The Crow: Revisiting This Fascinating and Tragic Film

Let's take a moment to remember a truly beautiful soul- RIP Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993).

If one were to take The Crow as a whole, it stands apart from the other cinema as being one of the most tragic and fascinating films of all time. It is a film about death, revenge from the grave, and justice for the dead.. shot only at night and accompanied by a gorgeous and dark soundtrack. From the outset, this film was beset by tragedy but ended by tearing from the world a bright and beautiful soul- Brandon Lee, who was incredible in his own right but also as the son of the master Bruce Lee.
There are some very interesting theories regarding a family curse that struck father and son.. but as these are unprovable, I won't go into detail here. I'd definitely recommend you to check into the folklore surrounding the Lee family.. very intriguing!
What can be proven is that Bruce Lee died under strange or anomolous circumstances. Sometimes that happens naturally (freak accident) sometimes not. His son, Brandon Lee died as a result of a one-in-a-million freak accident on set (see linked article for details) of a movie that was plagued by misfortune (again, see linked article). The movie was based on a comic book which had been inspired by the tragic death of its author's (James O'Barr) fiance.

In the movie, Brandon Lee plays a young engaged man who is killed, along with his fiance, and returns to avenge their tragic deaths. In real life, Brandon Lee was engaged to be married. He died on set shortly before his wedding day, in an eerie mirror of the screenplay.
Here's an article explaing all I have written above and more:
www.telegraph.co.uk...
Now I leave you with some great clips: the soundtrack, which you must take a listen to if you dont' know it already, a poignant quote from Brandon Lee's last interview, and a couple of great clips from the movie. Enjoy!





In my opinion, for the screenplay, acting, atmosphere and soundtrack alone, this movie is a true masterpiece. Thanks for stopping in!

a reply to: zosimov

Brandon Lee died at age 28... what a freak accident. This tragedy has always fascinated me, so young and such a sad mistake...

About the tragedy, taken from Wikipedia:

In the scene in which Lee was accidentally shot, Lee's character walks into his apartment and discovers his fiancée being beaten and raped by thugs. Actor Michael Massee's character fires a .44 Magnum revolver at Lee as he walks into the room.[10]

A previous scene using the same gun had called for inert dummy cartridges fitted with bullets (but no powder or primer) to be loaded in the revolver for a close-up scene; for film scenes which utilize a revolver (where the bullets are visible from the front) and do not require the gun to actually be fired, dummy cartridges provide the realistic appearance of actual rounds.

Instead of purchasing commercial dummy cartridges, the film's prop crew created their own by pulling the bullets from live rounds, dumping the powder charge then reinserting the bullets. However, they unknowingly or unintentionally left the live primer in place at the rear of the cartridge.

At some point during filming the revolver was apparently discharged with one of these improperly-deactivated cartridges in the chamber, setting off the primer with enough force to drive the bullet partway into the barrel, where it became stuck (a condition known as a squib load). The prop crew either failed to notice this or failed to recognize the significance of this issue.

In the fatal scene, which called for the revolver to be actually fired at Lee from a distance of 3.6–4.5 meters (12–15 feet), the dummy cartridges were exchanged with blank rounds, which feature a live powder charge and primer, but no bullet, thus allowing the gun to be fired without the risk of an actual projectile. But since the bullet from the dummy round was already trapped in the barrel, this caused the .44 Magnum bullet to be fired out of the barrel with virtually the same force as if the gun had been loaded with a live round, and it struck Lee in the abdomen, mortally wounding him.[11]

He was rushed to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he underwent 6 hours of surgery. However, attempts to save him were unsuccessful, and Lee was pronounced dead at 1:03 p.m. EST. The shooting was ruled an accident.

His father, Bruce Lee died at age 32! Just incredible misfortune for the Lee family...

a reply to: FamCore

I've always found the Lee family story fascinating and tragic as well. So many individual mistakes aligned to result in this tragedy.. really sad.
Thanks for the added info, Fam.. wishing you all the best.

a reply to: zosimov

Good flick.
You should check out rapid fire and showdown in little Tokyo

a reply to: TinySickTears

Thanks man.. you're right, I really need to check out his other movies. I watched The Crow over and over when it came out (early teen angst years lol) but never the movies he made before it.

a reply to: zosimov

I remember the time this happened quite vividly. Great film and tragic end, I always thought it was some conspiracy.

My dad was a huge Bruce Lee fan.

RIP to both.

Thanks for the review, have never been able to finish watching The Crow. Is it me and my old school tastes. Didn't know that about Brandon Lee.

The family curse relates to a vision his father kept having of a demon that would appear in his dreams. That was portrayed in the film, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Dramatized pseudo biography to be sure. In the final encounter the demon shows Bruce his own death and 'locks onto' his son, Brandon.

