The Crow

All movies haves problems, but The Crow seemed to suffer from endless delays and accidents right from the start. On the first day of shooting a carpenter was severely burned while constructing a set and a crow publicist suffered minor injuries in a car accident. Later other accidents would slow production, but it was when a prop gun misfired that the set of The Crow came to a sudden and tragic halt.

While shooting some of the final shots needed to complete the film, actor Michael Massee, who played the villain Fun-Boy, was handed a prop gun. The scene called for Fun-Boy to shoot Brandon Lee in the stomach as he entered his apartment. Something went horribly wrong. There are many conflicting reports about exactly what occurred, but the outcome is undeniable. Brandon Lee collapsed on the set and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent hours of surgery. But in the end, he could not be saved. Brandon Lee was pronounced dead at 1:04 PM the day after the accident. He was 28 years old.

"He died as a result of incompetence on the set," says Shirley. "Non-union prop men, not enough care for safety on the part of the production. Pure accident, but a stupid accident. There was flaw with the prop gun that caused something stuck in it to fly into Brandon from an overly charged blank. Several things had perniciously converge for him to die... and they did."

Basic Premise: A man (Eric, played by Brandon Lee), and his fiancee (Shelly) plan to get married on Halloween. They are both killed on Devil's Night (the night before their wedding). Because their death was so terrible, and their love so strong, the Crowbrings Eric back to life "to put the wrong things right." He comes back to kill the fourgang members who killed him and Shelly, and finally ends up going after the leader ofthe gang.

David Schow's original script for The Crow, including cut scenes like the Skull Cowboy. Screenplay was by John Shirley, and of course it was based on James O'Barr's comic.

Most of the scene of Brandon's resurrection was filmed, however, they did not have any scenes of him actually entering his apartment. So they filmed some shots of only a hand taking down the police tape, and a few shots of the door. Then, using some of the footage from him walking through the alley, they removed Eric ( cookie-cut ) and pasted him into a scene from the doorway of his apartment. They added some rain effects with a computer and viola, he's in his apartment.

You'll also notice that there are few actual facial images of Eric when he's in his apartment (after his resurrection), for example when he finds Gabriel (the cat) and sees the pictures of himself and Shelly. Well, that scene was also created almost entirely with a body-double. They used a cut-out of Brandon with the face paint on, and put it on what looks like a cracked mirror, to do the scene where he breaks the mirror. (When you hear The Cure's song Burn) Similarly, when he runs out of the window and swings back in, you can only see his face for a few moments when the lightning flashes. That's a body double, but Brandon's face for those few seconds.

Another added scene, which in my opinion was not done well, but probably as best as they could, is the second roof-top running scene. When he's running from the police, it's a body double. (Just before he jumps down and gets into Officer Albretch's car, which was real.) Somehow, that scene looks quite fake to me. I don't know why. (The first roof-top scene w/ Nine Inch Nails' song Dead Souls was Brandon.)

They actually CUT scenes? Well, yeah, that was my first reaction, too. But like all movies, scenes has to be cut in order to shorten the film or make the other pieces fit together more smoothly. Below is a short listing of some of the cut scenes:

There is a very short shot of T-Bird's gang breaking stuff in the Arcade. The original scene was much longer, including their attacking (potentially raping) a young girl which would show their propensitity to such violence, as they did to Shelly.

About half-way through the movie, Draven appears to have electrical tape across his shirt and pants, but with no explanation on how they appeared. Another cut scene. After Eric gives Darla, Sarah's mother, the speech about how "morphine is bad for you", he is caught off-guard by an awakened Funboy, who takes the razor from the bathroom and tries to attack Eric. After cutting him a few times, Funboy is finally killed, which is when you see the hypodermics stuck in a Crow-shape into his chest. The "electrical tape look" seemed like a good addition to Eric's outfit, and so was left in. (That is one thing I heard. I also assume since the movie was filmed backward, and this scene was closer to the beginning, there was nothing they could do but ignore the continuity.

