- Release year: 1994
- Director: Alex Proyas.
- Producers: Jeff Most and Edward R. Pressman.
- Screenplay by: David J. Schow and John Shirley.
- Cinematography by: Dariusz Wolski.
- Music by: Graeme Revell.
Synopsis: a man comes back from the dead to avenge his and his fiancée’s deaths.
Shotgun Commentary: are you even an intense teenager if you have never watched this?
Review
The Crow is a really famous film that tells a love story through the lens of an emo teenager. It is extra, beautiful, and dark, but sadly it didn’t rise to the fame due to that. This is one of the few tragic features in which an actor was lost due to a malfunctioning prop. As a result, one man died, another was scarred forever, and the film became even more of a beacon for its intended audience.
Love and justice
The narrative, previously described as a love story, could also be considered a vengeance tale. Both genres fuel each other, creating a violent but heartwarming piece. A film with enough heart to stand out among other average revenge stories, and enough action to keep it away from being a purely whinny drama.
That being said, this infamous piece does not come without a few flaws, namely the completely nonsense premise. An error that could have been prevented had the feature stuck to the original story, a series of comics by James O’Barr, instead of trying to rewrite the beginning.
O’Barr wrote this series as a way to deal with the death of his fiancée, who was killed by a drunk driver. His pain is clear throughout his work. His unapologetic dream of vigilante justice is still refreshing nowadays, when fiction seems to be the only place where anyone has a problem with that kind of justice. Now, killing is morally wrong. There is no doubt about that. Nevertheless, watching a film where the inevitable policeman sidekick doesn’t bother posing morality questions to the hero is as unprecedented as it is welcomed.
Needless modifications
As for the big adaptation issue, the attack and the aftermath go very much against the point of the story. Both the morality behind it and the literal resolution make no sense after you change the form of the attack.
Statements like the one at the end of the initial monologue, where it is said that if two people love each other enough, nothing can keep them apart, sound really poetic for the fiancée’s death, but immediately after, he comes back to life(ish). Does that mean that she loves him enough to join him in death, but he’s not as convinced? Does he love vengeance more than he loves her? Is this whole thing about the pain of losing her, or about defending his own honour as “the man of the house”? It doesn’t make a lot of sense for him to be the one dying first and then coming back to life.
Whose vengeance, again?
In any case, if that is the order of death, she should be the one coming back. Also, according to the film at least, it is her home. She is the one whose home gets destroyed, the one who gets raped, and tortured and killed. He’s an accidental bystander who dies pretty quickly. So, why would he be the one coming back from the death for vengeance, should it be her?
Not to mention the fact that, contrary to the comics, she’s the one suffering for hours in the hospital. This fact is key to the demise of the villain. Are we supposed to believe that just because you witness something, you have any idea of how it feels? The explanation is sketchy at best, which brings us to the age-old question: why fix something that doesn’t need fixing?
Darkness and drama
Flawed as the story might be, the visuals are absolutely stunning. The special effects are cheap and the stunts a bit awkward, but the cinematography is gorgeous. The use of lights and shadows is paramount to get the film closer to the black and white comics. Luckily, they totally deliver on that.
Most shots are epic and badass in a grunge sort of way, always leaning more towards being too much, a style that fits the mood of the story and highlights the point they are trying to make. In this case, light and shadows are reversed in the scale of good and evil, challenging aesthetic perceptions as well as the notions of justice and fairness.
All in all, The Crow is a beautiful film cult film with faithful fans that would’ve likely been just as popular without the tragic shadow that looms over it. As far as adaptations go, the writers could have done a lot better. Thankfully, the cinematographer is there to bring good taste and breathtaking sequences that almost make you forget about all the plot holes you encounter on your way to the conclusion. If you like vigilante stories, do give this a watch, small issues aside, it is certainly worth your time. Unlike the remake.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Don’t let people bury you shirtless. You’ll be freezing if you wake up and have to crawl out.
- Drugs are not the answer, and if you have kids, they should not even be an option.
- If your immortality depends on another being’s life, maybe take care of it?
What’s your take? Have you watched The Crow (1994)? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