"The Crow" -- A Perfect Film for 1994 Nostalgia
"The Crow"
starring: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, Rochelle Davis
directed by: Alex Proyas
"The Crow" came out in 1994, perhaps at the pinnacle/height of the alternative/grunge music era's takeover of everything pop culture. It's no coincidence that 1994 also brought the death of Kurt Cobain and one of the best self-loathing, depression-inducing albums of all-time, Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" (which just turned 20 years old last week). "The Crow" was one of the first comic book interpretations brought to the big screen, and for the time period and the technology afforded the industry, it brings the comic book to life rather well. I mean, it's certainly no "Sin City" but it was a completely different time period back then. And you most certainly cannot talk about "The Crow" without bringing up the tragedy of the accidental, fatal shooting of Brandon Lee while filming one specific scene in the film (which never actually made its way into the film because of the aftermath- in fact, the film was almost permanently shelved because the the death of its star). Lee's death kind of makes this film a bit of an ironic story, since it's about the death of a budding rock star and his fiancee, who returns from the dead to avenge his fiancee's untimely death.
The story's and the film's universe exists bleakly, and is reminiscent of worlds seen previously in films such as the futuristic "Blade Runner" and other comic book world, "Batman." Much like the music that seemed to inspire the film (and maybe the filmmakers), "The Crow's" world is grungier, and it seems to rain a lot (hmm, much like Seattle, WA). And the soundtrack accompanies the film perfectly with hard rock, grunge, and industrial music almost born right out of the world it is the soundtrack to. The soundtrack in question was one of the first CDs I ever bought, because I'd recently discovered Nine Inch Nails and was fully embracing the grunge culture. In fact, I still have it to this day and will occasionally pull out NIN's perfect cover of Joy Division's "Dead Souls" or The Cure's song "Burn").
Here's the plot, in a nutshell:
starring: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, Rochelle Davis
directed by: Alex Proyas
"The Crow" came out in 1994, perhaps at the pinnacle/height of the alternative/grunge music era's takeover of everything pop culture. It's no coincidence that 1994 also brought the death of Kurt Cobain and one of the best self-loathing, depression-inducing albums of all-time, Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" (which just turned 20 years old last week). "The Crow" was one of the first comic book interpretations brought to the big screen, and for the time period and the technology afforded the industry, it brings the comic book to life rather well. I mean, it's certainly no "Sin City" but it was a completely different time period back then. And you most certainly cannot talk about "The Crow" without bringing up the tragedy of the accidental, fatal shooting of Brandon Lee while filming one specific scene in the film (which never actually made its way into the film because of the aftermath- in fact, the film was almost permanently shelved because the the death of its star). Lee's death kind of makes this film a bit of an ironic story, since it's about the death of a budding rock star and his fiancee, who returns from the dead to avenge his fiancee's untimely death.
The story's and the film's universe exists bleakly, and is reminiscent of worlds seen previously in films such as the futuristic "Blade Runner" and other comic book world, "Batman." Much like the music that seemed to inspire the film (and maybe the filmmakers), "The Crow's" world is grungier, and it seems to rain a lot (hmm, much like Seattle, WA). And the soundtrack accompanies the film perfectly with hard rock, grunge, and industrial music almost born right out of the world it is the soundtrack to. The soundtrack in question was one of the first CDs I ever bought, because I'd recently discovered Nine Inch Nails and was fully embracing the grunge culture. In fact, I still have it to this day and will occasionally pull out NIN's perfect cover of Joy Division's "Dead Souls" or The Cure's song "Burn").
Here's the plot, in a nutshell:
The story begins with a resurrection from the dead. A rock star named Eric Draven (Lee) is murdered, along with his fiancee, on the eve of their wedding. His soul is escorted to the next world (according to the narration) by a crow; but when a spirit is unhappy there because of unsettled business on earth, sometimes the crow will bring him back again. And so a year later, on Halloween Eve, Eric reappears on earth, vowing vengeance on those who committed the murders - and the evil kingpin who ordered them.
That's about all there is to the story. Flashbacks recreate the original murder, and then Eric, led by the crow, tracks the mean, rainy, midnight streets on his lonely quest. He has fashioned for himself some death's-head makeup, and since he is already dead, of course bullets cannot harm him (except sometimes - which is always the catch in comic book stories).
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