This Flashback Friday I want to spotlight another movie that is one of my favorites and has attained cult classic status largely due to its very dark, violent and tragic backstory. I am referring to Brandon Lee's last outing on the silver screen, The Crow. While shooting the motion picture, Lee was fatally shot in the chest with a prop gun. Seeing how much press Alec Baldwin is getting for accidentally fatally shooting a producer on the set of the western Rust, I feel Hollywood has to have greater safeguards and rules for the use of prop firearms. In any case this unfortunate turn of events made the whole story arc of Erik Draven even more poignant, and supernatural. Even though there were subsequent sequels to the original, this would remain the best one.
Based on the graphic novel by James O Barr, and adapted and produced by MTV music video maestro Alex Proyas comes the dark tale of The Crow. The movie opens with Erik Draven and his fiancee celebrating new years eve. Their merriment is short lived however when they are robbed and murdered by a group of thugs. Erik is thrown through the circular window to his death. He is buried next to his fiancee Shelly. One year later, we see a little girl Sherri, who was a close friend of the couple visiting the gravesites of Erik and Shelly. But she is being watched. We then discover that she is being spied on by a crow. We then see a crows point of view as it lands on Erik's tombstone. Erik Draven is then resurrected and goes on to seek vengeance on the people that desecrated his fiancee before killing them both in cold blood. Even though the leader of the crime crew discovers that Erik draws his unearthly powers from the crow and wounds it, Erik ultimately comes up tops.
I really enjoyed the camera angles and the stylized ways the scenes were framed. Proyas definitely had a fresh unique filming style, carried over from his music video shoot days. The movie also comes with a now iconic soundtrack. From The Cure's adrenaline thumping Burn to Jane Siberries hauntingly melodic It can't rain all the time, the music expertly captures the emotions felt by the protagonist. This movie is a must watch in my books.
This blog is dedicated to the memory of Brandon Lee.
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