The Crow

Name: The Crow
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Released: May 11, 1994
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 71
Cast: Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott

1994

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Generally favorable reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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Generally favorable reviews based on 171 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 171 Ratings

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The Crow

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Movie Details & Credits

Miramax Films | Release Date: May 11, 1994 | R

Starring: Brandon Lee, Michael Wincott

Summary: Eric Draven and his fiancé are murdered on the eve of their Halloween wedding. Exactly one year after their deaths, Eric is risen from the grave by a mysterious crow to seek out his killers and force them to answer for their crimes. [Miramax Films]

Director: Alex Proyas

Genre(s): Action, Fantasy

Rating: R

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

Desson Thomson

If he had to die so soon, this movie is the best and most appropriate sendoff Lee could have hoped for. Read full review

Roger Ebert

It is a stunning work of visual style - the best version of a comic book universe I've seen - and Brandon Lee clearly demonstrates in it that he might have become an action star, had he lived. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

The Crow imbues its comic brutalism with emotion and satire. Too raw and pulpy, it probably shouldn't be regarded as a memorial to Brandon Lee. But as an obsessive rock 'n' roll comic book movie shocker of loony intensity, it stands, or flies, by itself. Read full review

James Berardinelli

The vision of director Alex Proyas lifts this film above its sad history. Read full review

Caryn James

It is a dark, lurid revenge fantasy and not the breakthrough, star-making movie some people have claimed. But it is a genre film of a high order, stylish and smooth. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Brandon Lee's swan song is a kinetic, pounding, adrenalized feast for the senses, if not the psyche. Bursting with startling images, eclectic staging, and gorgeous neo-gothic set design. Read full review

David Ansen

It succeeds in bringing O'Barr's comic-book vision to life, but there's little else going on behind the graphic razzle-dazzle and the moody, ominous soundtrack. Read full review

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User Reviews

LoRevisor

Jan 23, 2015

Infelizmente Brandon Lee não teve tanta estrada e carreira como merecia com sua trágica morte na gravação do filme,que por sinal é excelente. The Crow 1994 "O Corvo",é fenomenal sombrio e épico. Brandon Lee está fenomenal com uma atuação tipo Coringa Heath Ledger nos anos 90's.
MichaelInfelizmente Brandon Lee não teve tanta estrada e carreira como merecia com sua trágica morte na gravação do filme,que por sinal é excelente. The Crow 1994 "O Corvo",é fenomenal sombrio e épico. Brandon Lee está fenomenal com uma atuação tipo Coringa Heath Ledger nos anos 90's.
Michael Wincott está excelente como o antagonista.Rochelle Davis e Ernie Hudson estão ótimos como a pequena garota e o policial colega do corvo respectivamente.
Ótimo Filme.… Expand

8 of 10 users found this helpful82

HellHoleHorror

Feb 16, 2022

It looks a little dated. Some of the visual effects are really poor! But it looks gritty which isn’t the best look for impressiveness. It is the only style that this movie could have had and so it looks amazing. It is good to see no computer generated effects. The sound has a subtle mix thatIt looks a little dated. Some of the visual effects are really poor! But it looks gritty which isn’t the best look for impressiveness. It is the only style that this movie could have had and so it looks amazing. It is good to see no computer generated effects. The sound has a subtle mix that can be very active when required. I liked the sound design in general a lot except that the dialogue was a little too quiet (not badly prioritised but overall too quiet). This is a true gothic masterpiece. The story is amazing, the concept is unbelievable, the acting is spot-on and the gothic atmosphere is the star of this classic movie. There is such a tragic story behind the film with is mimicked in the brooding moody and tragic story on-screen. A rare classic movie with a beautiful gothic noir style.… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

Moviereviewer12

Jan 17, 2020

A Fabulous soundtrack, super talented sexy martial artist Brandon Lee, and fabulous acting by all made this one of my favorite movies of all time. The colors & settings reminded me a little of Tim Burtons movies but more real. One of my top 10 favorite movies of all time!

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

Cinemassacre94

Mar 20, 2016

“The Crow” flies high. For a while rumored to be impossible to complete due to the tragic accidental death of star Brandon Lee eight days before lensing was due to wrap, pic that finally emerges is a seamless, pulsating, dazzlingly visual revenge fantasy that stands as one of the most“The Crow” flies high. For a while rumored to be impossible to complete due to the tragic accidental death of star Brandon Lee eight days before lensing was due to wrap, pic that finally emerges is a seamless, pulsating, dazzlingly visual revenge fantasy that stands as one of the most effective live-actioners ever derived from a comic strip.

Despite a simplistic script that unfortunately brandishes its cartoon origins rather too obviously, the combo of edgy excitement, stunning design, hot soundtrack and curiosity about Lee will rep an irresistible lure for young audiences in large numbers, giving this very strong commercial wings. As far as Miramax/Dimension is concerned, it’s too bad the film isn’t moving into the marketplace right now, rather than on May 11, since there’s absolutely nothing out there that could compete with it.

Based on James O’Barr’s bold comic strip, which has generated a considerable following since he started drawing it in the early 1980s, “The Crow” centers on a dark angel who literally rises from the dead to settle matters with the gang of thugs who killed him and his fiancee on the eve of their wedding. Tale is more pungent than poignant, however, in that it’s set in a generic inner city so hellish it makes Gotham City look like the Emerald City.

