The Crow (1994) - Full Reaction
Added 2022-10-28 22:24:47 +0000 UTCSo this is one of those that I appreciate, that it is artistic and well done but still makes me feel dark and sad. I didn’t learn until after I watched about the tragic story of the actor playing Eric, how terribly tragic. I hope you all have a wonderful “devils night” full of pumpkins and soup and parties and not any fire.
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Comments
Love this movie and reaction. My fiancé adored this movie. The line about mothers being God on the lips and hearts of every child made an impact on her. She died a little more than a year ago.
Korny
2024-03-04 21:10:09 +0000 UTCCassie: consider Enter the Dragon, the final film of Bruce Lee (Brandon Lee's famous father). Also consider Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, a fine biopic.
Raj K. Dixit
2022-11-09 19:35:10 +0000 UTCI just wanted to comment on Devil’s Night. I grew up on the Canadian Prairies and we started to get our cable TV from Detroit. So we got Detroit news in the 80s just as things started to get increasingly grim. As a kid I didn’t entirely understand that and it being my main exposure to American news I had no real sense of how much of an outlier Detroit was. That was no bigger example than Devil’s Night. In 1984, there were 810 fires set in Detroit. As a little kid, I thought that literally every major U.S. city nearly burned to the ground on October 30. As it happens it’s almost an exclusively Detroit thing growing out of Mischief Night (which is more common, but usually was egging houses or toilet papering trees, not mass arson). Eventually Angel Night was born and tens of thousands of people began patrolling the streets to try to end the damage and now Devil’s Night is a thing of the past. So while this is a movie and obviously exaggerated, the way Devil’s Night played out in the 80s and early 90s in Detroit is not that different.
nouvelle_vague
2022-10-31 18:39:33 +0000 UTCWell said. My heart goes out to you for what you have suffered through. I'm glad things are better.
Damon
2022-10-31 16:02:34 +0000 UTCCouldn't agree more! And welcome to the Popcorn family! :D
Damon
2022-10-31 16:01:09 +0000 UTCI’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this one as much as I do, but I guess growing up with it, it has nostalgic vibes. This just fit the era and the vibe of “grunge”, when a lot of stories and themes were very dark (like you said, both literally and metaphorically). I probably won’t go and suggest another story I love from the era, but that just got made into an incredible series on Netflix, The Sandman. That is dark in many ways like this, except way more supernatural and not even a semblance of a love story. Thank you for doing this though. It’s my Devil’s Night tradition, and it was fun watching it through someone’s experience seeing it for the first time.
Kevin C
2022-10-31 07:01:17 +0000 UTCI watched this so many times when it came out. Just loved the way they filmed this like a comic book. I was the Crow for Halloween 3 years in a row and still watch this often on October 30. Still a top 5 soundtrack for me too. Brandon could have been such a major influence in Hollywood for a generation.
Obsolyeet
2022-10-31 06:02:31 +0000 UTCThank you so much for watching this. It means a lot to me even if that seems trivial. You did see at the end that it is a love story, but one tinged with loss. I saw this when I had suffered loss and was so broken I didn't think I'd see the light again. This movie has many of the stages of grief: anger, depression, and at the end, acceptance. Life isn't always good. In fact, it can cruel and dark. But even then, there is beauty too. This movie helped me realize that. So again I thank you for watching this. You promised something and kept it, which makes this so much more endearing to me.
Souls Khan
2022-10-30 22:39:52 +0000 UTCCassie: you mentioned how the film resembled JOHN WICK a couple of times in the action sequences. After Brandon Lee was accidentally killed, the film was completed using Lee's stunt double, Chad Stahelski, to finish off the missing scenes (mainly scenes in the loft). That's why you don't see his face in a lot of those shots. Anyways, Chad would eventually go behind the camera and become a director. His first film? JOHN WICK.
Matt Rose
2022-10-30 19:39:53 +0000 UTCThis was worth becoming a member on here for this reaction! I loved this movie so much. It’s hard to not get emotional for a lot of the scenes in this movie. Just because of what happens to them in the story and what happened to Brandon added in.
