The Crow

Rating:
Summary: The Crow--the first and best one!
Review: When I found out that this was considered an action movie, I was a little iffy on weather or not to see it. However, I did, and I'm very glad I decided to--this is an AWESOME movie!! All the fans of it say it over and over: this movie has EVERYTHING. Action, romance, passion, depth...a hot and sexy male lead... Indeed, Brandon Lee's preformance throughout the film was exceedingly worthy, and it's almost painful to relfect on how it was on the very set of this fabulous movie that his life ended. [*sniffle* I would have been a die-hard fan of his if I had watched any of his movies while he was alive.] Anyway, the movie's feel is deliciously dark and it gives a real feel for the whole story. Top Dollar makes for a pretty good bad guy, too, and I actually LIKED Sarah, unlike most of her "type" of characters. Also worthy of mention is the soundtrack, which went with the movie nicely.
Everything in this movie really gets felt out...the city slumness of the location, the urban desperation, Eric's pain...it all comes together nicely. The only scene that bothered me was the one where Eric falls out of the window, but they DID have to use computers to do that one since he was dead by then... Do NOT turn this movie off if you don't get into it as soon as it starts. Brandon gets it together as soon as he starts having the flashbacks and the plot thickens from then on.
I haven't seen the DVD so I have no idea if the extra features blew or were actually good. The VHS I saw had a pretty eeeh delated scenes section, and it also had what the makers tooted as the last on-camera interview with Brandon Lee. This is extremly enjoyable for those who can just oogle at him, which is what I did. It's not an incredbily in-depth thing, but he comes off nicely, and it's very novel to see him dressed in something other than black leather, AND without the make up. (*dreamy sigh*)
In short, you DO want to see this. The flim has been critized for excessive violence, but, hey, how are you supposed to get the vengence concept across? Furthermore, I personally don't think it was all that bad. While I can think of lots of movies that ODed on the gore front (Interview with the Vampire comes to mind), The Crow doesn't cross that line. I do regret that it's more famous because of Brandon's death any for its merit, but that is to be expected. Once you see the film, you'll understand it *does* have merit.
And as to weather the bird is a raven or a Crow--that's being just a bit picky, and how many people actually know the difference these days?

Rating:
Summary: A classic.
Review: Okay, i don't have The Crow on DVD, (yet...) but i do have it on VHS and i must say the movie is one of my favorite movies. The movie was given to me on my birthday and i didn't think i would hate it, but i didn't think it would be on my favorites list. Anyway, the movie is full of action mixed with great dialogue as well. Since there are two other Crow sequals, i'm interested in seeing both of them. Well, actually i finally saw The Crow: Salvation and i must say that The Crow had much more charisma than this one. Salvation wasn't a bad movie, it was all right but The Crow is better. I have yet to see City of Angels and from reading some of the reviews here, i probably won't like it, but then again, you never know......

Rating:
Summary: Great!!!!!!!
Review: The Crow is great!!!!

It's absouluty horrible what happend to Brandon Lee. He seemed like such a sweet man. (He was also HOT.) Anyway, the movie was great. It's amazing the way they put the movie together without him. The bad part is, the move is probably more known because of what happend to Brandon Lee then being a good movie. And also, thats probably the first thing that goes through someones mind when the move The Crow is mentiond. the song at the end of the movie is kind of weird, but it was nice and sweet. Is it supposed to be a dead lover talking to their lover thats still alive and telling them its going to be okay? And also, that song supposed to be a tribute to Brandon Lee and that Eliza? Anyway, I once saw a vidieo at a store along time ago, it was about Bruce Lee, and it was hosted by Brandon Lee and it also had scenes from Brandon Lee's funeral. Does anybody know about that vidieo? Please let me know if you do.
God Bless the souls of Bruce and Brandon Lee.
Chantell S.

Rating:
Summary: This rules.
Review: The Crow is an awesome awesome movie. There's really nothing more you can ask for. It's got everything, from a love story to sword-fighting to drug addiction. It's very dark, but it only adds to the mood. It's an excellent excellent movie, recommended to everyone except perhaps small children. ("Mommy...What are they doing to her? Why is she bleeding like that?") Two thumbs up.

Rating:
Summary: The Raven?
Review: I tried to watch this on cable, but gave up because it's just a bunch of gratuitous violence. Like so many modern movies, a good premise but poor follow-through. Also, that bird is a raven, not a crow.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie ever that was made baby!
Review: The crow is about Eric Draven a rock musican who was brought back to life by the crow,he is after the people resonable for his and his wife's death.When I saw this movie I wanted to watch this movie forever,you'll love this movie I know it, you'll think that your in heaven,so buy the crow on vhs or dvd!

