|
"Someday all things will
be fair and there will be wonderful surprises."
If my house was burning
around me and I had to pick one movie from my collection
to keep, I'd pick "The Crow." Even over "12 Angry Men."
Yes, I think about these sort of things, because in the
last month I've done a lot that has revolved around "The
Crow" and Brandon Lee. I am finishing up a large fan
fiction about "The Crow," I saw "Rapid Fire" for the
first time in a year on HBO, and one day out of the blue
I had the strange urge to watch "The Crow" again, and
for some reason it was kind of emotional for me. I can't
explain it, really. Movies make me emotional but that's
during the dramas and whatnot. Normally movies based on
comic books only manage to elicit excitement from me and
that's about as far as it goes, but with "The Crow" it's
a movie I've seen a thousand times and for some reason
this viewing on the morning of a Sunday, I found myself
quite engrossed in it.
I got chills, goose
bumps, and in the final scene where Shelly kisses Eric
on her grave I almost started bawling. I don't know,
maybe I'm getting soft in my age but for the first time
since I saw the film in 1994, I found myself on the
verge of tears. I know, "It's just a stupid movie!" But
what can I say? "The Crow" is one of the few movies ever
made that has touched me and stayed with me since I saw
it. I remember watching the trailer on television and
falling in love with it. I was desperate to see it and
spent all night drawing pictures I saw from the trailer
and even drew Brandon Lee's face over and over again.
"The Crow" is a movie that has somehow managed to grab
me at points in my life and I just can't stop thinking
about it, no matter how hard I try to move on. I don't
know what it is about that movie that just keeps me
hanging on. The themes of eternal love, the themes of
vengeance, tragedy, bloodshed, or perhaps the notion
that true evil eventually perishes under the weight of
its own power.
|
 |
There's a
magic to this movie that very few films
possess. It's almost metaphysical at times.
Every single minute of Alex Proyas' masterpiece is
spiritual and it's taken on a life of its own.
On March 31st of this
year, it was officially the seventeen year anniversary
of Brandon Lee's death, a somber event that brought down
one of most enthusiastic action stars of the nineties, a
young man who had every bit of potential to break out
and prove to the world that he was more than just Bruce
Lee's son. Like Michael Douglas he was living under a
big shadow and was just about to come out from under it
and make his mark. And in an instant, a brief horrific
instant, he was dead, snuffing out a life that had
promise and passion and meaning. So in celebration of
Lee's life, I wanted to revisit "The Crow." And it was
an interesting experience. |
Much like the original
graphic novel from James O'Barr, "The Crow" was born out
of the seeds of death and tragedy. And in some odd way
the movie became its own entity, a capsule and capture
of Brandon Lee's spirit that caused this movie to serve
as a form of living tribute that bred new life in to
this creation. O'Barr as many people know, created "The
Crow" as a form of coping with the loss of his
girlfriend who died tragically from a car crash. Grief
does amazing things to people and it was through this
loss, that O'Barr was able to create a marvelous story
about revenge and bloodshed and mourning. This of course
transferred on to the film which was about loss and
death created in the aftermath of loss and death. Once
Brandon Lee died the movie became more than just a comic
book movie and served a higher purpose bringing forth a
legion of fans to take notice of Lee and realize the
person they'd lost who had so much to offer us and the
world. Around the mid nineties action films were
humongous and around the end of the decade there was a
sudden turn of the tide where the action hero was
becoming an antiquated concept. With "The Crow," Lee
seemed to want to be more than a guy spouting one-liners
and kicking people in the face.
Sure, he was great at it.
If you've seen "Rapid Fire," you'll notice he has a
spark to him that just brings an electricity to the
screen. Say what you will about the movie, but you can
not deny that the man had an energy we only saw in his
father. With "The Crow" it seemed to be the spiritual
side of Lee reaching out and looking for something else.
"The Crow" has action in it, but deep down it's more
about spirituality, the afterlife, and mysticism. Draven
only really knows how to battle his foes when he's given
the power by the Crow. Before that he's humble and
passionate and doesn't know how to fight when he's
victimized with his girlfriend Shelly. This innocent
bystander who is the victim of a vicious crime suddenly
becomes a voice and declares that enough is enough and
cuts down evil at its root once and for all. It's an
undertone that speaks to the thousands of people who
have lost someone in their life who wish they could have
justice and resolution. And Lee doesn't deify himself in
this film. His character is flawed, average, simple. He
wants to play rock and roll and live with his
girlfriend. He'd basically be just another nobody.
| But from his
death, he finds a power to end his suffering
once and for all and he makes every single
person who hurt him suffer slowly. He
renders no mercy. Lee's voice can be heard
in this film. It's the voice of a man who wanted more
from his career, thus the movie was an indication that
Lee was utterly ambitious and set on defining himself as
an actual actor who could carry a movie with raw
intensity and skill. And he does. He appears for eighty
percent of the movie and in that eighty percent he
displays a brutal sense of struggle and confliction that
reaches out to the audience. From his cries as he
emerges from his grave, to the trickle of drool that
drips down from his lips as he grins at Gideon after
being shot, Lee is making it perfectly clear that he's
here for the duration and he puts his soul in to this
performance. Many critics wondered if had Lee not been
accidentally killed on the set during the filming if the
movie would have had such an impact and become such a
hit in theaters. I say yes. |
 |
Now I'll admit I'm not
the most objective party to say that being a Lee fan and
fan of the film, but I think the entire production has
an energy that's hard to resist. From Proyas' fantastic
direction, to the strong performances, right down to the
complex characterization and shades of grey, this movie
had the chops to be a hit from the get go. It's just
that Lee's death empowered it somewhat and acted as a
farewell to a generally fascinating individual.
|