Jonathon Dragovan
2022-10-30 17:34:50 +0000 UTCCassie, thanks for the best laugh I've had in awhile. When you wanted a toucan instead of a crow I got a mental image of a brightly-colored toucan, with it's ridiculously large beak flying around in this dark serious goth movie and I couldn't stop laughing for a good minute. Now a word about crows. Crows are amazingly intelligent birds. When tested for their reasoning ability they were found to be at the level of a 7 year old child. Also crows that are regularly fed by humans are known to start leaving gifts for the people who feed them. These gifts are things like acorns, bits of metal, and other small items. So crows really aren't such bad birds after all.
Richard Maurer
2022-10-30 11:52:30 +0000 UTCBrandon Lee was really coming into his own as an actor prior to this movie. He had done some straight to video films and then he starred with Dolph Lundgren (Ivan Drago from Rocky III fame) in the movie Showdown in Little Tokyo, Lee's first American film. That was followed by a personal favorite, Rapid Fire which showed off Lee's martial arts skills. Then The Crow came along and his untimely, tragic death. In my opinion, he was on his way to becoming a huge movie star. I'm so glad you watched this one and I hope that one day you'll watch Rapid Fire as well. Peace!
Damon
2022-10-29 15:28:32 +0000 UTCBatman 1989 is here, not 2022.
My_Cousin_Mose
2022-10-29 07:06:12 +0000 UTCReally? I looked and I couldn’t find a full reaction to The Batman 2022
Lemuel Daher
2022-10-29 06:45:47 +0000 UTCit’s on here friend
Chip MC
2022-10-29 06:44:17 +0000 UTCAny chance of getting the Batman full reaction :)
Lemuel Daher
2022-10-29 04:49:43 +0000 UTCI’ve actually never seen this movie. Of course, I remember all the talk surrounding Brandon’s untimely death, but I never actually watched the film. I thought it was pretty good. Definitely can see how many films borrowed from it. I’m a big fan of his father, so I’m glad I finally watch it.
Robert da Spruce
2022-10-29 04:37:37 +0000 UTCThis movie came out when I was a teenager and it as well as the graphic novel its based on *are* super heavy, but just like Interview with the Vampire's writer Anne Rice, The Crow's creator James O'Barr created the graphic novel because his girlfriend was tragically killed in a car acccident and he used it as a way to process his grief and feelings of rage and injustice. It's a really beautiful comic, in its own way, but with indie horror films, especially, these days it seems like it's always about someone processing the grief of a terrible, unexpected loss. They did change some things as well as drop some storylines entirely, but they did manage to do a pretty damn faithful adaptation of the core story and all its crucial beats. One little detail they included is Eric ties the shell casings of the bullets he used to kill all these grody bad guys into his hair as a sort of souvenir. If you squint super close in the scene at the club (btw, that's what that whole scene with the band was towards the end - it's a front for all the naughty crime shenanigans they get up to, upstairs!), you can see them glinting in the light every so often. Another little thing - you were wondering who the gross dude with the long hair was! They don't actually ever mention his name in the theatrical version of the movie, weirdly enough, but his name is Top Dollar and he's played by the epically-voiced Michael Wincott, and his sister (blech) is named Myca, played by Bai Ling. Tony Todd (aka my favorite Candyman and another epically-voiced dude) plays the big bodyguard/fixer dude with the silver rings, named Grange. There, as the resident goth in the popcorn house, I have done my job for Halloween. lol
Rue
2022-10-29 03:55:02 +0000 UTCThank you for reacting to this. It was one of my sister's favorite movies and she watched it quite often. She sadly passed away in 1998, so this movie has always been both beautiful and painful for me to watch. However, I found it reassuring watching it again today. Although it has a very dark and neo-noir type mood, and looking past the vengeance aspect, I do think the movie is truly about love. It might be just me biasedly finding the crux of the story to be the never ending love, despite the pain and hurt, but ultimately I think if a story is told in a multifaceted way, it doesn't really matter what I think it's about as long as I can draw something valuable and profound from it. Thanks once again. PS: I would watch "The Toucan". ;)
Sindre Kristiansen
2022-10-29 03:48:40 +0000 UTCShe’s probably just doing that for Halloween season.