Rating:
Summary: Best film ever released- fact
Review: This film has it all: action, suspense, romance. Knowing that this film was sadly to be Brandon Lee's last makes it come across on a more personal level than it may otherwise have done. Lee is superb in every department, carrying each trait of his character wonderfully. The action and violence are given balance and justification by the genuinely thought-provoking plot. Some of the support performances seem a little wooden at times but these are forgivable as, frankly, Lee carries the film from start to finish- and what a job he does of it. Awesome.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely good, but...
Review: Okay, this is a definitely good movie. Brandon Lee was the perfect man for the role of the Crow, and of course, his untimely death lent an air of even deeper tragedy to the story. The supporting cast is pretty good too - T-Bird, Top Dollar, Funboy, all fit their roles excellently. And what's more, the soundtrack is filled with great _original_ material from some of the best alternative bands ever.

So why doesn't this movie deserve the full 5 stars? Simply put, it isn't as good as the graphic novel. The graphic novel is a masterpiece of perversity and pain. In the graphic novel, there is none of that stuff about how if the crow was hurt, Eric would lose his super powers. The book does not rely on creating drama by putting the character's life in danger (especially by means of such a cheeky device) - it creates it by the utterly unbearable despair that permeates every page. We know Eric is going to win, but that doesn't keep us from fervently wishing that he'll find his inner peace.

The movie doesn't have that. In addition to the fact that the screenwriters added that bit, they took several other "creative liberties": for instance, in the book, Top Dollar was killed fairly early on, very ignominiously and without the climactic showdown bit. In the movie, he's not only the head of a whole crime ring, but he didn't even participate in the original murders of Eric and Shelly. Another "creative liberty" was the addition of Top Dollar's sister/lover, Myca, who was not present in the book at all. Her presence adds some New-Age/mysticism stuff that really has no place at all in the storyline. (Hey, we should thank our lucky stars an editor rejected the ORIGINAL screenplay, which featured a Chinese sorcerer named Lao.)

There were several other scenes that I thought the book did far better than the movie. For instance, in the book, Eric does not have a showdown with Funboy - he throws Darla (or "Sandy" in the book) out, sits down on a chair and has himself a nice metaphysical discussion with the junkie. (Trust me, it's MUCH more effective than it sounds.) Of course, there were numerous other scenes left out (the Jones Transfer episode, Skank's death, which was COMPLETELY different and far more horrific in the book), etc. This is partially because you can only cram so much into ninety minutes; and while the movie was very faithful to the book (for a movie), one can't help but feel that it simplified some of the book's subtleties and replaced some of its horrifically cruel, but beautiful moments with more-or-less generic action. It has plenty of its own merits, but if you liked the movie a lot, DEFINITELY find the book, as it's darker, more poignant, and generally better at telling the story than the movie. (Brandon Lee did do a great job, though...he will be missed.)

Rating:
Summary: The Crow..
Review: Detroit, October 30th..... Devil's Night. As the city burns around them, several hoodlums rape and mutilate Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas), and throw her boyfriend, Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), out the window to his death. Shelly dies in the hospital 30 hours later. Detroit, October 30th. One year later. Eric rises from the grave....with the help of a mysterious crow, Eric begins to piece together memories of that fateful night. Yep, the plot is simple and basic. But what is distinctive to The Crow is the execution of the story. Eric is brought back from the dead, literally, for simple vengeance. The film drips with passion. Not enough can be said about the charisma and spirit and personality that Brandon Lee alone brought to the role of Eric Draven. Though it is with tragic irony that the films true power comes from the death of Lee. It wraps the film up in undeniable sorrow. Likewise, not enough can be said about the phenomenal direction of Alex Proyas. Proyas brings to The Crow a deadly seriousness - something rare for a comic-turned-film. There is no camp here, only darkness.

The new Miramax/Dimension/Buena Vista "Collector's Edition" DVD release of The Crow is a vast improvement over the first DVD release. The film received a new anamorphic transfer, which preserves its 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio. The picture is simply awesome. Very clean. Unfortunately, the extras are more of a miss than hit. The deleated scenes are cool, but the commentary is a joke. The commentary track was recorded by producer Jeff Most and one of the screenwriters, John Shelby. To listen to it, you would think Most was the only one who made the film. Proyas is rarely mentioned. And most unfortunate was the lack of commentary regarding Lee's death; it's mentioned at the end of the film. The "making of" featurette is nothing more than a promotional piece before the films release in 1994. There is no information about the added FX needed to complete the film when Lee was killed. So basically, this is probably as good as it's going to get for us Crow fans. And it should be added that The Crow is still the ONLY good contribution to the comic. All the other films are a disgrace. Hopefully, we won't see anymore and The Crow name will no longer be dragged through the mud...

Rating:
Summary: more style than substance, but what style !
Review: brandon lee definately had his father's martial arts talent, plus he also had his charisma. even when he's not fighting, his prescence is mesmerising.the bad guys in this film are also very cool. the entire movie has a comic book feel, heavy on the visual. it's also very sad to watch, yet the ending is liberating. this also one of the few films where the soundtrack compliments the the movie, not just overwhelms it. my favorite song on it is " it wont rain all the time." by jane siberry brandon lee quotes the title in the movie