T-Bird whistles to Skank to get "smokes, and road beers", and Skank enters a small convienence store. Just before leaving, two teenage punks enter and try to rob him. He manages to get loose, but not before he is shot in the leg. You can see him running out of the store yelling, "Hey T-Bird! Wait up!" and you can see the limp. It is even more noticable when he is running along the dock watching T-Bird's car explode over the harbor. It can be easily played off if you consider he was hit by a car, which might also provide him with a limp.

If you read the original screen play, there was a character called the Skull Cowboy. He kind of Eric's guardian angel, telling him exactly why he has come back, what he must do, etc. In fact, he played an integral part in the final story line.

In the movie as we know it, the actual bird, as Myca puts it, is "his link between the land of the living, and the land of the dead." Well, this is partly right, but according to the original screenplay, the reason Eric lost his powers is because he had finished what he came to do: get revenge on Shelly's and his own death. The Skull Cowboy tells him this when he returns to his grave, and stands on the steps of the church before he enters warning him he is now vulnerable. However, they decided to cut the character, and put more emphasis on the bird = power link.


	Believe In Revenge \| Believe In Revenge The Crow \| City Of Angels \| Salvation \| Gallery \| Gallery 2 \| Soundtracks \| Comics \| News/Latest \| Awards \| The Crow Script \| Related Links \| Mailbag \| Contact Me \| About The Crow The Reason Brandon Lee Was Killed. All movies haves problems, but The Crow seemed to suffer from endless delays and accidents right from the start. On the first day of shooting a carpenter was severely burned while constructing a set and a crow publicist suffered minor injuries in a car accident. Later other accidents would slow production, but it was when a prop gun misfired that the set of The Crow came to a sudden and tragic halt. While shooting some of the final shots needed to complete the film, actor Michael Massee, who played the villain Fun-Boy, was handed a prop gun. The scene called for Fun-Boy to shoot Brandon Lee in the stomach as he entered his apartment. Something went horribly wrong. There are many conflicting reports about exactly what occurred, but the outcome is undeniable. Brandon Lee collapsed on the set and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent hours of surgery. But in the end, he could not be saved. Brandon Lee was pronounced dead at 1:04 PM the day after the accident. He was 28 years old. "He died as a result of incompetence on the set," says Shirley. "Non-union prop men, not enough care for safety on the part of the production. Pure accident, but a stupid accident. There was flaw with the prop gun that caused something stuck in it to fly into Brandon from an overly charged blank. Several things had perniciously converge for him to die... and they did." About The Film Released: Friday the 13th, May, 1994 Director: Alex Proyas Producer: Edward R. Pressman and Jeff Most Special Effects: Dream Quest Images Screenplay: David J. Schow and John Shirley Setting: Futuristic/gothic psuedo-Detroit Film Color Scheme: Red Length: 101 minutes Initial Budget: $6 million (higher with special graphics to finish scenes without Brandon) Gross: $94 million (worldwide) Basic Premise: A man (Eric, played by Brandon Lee), and his fiancee (Shelly) plan to get married on Halloween. They are both killed on Devil's Night (the night before their wedding). Because their death was so terrible, and their love so strong, the Crowbrings Eric back to life "to put the wrong things right." He comes back to kill the fourgang members who killed him and Shelly, and finally ends up going after the leader ofthe gang. Characters: Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas) Sarah (Rochelle Davis) Officer Albrecht (Ernie Hudson) Top Dollar (Michael Wincott) Grange (Tony Todd) T-Bird (David Patrick Kelly) Skank (Angel David) Tin Tin (Laurence Mason) Funboy (Michael Massey) Myca (Bai Ling) Darla (Anna Thomson) Gideon (Jon Polito) Also featuring My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult The Script David Schow's original script for The Crow, including cut scenes like the Skull Cowboy. Screenplay was by John Shirley, and of course it was based on James O'Barr's comic. Added Scenes? Because of Brandon's tragic death, some of the scenes