Tim Raths
2022-10-29 03:32:51 +0000 UTCSide note: Not digging the new lighting. It's too dark, IMO. I miss the old BRIGHT lighting. But I will indeed get over it! haha!
Philip Alan
2022-10-29 02:23:04 +0000 UTCWatching Dragon, The Bruce Lee story would be a great follow up. Such an amazing family with an equally tragic history. Both men gone way too soon.
Obsolyeet
2022-10-29 02:22:29 +0000 UTCGiven her reaction to this one, she's probably going to want to hold off on DARK CITY for a while.
Stick Figure Studios
2022-10-29 01:58:34 +0000 UTCAh, yes. Michael Wincott. He was also Sir Guy, Alan Rickman's cousin in ROBIN HOOD, PRINCE OF THIEVES.
Stick Figure Studios
2022-10-29 01:57:41 +0000 UTCSo, Cassie, you made it through THE CROW. Or as I like to call it HOT TOPIC: THE MOVIE. ;-) It's fascinating watching this now all these years later, because I remember all of the conversation surrounding the film back during its release was mostly about Brandon Lee's untimely death and how the filmmakers had to work around it as he hadn't finished filming his scenes yet. If you didn't know about that, you probably couldn't tell just from the film itself, the illusion is pretty convincing. Once you know, though, you can spot the "seams" as it's fairly obvious how they repeat certain shots of the actor... or which scenes are really Lee and which ones are the body double. In a way, although I'm sure they were already making a highly stylish product, Lee's tragic absence (not unlike how the mechanical shark not working on JAWS forced Spielberg to get creative in finding other ways to make the shark visible) probably forced them to go even more stylish (bathing the double in shadows so as to conceal his actual identity and employing a more frenzied, chaotic cutting method that while fairly standard now was probably far more outre then). Since the story was adapted from a comic book character, this film really pushed the boundaries of how extreme a mainstream comic book flick could go (it was like the SIN CITY of its day). They basically adopted the dark, gothic vision of Burton's Batman movies (along with, as you point out, the gloomy, rainy environment of Ridley Scott's BLADE RUNNER) and took it even further. It's easy to see how it would influence so many films that followed including, as you observed, JOHN WICK and obviously THE MATRIX. Personally, although Brandon Lee gives a very compelling performance (which makes his loss all the more heartbreaking as this was clearly going to be his star-making vehicle), I was never as hugely enamored of the film as everyone else was. I see the ambition in it and the attempts to tell a story that deals with more adult, weightier themes than your typical comic book film (as in how individuals deal with loss and/or trauma) and I respect that, but mostly it just comes off to me as highly melodramatic and, frankly, rather silly pulp. Visually spectacular and tangibly atmospheric, but ultimately pretty shallow, with whatever poignancy it does have coming from the meta-textual knowledge of its central actor's death. Not unenjoyable, but I haven't watched it since I first saw it in the '90s and I don't think I need to view it again for quite some time. One final note: having now seen Brandon Lee in a film as well as an actor's portrayal of his father Bruce Lee in another film (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD), it might be time to watch an actual Bruce Lee movie (probably ENTER THE DRAGON) and maybe the biopic on him DRAGON: THE BRUCE LEE STORY with Jason Scott Lee (no relation). Both worth seeing.
Stick Figure Studios
2022-10-29 01:56:46 +0000 UTCThe Crow is Brandon Lee. Bruce Lee's son.
Richard Rolen
2022-10-29 01:18:30 +0000 UTCalso the big bad guy with the long black hair... he is in count of monte cristo, he is the guy that runs the prison and does the whipping
Ry Jo
2022-10-29 01:09:51 +0000 UTCDelightful reaction. Three words: Dark City awaits . . .
