This movie has some adult language and later in this review I do quote it, so I wanted to make sure you are pre-warned and if easily offended or too young to read it, then don’t read this one.
This will be a tough one for me to get to the end of without getting emotional. For the subject and the story of the lead actor being part of it. Watching interviews when he was talking about the movie and the subject matter. I will get back to this later but first of all its time for the usual information. The name of this movie is ‘The Crow’ it was so successful that a further three movies followed it as well as a television series. Based on The Crow graphic novels by James O’Barr. The movie was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley and released in 1994. Produced by Jeff Most, Edward R. Pressman esquire and Grant Hill on a budget of $23m (originally $15m). It was directed by Alex Proyas and made a finance return of $50.7m which was a success. Historically the scores for the reviews for this movie currently see’s IMDb giving this a 7.6 out of 10 whilst Rotten Tomatoes was slightly more generous with an 82%. This movie stars Brandon Lee, Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, Sofia Shinas, Anna Levine, David Patrick Kelly, Angel David, Laurence Mason, Michael Massee, Tony Todd, Jon Polito, Bill Raymond and Marco Rodriguez. This movie was always going to be a straight to video film but sadly three days before they wrapped on filming the lead actor Brandon Lee was effectively shot and killed on set. This was due to an error with the gun and props assistant not knowing to check the gun before the scene was shot. The movie was stopped and left the executives with a decision to make about finishing the movie or not. Paramount walked away at this stage and it was Miramax who stepped in and injected a further $8m into the project to get the filming concluded using Brandon body double and CGI techniques filming was completed and the film went to cinema’s instead. It was in a cinema that I saw this movie for the first time and is one of the reasons why my nickname Myers came about. Which will confuse the hell out of you, but that story won’t go any further for now. Onto the plot, well maybe I’ll just give you an overview.
Set in the future of Detroit where Halloween has been superseded with Devil’s Night on the 30th of October where people originally kids engage in pranks and vandalism which has grown into crooks taking it as an excuse to do what ever they like on the date. Setting fires and destroying any business that hasn’t ‘taken up the insurance’ for example. It is on this night that rock star Eric Draven and his girlfriend/fiancé are on the eve of their wedding day of Halloween. When their home is invaded by a gang of four men who have been sent to this home as the big bosses want this property for their own and Shelley (the girlfriend) has been unwilling to sell. The gang rape Shelley leaving her in a coma as they shoot and kill Eric. Shelly fights for life for a while before she also dies leaving one of her friends a young girl called Sarah who Shelley used to look after. She is now alone except for her mother who is single and is more interested in booze, sex and drugs than looking after her own daughter. Sarah becomes friendly with a beat cop – Albrecht who a year later has remained friends with her treating her to a hotdog on the eve of the attack on Eric and Shelley. A crow pecks at the gravestone of Eric and he comes back from the dead. Linked forever with the crow that brought his soul back to right the wrongs of the past. Being the walking dead he doesn’t fear guns or death and sets about finding out the four men who killed him and Shelley. Namely T-Bird, Skank, Funboy and Tin Tin who are all controlled by the gang lord called Top Dollar. He sets about his revenge on these four men and you will have to watch it yourself to see how the story doesn’t go like a tick list of revenge.
Ok not only is this dark and action-packed movie there is the story of the main character being killed whilst making it. With all its references to death this movie touched me way back when and still has effects on me to this day. It reminds me of a breakup of a relationship and me turning to shit side of life and getting myself into a very dark place myself. It also got me out of the same place. There are so many great scenes and the violence is there but as Brandon said himself, he felt this violence was the most justified in any of the movies that he had been in. The action is non-stop and once the story is laid out early on its hundred mile and hour of fights, gunfights, and some explosions. There are many quotes that I still quote to this day, one pointless for here is top dollar in the church... “Quick impression for you: Caw! Caw! Bang! Fuck, I'm dead!” There are many and much better ones namely the quote at the films conclusion which should go on my headstone should I get one. Sarah says – “If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.” Then there is Skank’s when asked how do you feel “I feel like a little worm on a big fucking hook,” I could keep going but I will finish this review with the last one and the one that means so much to me and so many others that love this movie. I am going to add an extra paragraph just to talk about one over aspect of this movie that is just fucking fantastic. (sorry I have already sworn so I thought for the rest of the time all bets were off.
OK the soundtrack for this movie is possible one of the greatest I can think of the bands involved and the songs as well got me through some tough times and was just as heavy as you can get. It includes such bands as The Cure, Machines of Loving Grace, Stone Temple Pilots, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Violent Femmes, Rollins Band, Helmet, Pantera, For Love Not Lisa, My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Medicine, and Jane Siberry. For a heavy metal fan that is just like slipping into a warm bath on a cold winter’s day. It reminds me of driving around Staines, Walton, Shepperton and anywhere else with the tape deck at full blast smoking down the lanes and roads and then skulking around shopping centres dressed in black from head to toe with the natives getting freaked out as I walked towards them. Oh! those were the days. For this movie helped this happen and I am eternally thankful. I will leave you with a quote that is simple enough and it is just a nice way to say that when the shit hits the fan things will get better and your life will improve no matter what. That line is - “It can’t rain all the time.”
Whilst on the subject of music next up is the greatest musical ever made…
Comments