had to be altered/created using computers and a type of "cookie-cutting" technology. WELCOME HOME Most of the scene of Brandon's resurrection was filmed, however, they did not have any scenes of him actually entering his apartment. So they filmed some shots of only a hand taking down the police tape, and a few shots of the door. Then, using some of the footage from him walking through the alley, they removed Eric ( cookie-cut ) and pasted him into a scene from the doorway of his apartment. They added some rain effects with a computer and viola, he's in his apartment. READY You'll also notice that there are few actual facial images of Eric when he's in his apartment (after his resurrection), for example when he finds Gabriel (the cat) and sees the pictures of himself and Shelly. Well, that scene was also created almost entirely with a body-double. They used a cut-out of Brandon with the face paint on, and put it on what looks like a cracked mirror, to do the scene where he breaks the mirror. (When you hear The Cure's song Burn) Similarly, when he runs out of the window and swings back in, you can only see his face for a few moments when the lightning flashes. That's a body double, but Brandon's face for those few seconds. ROOFTOP ESCAPE Another added scene, which in my opinion was not done well, but probably as best as they could, is the second roof-top running scene. When he's running from the police, it's a body double. (Just before he jumps down and gets into Officer Albretch's car, which was real.) Somehow, that scene looks quite fake to me. I don't know why. (The first roof-top scene w/ Nine Inch Nails' song Dead Souls was Brandon.) Cut Scenes? They actually CUT scenes? Well, yeah, that was my first reaction, too. But like all movies, scenes has to be cut in order to shorten the film or make the other pieces fit together more smoothly. Below is a short listing of some of the cut scenes: ARCADE GAMES, FELL DOWN, WENT BOOM There is a very short shot of T-Bird's gang breaking stuff in the Arcade. The original scene was much longer, including their attacking (potentially raping) a young girl which would show their propensitity to such violence, as they did to Shelly. FUNBOY'S LAST STAND About half-way through the movie, Draven appears to have electrical tape across his shirt and pants, but with no explanation on how they appeared. Another cut scene. After Eric gives Darla, Sarah's mother, the speech about how "morphine is bad for you", he is caught off-guard by an awakened Funboy, who takes the razor from the bathroom and tries to attack Eric. After cutting him a few times, Funboy is finally killed, which is when you see the hypodermics stuck in a Crow-shape into his chest. The "electrical tape look" seemed like a good addition to Eric's outfit, and so was left in. (That is one thing I heard. I also assume since the movie was filmed backward, and this scene was closer to the beginning, there was nothing they could do but ignore the continuity. THE SKANK ATTACK T-Bird whistles to Skank to get "smokes, and road beers", and Skank enters a small convienence store. Just before leaving, two teenage punks enter and try to rob him. He manages to get loose, but not before he is shot in the leg. You can see him running out of the store yelling, "Hey T-Bird! Wait up!" and you can see the limp. It is even more noticable when he is running along the dock watching T-Bird's car explode over the harbor. It can be easily played off if you consider he was hit by a car, which might also provide him with a limp. SKULL COWBOY If you read the original screen play, there was a character called the Skull Cowboy. He kind of Eric's guardian angel, telling him exactly why he has come back, what he must do, etc. In fact, he played an integral part in the final story line. In the movie as we know it, the actual bird, as Myca puts it, is "his link between the land of the living, and the land of the dead." Well, this is partly right, but according to the original screenplay, the reason Eric lost his powers is because he had finished what he came to do: get revenge on Shelly's and his own death. The Skull Cowboy tells him this when he returns to his grave, and stands on the steps of the church before he enters warning him he is now vulnerable. However, they decided to cut the character, and put more emphasis on the bird = power link. There is more information about this on The Crow: Interactive CD-ROM, which I definitely suggest you get. It's really cool.