The Crow (1994)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

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 | The Crow | Revenge | Halloween

Awards:

2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Brandon Lee	...	Eric Draven
Rochelle Davis	...	Sarah
Ernie Hudson	...	Sergeant Albrecht
Michael Wincott	...	Top Dollar
Ling Bai	...	Myca
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:

Top Dollar, Myca, and Grange are never referred to by name in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: Sarah's hood at the hotdog stand.

Quotes:

Eric Draven: Do you know someone named T-bird? He had a friend who shouldn't have played with knives.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Fanimatrix: Run Program (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

GHOSTRIDER

"Suddenly I heard a tapping, as of someone gently rapping...at my chamber door"

THE CROW, like 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY separates those who see from those who do not! (who CANNOT). Alex Proyas will never achieve anything close to this masterpiece again and if Brandon Lee HAD to die, then there could never have been a better time and place (do not misinterpret my words or meaning here). Personally, I shall for ever be indebted to him for what he has left...a performance in a film that challenges, implores, conjures, paints. A surreal landscape of good and evil in almost equal proportions.

I am no Goth, have never read the original comic strip, nor do I wish to. I simply regret watching the unspeakably pathetic and inappropriate sequels...do not make the same mistake!

For all its grotesque violence, seediness and Gothic degeneracy, THE CROW is a pure love story, so pure, that even immersed within the blackest of adult fairy-tales its power cannot be dampened or lessened. Eric Draven's spiritual pursuit of those who murdered his beautiful girlfriend is less of a revenge story and more a reminder that karma balances out in the end.

Perhaps the best performance, other than that of the crow itself, is from Michael Wincott, a very underrated actor, as the incarnately evil gang leader. It is the role of a lifetime for him.

If I were in a position that I could see only two films again for the rest of my life, they would be 2001 and THE CROW. At no stage would I ever subsequently be able to say that I had seen EVERYTHING that either had to offer.