face pasted on top.
But getting back to the crow, the crow was more of a familiar guide for Draven. Draven was allowed
to see through the crow's eyes, as well as other little perks; this
is quite similar to the idea of a witch's familiar.
This film is great - One of the best HOLLYWOOD adaptations.
Of course, I have to say that the
staring that french guy
was quite pathetic in comparison. It seemed like all of the special
effects were dramitized. The film was portrayed like a big far
fetched fairy tail instead of a gothic comic book. O'Barr should
have taken more control of the production - but I did like the
origami crow (that was cute), but the rest seemed to be quite lame
up until the horrible ending with the crows.
And now there is a planned Crow III on the cutting boards.
Hopefully O'Barr learned with 'City of Angels', and he has returned
to true gothic horror.
Here I am - as the comic book Crow:
Links!
Swedish FTP-more pictues
Back to my
Movies Page