Exploring The Crow City of Angels 

The worst part about asshole producers is that if they screw up a movie, it can potentially ruin the director's, writer's and even actors' careers, but the producer usually just moves on to a new project and pretends like he had nothing to do with the movie.

The first Crow movie is a fucking masterpiece.

Someone do a petition for this film to be put in its original vision, because I want to see this.

I had no idea this movie was so badly butchered by the studio. This is quickly becoming my favorite channel. Great job!

Harvey butchered Hellraiser: Bloodline too. I'd love to see an episode on that. There's some footage that was cut floating around RU-vid.

Wow I never knew this shit. I fucking love the Crow and remember being so disappointed with city of angels. I don't understand why executives muddle instead of trusting in the director/writer. If you don't trust their vision then why hire them?

I remember reading the script for this, oh, a good decade ago at least. It made the movie make a lot more sense. One thing I thought was interesting was it explained Curve died not because of his injuries but because the River Styx was so poisonous. The injuries just made it so he couldn't move and get out of the water in time. Also the original ending (at least according to the script) was Sarah becoming a Crow herself, riding a horse. As Ashe left the city, and Sarah galloped off to parts unknown, the sound of Ashe's bike's engine and the sound of Sarah's horse's hooves intertwine till you can't tell which one begins and the other ends, implying they would someday find their way back to each other. I'm not sure how that would have gone over with audiences, but I find it kind of sweet and would have loved to have seen that on the big screen.

A Harvey Weinstein-like character should be the new antagonist in any new Crow movie/tv show, whenever it gets made.

I love how you said "With the incoming remake of The Crow" and 8 years later it's finally happening.

Fun fact, Tim Pope directed almost all of "The Cure" videos

The entire video I was thinking, "Wow, what a great movie this would be for Shout Factory to get their hands on." Low and behold you were thinking the same hahaha

Hopefully, since Harvey Wankenstein got the boot, they could release a true "Director's Cut", and have it as close to the original version that they had intended.

Vincent Perez is such a brilliant actor. And there are really good scenes here (pick a card, the Day of the Dead, peep show, fight with Kali.) and there are some bright quotes as well (pain is my power). The design is beautiful. Music is really good and fun. And Vincent Perez is astonishing - he is giving a top performance of modern Hamlet driven by revange and pain. This character guides his victims to death's door. He's like a grim reaper who appears before his victims in a moment of intimacy and reflects their fears like a mirror. Perez said: "we saught poetry in violence, which isn't easy to achieve". I would love to see the directors cut. Itś a pitty what the studio did to this film in the end. But still - it is worth seiing. And no, itś not Ingmar Bergman :).

*I never knew how beautiful this film was supposed to be. As a single father of a young boy that lost his mother recently, this brought tears to eyes. Thank you for this video.*

The fact that weve been able to get a proper cut of Nightbreed and the Donner Cut of Superman 1 and 2 gives me hope that one day we might see this film as it was intended.

Honestly? I've always felt that Iggy was better suited for this movie than he would've been for the first. This has like an apocalyptic punk vibe to everything, and he fits with that PERFECTLY.

Ironically they used the name Michael Corvin in the UNDERWORLD movies.

How a girl went from a kid-friendly superhero wearing yellow spandex to a villain in the sequel of one of the darkest movies to date is beyond me. Thuy had talent, I can tell you that! May she rest in peace...

As strange as this movie is, I really like it. You can see the hard work trying to push its way out. Vincent Perez was really good. The story of a father and son gives it a more personal feel. The music is haunting. The atmosphere is felt. I would really love to see the real directors cut.

Wow. This was incredibly interesting. I would have loved to see the REAL version of the movie. Such a shame.

"The movie was shot to be one thing, and then forcibly edited to be another." Sounds a lot like what happened with Suicide Squad.

I live in Memphis, and picked up the novelization of the film before it actually came out. That novel is almost exactly the real movie you describe here. I loved it. I still have it around here somewhere.

It makes me so sad with what happened to this movie.

A comic was released after the film called "Crow: City of Angels" and contained all the unedited stories mentioned above. Such as: Sarah stabbing Ashe in the heart to prove that he is dead: When Judah kills the crow and robs Ashe of his powers, his son tells him to give up and to be with him & last but not least, when Ashe decides to stay but Sarah dies and he is left alone to wander the City of Angels.

wow I'm positively saddened at what that movie was supposed to be in comparison to what we got. I loved the original and felt totally ripped off with the second. to know that it's supposed to be this story of death and love, way better. I hope we get to see the directors actual vision someday.

This explains SOO much...

Goodbye Harvey, you will NOT be missed!

Honestly the movie you're describing sounds fucking awesome

I do love City of Angels(it's one of the only two crow films I enjoy), but the original as described would be much better.

Holy crap. To think of the number of movies Harvey Weinstein ruined.

The original version of the story with the downer ending, drastically different to the first movie's sorrowful but satisfying resolve, would have made it marginally better. Real bummer we never got to see it. It's a totally different spin on the message, making the avenger roam the earth indefinately after his mission, undermining the concept of vengeance

The Studio's Strike again. The Original/Director's version sounds Awesome, sad that they Screwed it over.

