Blu-Ray * The Crow * 1994 * Brandon Lee

Engelse Ondertiteling

Blu-Ray van de cultklassieker The Crow uit 1994, met Brandon Lee in zijn laatste rol.

Deze Collector's Edition bevat de film en bonusfeatures.

Eric Draven keert terug uit de dood om wraak te nemen op degenen die hem en zijn verloofde hebben vermoord.

Een donkere, bovennatuurlijke superheldenfilm gebaseerd op de stripboeken van James O'Barr.

De film heeft een speelduur van 97 minuten en is geschikt voor kijkers vanaf 18 jaar.

The Crow is a 1994 American gothic supernatural superhero film directed by Alex Proyas, written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and based on the 1989 comic book series by James O'Barr.

It stars Brandon Lee in his final film role, as Eric Draven, a rock musician who is resurrected from the dead to seek vengeance against the gang who murdered him and his fiancée.

Directed by
Alex Proyas
Screenplay by
David J. Schow
John Shirley
Based on
The Crow
by James O'Barr
Produced by
Edward R. Pressman
Jeff Most

Starring
Brandon Lee
Ernie Hudson
Michael Wincott
Cinematography
Dariusz Wolski
Edited by
Dov Hoenig
Scott Smith
Music by
Graeme Revell

Production
companies
Entertainment Media Investment Corporation
Pressman Film
Jeff Most Productions
Distributed by
Dimension Films
Miramax Films (United States)
Summit Entertainment (Overseas)

Release date
May 13, 1994 (United States)
Running time
102 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$23 million
Box office
$94 million

Lee was fatally wounded by a prop gun during filming. As he had finished most of his scenes, the film was completed through script rewrites, a stunt double, and digital effects.

After Lee's death, Paramount Pictures opted out of distribution and the rights were acquired by Miramax Films.
The film is dedicated to Lee and his fiancée, Eliza Hutton.

The Crow premiered in Santa Monica on May 10, 1994, and was released in the United States on May 13, 1994, by Dimension Films.

The film received positive reviews for its stylized noir aesthetic, emotional resonance and Lee's performance.[10] It grossed $94 million on a $23 million budget and has gained a cult following.

The success led to three sequels, a television series, and a 2024 reboot, all of which failed to replicate the first movie's success.

Plot

On Devil's Night, in crime-ravaged, decrepit Detroit, a young woman, Shelly Webster, is raped and mortally wounded, while her rock musician fiancé, Eric Draven, is shot and thrown to his death from the window of their loft apartment.

Police Sergeant Daryl Albrecht accompanies Shelly to the hospital, where she eventually dies from her injuries.

A narration recounts the legend of a crow that carries souls to the land of the dead; if a person dies under tragic circumstances, the crow can resurrect their restless spirit to set things right.

One year later, Shelly and Eric's graves are visited by Sarah, a young girl the pair cared for due to her neglectful mother.

A crow lands on Eric's gravestone and taps on it, resurrecting him. Disoriented and distressed, Eric returns to their ruined loft and experiences flashbacks of the murders: a gang of men—Tin Tin, Funboy, T-Bird, and Skank—attacked the couple because they were protesting forced evictions in their apartment building, which the gang’s leader, the ruthless crime boss Top Dollar, intended to seize.

Realizing that any injury he suffers heals instantly, Eric dons black-and-white face paint and sets out to avenge himself and Shelly, guided by the crow.

The crow leads Eric to Tin Tin, whom he stabs to death. He next visits the pawn shop where Tin Tin had pawned Shelly's engagement ring.

Eric recovers the ring and blows up the shop but spares the owner, Gideon, so he can alert Top Dollar's men that Eric is coming for them, only for Top Dollar to kill Gideon. Albrecht begins investigating the apparent vigilante disturbances, while Eric finds Funboy taking drugs with Sarah's estranged, addicted mother, Darla.

He gives Funboy a fatal overdose and purges the drugs from Darla's body, telling her that Sarah needs her.

Eric visits Albrecht and confirms his suspicions about the vigilante's identity. Albrecht tells Eric that he stayed with Shelly until she died, witnessing the thirty hours of suffering she endured. Eric touches Albrecht, absorbing the pain Shelly felt. Later, Eric saves Sarah from being hit by a car, revealing to her that he has returned. Eric next targets T-Bird, killing him in an explosion.