Just Plain Bob
2022-10-29 01:04:17 +0000 UTCI'm surprised she didn't recognize the main bad guy. Prince of Thieves- the Sheriff's lackey (Guy of Gisborne). And in about two years she should be able to recognize the main bad guy's assistant.
Mike Lemon
2022-10-29 01:00:40 +0000 UTCShe said it in the reaction.
Mike Lemon
2022-10-29 00:56:37 +0000 UTCAnd if you didn’t know before, Brandon Lee is famous martial arts actor Bruce Lee’s son. In an eerie coincidence Bruce also died an untimely death as well.
Johnny Liu
2022-10-29 00:52:01 +0000 UTCthe cop is from ghost busters idk if it was mentioned in the comments yet
Ry Jo
2022-10-29 00:47:28 +0000 UTCThat is why this film is so special to so many people. It is darker but a love story nonetheless. For me I’ve always been in martial arts so I followed both Bruce and Brandon. Thank you for watching the film Cassie.
GamerGal8684
2022-10-29 00:19:58 +0000 UTCAh, my old nemesis. The single earphone.
WastedPo
2022-10-29 00:10:21 +0000 UTCShe can still watch it. Nothing says she can’t. The order of films shouldn’t matter when they are not sequels or anything like that
GamerGal8684
2022-10-28 23:52:15 +0000 UTCKinda wish Cassie would watch Rapid Fire. The fighting was really top notch by Brandon. One of my favorites.
John Cranberry
2022-10-28 23:28:16 +0000 UTCI remember where I was when I found out the news on Branden. If you watch Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, you many understand that it may have been his farther's own demons that came for his son.
John Cranberry
2022-10-28 23:25:30 +0000 UTCVery similar to what happened on the set of RUST - sets can be very dangerous places.
Jason Dolan
2022-10-28 23:12:17 +0000 UTCFollow your nose. Always knows.
Jason Dolan
2022-10-28 23:10:59 +0000 UTCIt's also amazing how influential the look and feel this movie had at the time.
Choof
2022-10-28 23:06:59 +0000 UTCIt was called October 30th where I grew up.
Mike Lemon
2022-10-28 23:06:33 +0000 UTCUntil recently I never heard of October 30th being called Devil’s Night. It was called mischief night where I grew up. As to the movie it’s been a while since I last saw it, but I remember liking it.
James1035
2022-10-28 23:04:38 +0000 UTCIt was a massive tragedy with Brandon Lee. He was the son of Bruce Lee who you saw portrayed in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, who also died way too young.
Choof
2022-10-28 23:04:24 +0000 UTC"Can people just be nice to each other please?" - Cassie 🤣🤣🤣
Jason Dolan
2022-10-28 23:04:20 +0000 UTC"It can't rain all the time..." I remember seeing this in theaters and enjoying it. One of my faves and certainly a sad, tragic accident to an actor on the brink of stardom.
Adam Hendry
2022-10-28 22:52:20 +0000 UTCToucan ??? Really ....
Bill Maurer
2022-10-28 22:50:45 +0000 UTCOoh, can't wait to watch this one! I agree with Nick, the soundtrack is also great!
Gary B
2022-10-28 22:40:56 +0000 UTCCrazy how much this movie inspired THE DARK KNIGHT
Jason Dolan
2022-10-28 22:40:23 +0000 UTCNo fire. Staying away from fire. You're the best, Cassie.
Dave
2022-10-28 22:38:30 +0000 UTCSad in real life also as to the death of Brandon Lee.
Richard Bourne
2022-10-28 22:35:46 +0000 UTCFire it up
Burrito Jimmy
2022-10-28 22:31:50 +0000 UTCExactly what I needed when I needed
Yann Laliberté
2022-10-28 22:29:10 +0000 UTCIt's been years since I've seen this, probably watch it with you tonight
Tringard
2022-10-28 22:27:30 +0000 UTCGreat soundtrack too.
nick bell
2022-10-28 22:26:08 +0000 UTC