Demons follow family lines from ancestor to ancestor, influencing the family line, according to some western religions and apparently, eastern philosophy as well. Or not. This film was made in the west...
From the comments section below the video:

...this movie is about the curse of Bruce Lee's family. the curse run through males of the family. when Bruce was little his father would dress him up in girl cloth to disguise him. there's a lot of theory I his death.

a reply to: TinySickTears

a reply to: zosimov

You should check out rapid fire

I remember seeing this film in the theater as a teenager. I think the one thing that struck me was that every piece of glass in that movie was smashed. It's the only thing I remember, if it glass, it's the enemy.

a reply to: knowledgehunter0986

I had a poster up in my room
He was one of my first crushes (he and Tupac, lol).
EDIT: Oh my gosh I just realized that I grew up and married a Japanese (American) rapper.. now I am cracking up over here.

Thanks for stopping in knowledge!
Also his dad was a truly bright light and talented too. RIP to Bruce Lee as well.

a reply to: intrptr

Hey there and thank you for filling in the storyline here a bit more!

a reply to: zosimov

J. O'barr's graphic novels are awesome! If you have not checked either Crow ones out and you liked the film, you owe yourself the indulgence. You will see that they actually followed a lot of the shots and set up accurately.

I heard about Brandon passing while driving to school. I actually pulled to the side of the road and cried, So that they finished the film was an incredible feat. The took b-roll and out takes and pasted them over the stand in guy just to keep as much of Brandon there so it wasn't so obvious that they switched him out. It was one of the first digital edits to do this. Now it is commonplace but back then it was new.

I don't think the actor that shot him has worked since this movie. The actress that plays the little girl, Sarah, refused to go back. Then they finally got her to finish the film. That always gets me when I hear that because of the way the credits end...

For Brandon and Eliza

a reply to: TEOTWAWKIAIFF

Thank you so much for the suggestion! I will definitely check into his (O'Barr) art.. the cover looks amazing.

Crazy about the other actors on set, and about the closing credits.. I did not know that!

I'm glad you brought up the way they finished the movie using actor/cgi/out-takes; is that correct? I'm not entirely sure.. I tried to watch the scene that I had read was computer generated (when he's applying the make-up in the mirror) but I couldn't see his face at all so I wasn't sure if I had found the right scene. Anyways, it is fascinating that they had technology to do that in '93.. wonder what DARPA etc has now.. (shudder)

Thanks again!

I have not checked out the books but they're definitely on my list. As for quotes, this one is my favorite and so appropriate for all of us...

a reply to: RomaSempre

Thanks, that is really a great quote. We're still here to enjoy the good things in life.. the people, nature etc.. and to mourn the tragedies.



(Check out that interview in the OP.. it's just an amazing message.)

a reply to: zosimov

The scene I remember being CGI cut-n-paste was when he first returns home. He already has the make up on then approaches the window he was tossed out of and the lightening flashes. The shot of him in the window is a composite. The other scene I recall is when he snuffs T-Bird. A shot of him leaning in to look at him was a set up shot (lighting, I think) that was not going to used but they were able to combine the other guy sitting in the car with that out take.

The first time is saw the credits I kind of sobbed in the theater.

Your "last interview" clip is only on the VHS version. It is not on either the DVD or Blu-ray. I know because I have all three! And both graphic novels and soundtrack. So kind of a fan!

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
a reply to: zosimov

Your "last interview" clip is only on the VHS version. It is not on either the DVD or Blu-ray. I know because I have all three! And both graphic novels and soundtrack. So kind of a fan!

Awesome (I'm a fan as well but not quite as in-depth, cheers!) and thank you for all the added information/insights.

This topic is fascinating on so many different levels.

I loved this movie. I was into the graphic novel as well, and read a few of the books. The story's are always deep. I highly recommend The Crow: Broken Lives and Shattered Dreams. Not a graphic novel, but a few short story's in one book, way worth the reads!!!!

a reply to: gunshooter

I'm on a site that sells used books checking out the versions now.
So many great ones to choose from! Thanks a lot for the recommendation and comment.

originally posted by: knowledgehunter0986
a reply to: zosimov

I remember the time this happened quite vividly. Great film and tragic end, I always thought it was some conspiracy.

My dad was a huge Bruce Lee fan.

RIP to both.

My daughter came in as I was watching the clips and I said I was interested in watching the film on Netflix but had reservations about it. She said that, supposedly, that both father and son were killed by a Chinese mafia outfit and that is why not much was every said about it.

a reply to: Aliensun

Awesome. Thanks for the input.
There are several theories, including the one intpr mentioned with a curse related to dreams Bruce Lee had since he was young.. also the theory you mentioned that the Chinese mafia wanted a piece of his cut.. and more. The Lee family story is really interesting but one of those JFK kind of rabbit holes where the answer is ever elusive.