The following morning, Sarah and Darla reconcile, and Sarah reunites with Eric at his apartment. Top Dollar holds a meeting with his associates to discuss plans to burn the city to the ground on Devil's Night. Eric arrives for Skank, but a gunfight erupts, ending with Eric throwing Skank from a window to his death.

Top Dollar, his lover and half-sister Myca, and his right-hand man Grange escape. Myca deduces that the crow is the source of Eric's immortality.

Satisfied with his vengeance, Eric gives Shelly's engagement ring to Sarah and returns to his grave. Grange abducts Sarah on her way home and takes her to an abandoned church, where Myca and Top Dollar await. Top Dollar takes Shelly's ring. The crow alerts Eric to Sarah's plight, and he rushes to rescue her but is ambushed by Grange, who wounds the crow and renders Eric vulnerable. Albrecht arrives and kills Grange, while Myca attempts to seize the crow for its power; it claws out her eyes, causing her to fall to her death from the bell tower. Top Dollar retreats to the church roof with Sarah, where he fights and badly wounds Eric, and reveals that he ordered T-Bird and his men to clear their apartment, making him responsible for Eric and Shelley's murder. Eric transfers Shelly's pain into Top Dollar, causing him to stumble off the roof and be fatally impaled on a gargoyle.

Sarah and a wounded Albrecht are recovered from the church, while a dying Eric goes to Shelly's grave, where her spirit arrives to comfort him and return his body to rest. Some time later, Sarah visits the graves, and the crow gives her Shelly's ring.

Cast

A photograph of Brandon Lee
A photograph of Ernie Hudson
Brandon Lee (pictured circa 1991) and Ernie Hudson (2014)
Brandon Lee as Eric Draven / The Crow, a rock musician who was murdered on Devil's Night and returned a year later after being resurrected by the mysterious crow, now seeks revenge against the four murderers to avenge his murder and his fiancée's death as an undead vigilante, the "Crow".
Ernie Hudson as Sergeant Albrecht, a hardened Detroit PD Veteran who was close to Eric and Shelly
Michael Wincott as "Top Dollar", the ruthless crime lord who is behind Eric and Shelly's murder
David Patrick Kelly as "T-Bird", the gang lieutenant who leads the attack on Eric and Shelly
Angel David as "Skank", the hyped-up member in T-Bird's crew
Rochelle Davis as Sarah Mohr, a young girl who was close to Eric and Shelly and the Narrator
Bai Ling as Myca, Top Dollar's half-sister and lover
Laurence Mason as "Tin-Tin", a knife-wielding thug and thief in T-Bird's crew
Michael Massee as "Funboy", the junkie in T-Bird's crew
Bill Raymond as Mickey, the bartender in Top Dollar's club
Marco Rodríguez as Detective Torres, a Detroit Homicide detective and Albrecht's CO
Sofia Shinas as Shelly Webster, Eric's late fiancée
Anna Levine as Darla Mohr, Sarah's drug-addled mother
Tony Todd as "Grange", Top Dollar's enforcer
Jon Polito as Gideon, a corrupt pawn broker known to buy stolen items from Tin-Tin

Kim Sykes as Annabella Coopersmith, a Detroit PD officer acquainted with Albrecht
Michael Berryman filmed scenes as the Skull Cowboy, Eric's spirit guide, but his scenes were cut from the finished film. Chad Stahelski was Brandon Lee's body double in several scenes filmed after Lee's death.

Productio
James O'Barr wrote what would become The Crow as a means to cope with the unexpected death of his fiancée, who was killed by a drunk driver.

The first meeting O'Barr had with a major studio was quickly dismissed after the studio's vision for the film was a musical with Michael Jackson as the lead.[13] Around the time of The Crow's publication, writer John Shirley had pitched Angry Angel to Caliber Press, who turned it down due to similarities with The Crow. Shirley sought the comic out and decided to adapt it into a film.[14] O'Barr was receptive and agreed to workshop the film with Shirley and producer Jeff Most, turning down a significant offer from New Line Cinema in the process. O'Barr oversaw three different script treatments by Shirley and Most before directly collaborating on the first two drafts of the screenplay. Shirley penned the third and fourth draft by himself which awarded him screenplay credit by the Writers Guild of America. Most claimed to have written a "substantial proportion" of the script, but was denied credit due to a rule in the WGA which prohibited producers from receiving credit.[15] The addition of producer Edward Pressman gave The Crow further momentum, but Shirley would be fired during development after clashing with a development head at Pressman's studio.[16] Splatterpunk writer David J. Schow was brought in for rewrites.[7] From a suggestion by Most, Pressman primarily pursued music video and commercial directors to helm the film; Julien Temple being Most's top choice.[17] Australian filmmaker Alex Proyas was hired to direct the film.[14] Paramount Pictures picked up the distribution rights and slotted an August 1993 release date.[18]