Noted Aussie commercial and musicvideo helmer Alex Proyas drenches his debut Yank feature in a claustrophobic, rain-soaked atmosphere that owes more than a little to “Blade Runner.” But the movie still generates a distinctive personality due to its aggressive narrative vigor, agreeable mixture of sweetness and nastiness, and technical mastery.

Tour de force opening brings the viewer in for a slow landing over a bleak urban landscape blighted by fires on Devil’s Night, Halloween Eve. The Crow, as a girl’s narration informs, transports souls to the land of the dead, but if a crime was so heinous that the soul can’t rest, the Crow can bring it back.

That’s all the explanation needed for the rebirth, a year later, of Eric Draven (Lee), who, as is shown in brilliant, violent flashes of montage, was murdered by a bunch of drooling hooligans who then raped and mortally injured his bride-to-be. A rock musician by trade, Eric is led, one by one, to his vile assailants by a large crow that flaps above the desolate streets like a mythic bearer of dread tidings.

Pic’s main problem is an exceedingly straight, A-B-C-D narrative line with no subplots, twists or turns, which even Proyas’ protean direction can’t keep comfortably aloft the entire time. Banter and nasty repartee could also have been sharpened up and made more humorous.

But film creates one of the most imaginatively rendered, impressively sustained artificial worlds seen on film in some time, and the action is riveting. Vet video production designer Alex McDowell has devised a staggering look for the bombed-out cityscape.

McDowell, Proyas, ace lenser Dariusz Wolski (“Romeo Is Bleeding”) and costume designer Arianne Phillips have carefully calculated a shadowy, color-drained environment, melding their contributions into a vision worthy of a single visual artist. Special effects, particularly those involving the flying crow, are outstanding.

But certainly much of the attention here will rightly focus upon Brandon Lee. The 28-year-old son of the late Bruce Lee had not had a very distinguished career up until this, but this role would have made him a performer to reckon with, and perhaps a star. His striking looks, sinuous presence and agile moves lock one’s attention, and the painful irony of his role as a dead man returning from the grave will not go unnoticed.

Most supporting thesps seem to be competing for the title of meanest, nastiest, scummiest villain. Graeme Revell’s outstandingly moody score is supplemented by more than a dozen edgy rock songs that promise a fine soundtrack.

A sequel would have seemed like a foregone conclusion. But, so sadly, it would be missing this film’s central presence, Lee. Film is dedicated to him and his fiancee, Eliza.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

Came

May 27, 2019

A super well made adaptation of the comic books.
If you like dark serious action films then this one is a must see.
Brandon Lees last performance is great and could have let him to pursue bigger roles if it wasn't for his sudden passing.

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

BerC

Jun 11, 2016

The artistic medium of film is very subjective. Every audience member has a different set of criteria they use to measure their viewing experience. Not everyone shares the same set of criteria. If we did, what a bland and uninspired world this would be.

What I Personally Liked About "TheThe artistic medium of film is very subjective. Every audience member has a different set of criteria they use to measure their viewing experience. Not everyone shares the same set of criteria. If we did, what a bland and uninspired world this would be.

What I Personally Liked About "The Crow":
Let's start off by saying that this is a very dark film, both in script and on screen. It's also not afraid of being a dark film. It embraces its midnight black storytelling and chimerical visuals. It makes this film feel like the kind of campfire ghost story a perpetually haunted masochist would tell the other unlucky inhabitants circling the flickering flames. The uncertainty that festers under the visage of each and every character aids in forming those dark ripples we see shimmering across the pool known as our silver screen. From our angst-ridden hero to our villains who currently question their purpose in life, it's nice to see a simple melodramatic revenge flick transformed into a brooding, elegiac guignol. This film also presented an interesting turn of events for villainous performers in the cinematic world. In just two short years, Tony Todd went from being a towering titan of terror (in "Candyman") to a third rate henchman while Michael Wincott took three years to go from being a third rate henchman who gets run through by a sword (in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") to a masterly crafted top tier evil doer who runs other people through with swords. A specific performance I enjoyed was the one given by Bai Ling. Her ultra reserved characterization stuck with me for a long time after my original viewing of the production. I've since seen her turn in a few lunatic performances ("Crank: High Voltage" anyone?) which is shameful considering the real talent she possesses for more conservative dramatic acting. I'm also a big fan of Graeme Revell's disconsolate score filled with pulsating electric guitars, caliginous orchestral string arrangements and mournful vocals.

What I Personally Disliked About "The Crow":
I really dislike the fact they cut the Skull Cowboy from the film. I was really looking forward to Michael Berryman's appearance and I feel the character could have added an entirely new depth to the movie. I'm also not that big a fan of Rochelle Davis's acting as Sarah. She is only on her game about a third of the time she's on screen. The rest of the time, she looks like she's out of her league and she knows it. Then, of course, there's the fact that Brandon Lee had to die so this movie could live. Okay, so that's a bit too sensational a way of putting it, but his death still helped a phenomenal film reach a wider audience than it probably would have otherwise.

My Overall Impression of "The Crow":
All of the right elements are present to create a Stygian classic and, for the most part, those elements succeed beautifully. I find myself drawn back to this film time and time again and that is the mark of a truly great work: to be able to revisit the piece endlessly and still derive pleasure from its pulchritude.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

noob328

Apr 23, 2021

Great comic book film! Very dark and very gritty! It's a shame that a great tragedy resulted from such a great film but at least Brandon Lee leaves us The Crow as his legacy!

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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