Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 14, 1994 TAG: 9405140023
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The accidental death of star Brandon Lee while making the film underscores its dark themes of resurrection and revenge. The character he plays is actually killed moments before the action begins and returns one year later to exact justice. It gives the rest of the story a double meaning. Releasing the film now should not be seen as typical Hollywood exploitation. Instead, it's a sad conclusion to a promising career.
The premise, of course, could have been used for any number of martial arts-action movies. And this one certainly delivers everything that fans of the genre expect. But Australian director Alex Proyas tells the story in dark tones, relying on mood and atmosphere as much as graphic violence or physical action.
The setting is an unnamed, decaying inner city on Devil's Night, an excuse for arson on the night before Halloween. That's when Eric Draven (Lee) and his fiancee Shelly (Sofia Shinas) are murdered by four thugs. One year later, Eric rises out of the grave, literally. Our young narrator, Sarah (Rochelle Davis), explains that his love was so strong, a crow has brought him back to this world.
Since Eric is already dead, he cannot be harmed. Wounds heal instantly as the crow leads him to his killers and to discover their motivation. The main villain is a Byronic gangster, Top Dollar (Michael Wincott), who lives incestuously with his half-sister Myca (Bai Ling). Eric's only ally is an honest beat cop named Albrecht (Ernie Hudson). The script by David Schow and John Shirley is based on James O'Barr's comic book and strip. They've distilled the story down to its basic elements, borrowing freely from the works of Poe and a hard-core rock sensibility. That seems to be how Lee played the character, too. His performance is restrained and completely in tune with the material. The use of stunt doubles and shots that were refilmed to work around his absence are not noticeable.
Virtually all of the action takes place at night on rainy streets or in grimy interiors. Director Proyas fills the screen with shiny blacks, deep grays and red highlights. That dampens the film's violence while heightening the mood. His experience in commercials and music videos serves him well in his feature debut.
That kind of reliance on visuals can become coy and can work against escapism that's aimed at a wide audience. But not this time. Judging by the group response of an unusually large crowd on opening day, "The Crow" is going to be very popular.
The Crow ***
A Miramax release playing at the Valley View Mal 6. 101 min. Rated R for graphic violence, drug use, strong language, rape, brief nudity.
by CNB