Christian Slater and River Phoenix were early considerations for the role of Eric Draven.[19][20] Shirley and Most pushed for Slater while Pressman wanted River Phoenix.[21] Brandon Lee was suggested to play Draven, but O'Barr was unconvinced fearing he would not be suited for the material. However, Lee won O'Barr over and was given the role shortly thereafter.[22] Lee dropped 20 pounds to portray Draven and worked closely with the crew to shape the film, co-choreographing his action sequences with Jeff Imada, performing most of his stunts, and removing a subplot due to its East Asian stereotyping.[23][24][6] Rochelle Davis, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, Sofia Shinas, Michael Massee, David Patrick Kelly, Tony Todd, and Jon Polito rounded out the supporting cast.

Filming
edit
Production began on The Crow in February 1993 in Wilmington, North Carolina and was scheduled to last 54 days.[25][18]

Brandon Lee's death
edit
On March 31, 1993, at EUE Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, North Carolina, Lee was filming a scene where his character, Eric, is shot after witnessing the beating and rape of his fiancée. Actor Michael Massee's character Funboy fires a .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 629 revolver at Lee as he walks into the room.

A scene filmed two weeks before Lee's had called for the same gun to be shown in close-up. Revolvers often use dummy cartridges fitted with bullets, but no powder or primer, during close-ups as they look more realistic than blank rounds which have no bullet. Instead of purchasing commercial dummy cartridges, the film's prop crew, hampered by time and money constraints, created their own by pulling the bullets from live rounds, dumping the powder charge but not the primer, then reinserting the bullets. Witnesses reported that two weeks before Lee's death they saw an unsupervised actor pulling the trigger on the gun while it was loaded with the powderless but primed round. Since the primer was still live, it could launch the bullet with enough force to push it out of the case and wedge it in the barrel.[27][28]

In the fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be actually fired at Lee from a distance of 12–15 feet, the dummy cartridges were exchanged for blank rounds, which feature a live powder charge and primer, but no bullet, thus allowing the gun to be fired without the risk of an actual projectile. As the production company had sent the firearms specialist home early, responsibility for the guns was given to a prop assistant who was unaware of the rule for inspecting all firearms before and after any handling. Therefore, the barrel was not checked for obstructions when the time came to load it with the blank rounds.[27][28] Since the bullet from the dummy round was already trapped in the barrel (a condition known as a squib load), this caused the .44 Magnum bullet to be fired out of the barrel with virtually the same force as if the gun had been loaded with a live round, and it struck Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him.[29][30]

After Lee's death, the producers were faced with the decision of whether or not to continue with the film. Lee had completed most of his scenes for the film and was scheduled to shoot for only three more days.

The rest of the cast and crew, except for Ernie Hudson, whose brother-in-law had just died, stayed in Wilmington. Paramount Pictures, which was initially interested in distributing The Crow theatrically (originally a direct-to-video feature), opted out of involvement due to delays in filming and some controversy over the violent content being inappropriate given Lee's death.

However, Miramax Films picked it up with the intention of releasing it in theatres and injected a further $8 million to complete the production, taking its budget to approximately $23 million.

The cast and crew then took a break for script rewrites of the flashback scenes that had yet to be completed.[27] The script was rewritten by Walon Green, Terry Hayes, René Balcer, and Michael S. Chernuchin, adding narration and new scenes.

Lee's stunt double Chad Stahelski was used as a stand-in and digital face replacement was used to superimpose Lee's face onto the head of the double. The beginning of the movie, which had not been finished, was rewritten, and the apartment scene remade using computer graphics from an earlier scene of Lee.[33]

A character from the original comic book called Skull Cowboy was originally planned to be part of the adaptation and even had scenes filmed.


He acted as a guide for Eric Draven between the worlds of the dead and the living. He was set to be played by Michael Berryman, but the role was cut from the film due to Lee's death.

O'Barr later remarked that losing Lee was like losing his fiancée all over again, and he regretted ever writing the comic in the first place.