Thank you so much for mentioning Graeme Revell - my all-time favorite composer.

I always thought this movie was missing something, it didn't feel complete...now I know why. Greed destroys another great film. Awesome vid, Cecil!

Oh man, the original uncut movie would have been oh so much better... even though it would have been two and a half hours if the story is good i like a long movie. Well done.

Oh Harvey Weinstein, first you touch our movies, then you touch girls inappropriately, then you touch some more movies.

I have watched this video now 4 times. I really would love to see a directors cut of this film.

This movie was such a hit it was put back in theaters by popular demand back then.

Fucking Harvey Weinstein... I had no idea! No wonder I hated this movie (and The Crow is one of my favorite movies of all time), but I have to admit, if what was originally shot got released I would have probably really enjoyed it. It sounds like a beautiful dark story. Thank you for sharing this!

That makes so much sense now... City of angels always seemed a bit choppy and disjointed... I never knew it was cut down that badly... It's a damn shame

"The Crow: City Of Angels" 20th anniversary tonight (Aug. 30th, 1996)Watching it right now as I type. Very underrated sequel....but that Original vision sounded FANTASTIC!

I love The Crow. It has the potential to have really really good movie sequels or adapted to Television.

This is why I hated Weinstein before he ever got outed

When I see the name Alex McDowell. I think who ever named him must of like A Clockwork Orange alot.

This legit does break my heart to hear what the film could of been vs what it sounds like we ended up getting. Explains all the hate the film gets.

What I love about you and your channel, is that you seem to find all the movies that had massive potential that were destroyed and show us all how they SHOULD have been viewed. Your appreciation for true film is inspiring, keep up the good work.

When i was a kid i liked this movie. Recently rented it for nostalgic purposes...😕😣😥

I actually asked Shout Factory if they could do a full director’s cut of The Crow: City of Angels but unfortunately they said they couldn’t get the rights to the film🙁🙁

Cecil could you please do an episode on Dark City. Freakin love that movie and I know you'd treat it right.

Finally watched this film. During my viewing, I like the look of the movie, and felt it had the feel of a music video at times. I paused the movie to check out IMDB and lo and behold, Tim Pope has directed many of my favorite videos, namely Queen's It's a Hard Life, and The Cure's Lovesong.

Crow and Crow two are on the list of my favourite films.

Well at least the soundtrack kicked ass, can't take that away from it.

We are not gonna talk about how many times I have watched this video.

I love this movie, very underrated.

Not gonna lie, I genuinely enjoyed Vincent Perez in this movie. I loved that he was a bit of a clown in his fight scenes, but you still felt his sorrow in more quiet scenes.

The name Michael Corvin was later used in Underworld.

I actually still enjoyed City of Angels but this is a damn shame.

I remember that I rented the VHS of the movie Best Of The Best 2. And they had City of Angels trailer on it and in that trailer it showed Ashes name on a tombstone and the name was Ashe Crawford .

I’ve been wanting this Director’s Cut since just after the film hit theaters. My best friend had read the novelization, and we had both read a ton of interviews and articles about the film. It killed us how different it was from what was intended. Thanks for summarizing it all in this great video.

Awesome, as always! And very interesting! I did know that this movie was cut, but not, that it was changed so heavily from the original intended version. I hate it when things like that happen to movies. Many were poorly received just because they were changed by the studio (f.e. "Hellraiser: Bloodline"). Now I really hate Harvey Weinstein! Personally I like "The Crow: City Of Angels", even in the cinematic cut. It had his own atmosphere, good actors (though Vincent Perez did sometimes overact) and a great soundtrack, like the first one. It's definitely not bad! I also enjoyed Part III (maybe you could do an "Exploring"-video about this one?) but the last was utter shit. I'm hoping the remake will turn out at least watchable.

I hope shout factory gets the rights. I want to see the original cut. I don't mind this movie. It's not as good as the original but it's better than the 4th one. The 3rd is my 2nd fav after the original.

My brother in-law bought a random storage unit and it had a ton of comics in it. He knew I was a comic scholar, so he gave me the three boxes to grade for sale. Lot of great stuff, but not great condition...except all issues of Calbur's The Crow in mint. Geuss who inherited them? 🖤😎🤘

I do think this movie is extremely underrated. Ash was a very different and very cool take on the character, it obviously has nothing on Lee's, but it does stand on it's own. The other two sequels, however....Jesus.

Maybe a true director's cut is possible now that Weinstein's career is FUBAR

I’d love to see the original version. Sadly it probably will never happen.

Wow. I would love to see this original version done and edited for a DVD release. The ending sounds so beautifully tragic and desperate for Ash. How do such producers still not understand they only worsen their "products" when meddling in this way?!

I always knew in my heart this film had great potential to be a good movie under the surface.

One thing that always bothered me about the original Crow movie was how it departed so strongly from the source material. Don't get me wrong, it still holds its place in my heart as one of the greatest gothic movies of all time, but I was always disappointed how they went the action-flick route instead of holding true to the original story. While there certainly was some action in the original comic, it was only in small bites and was a supplement to the greater, far more tragic story of love and loss. The majority of the comic focuses on Eric and the absolute torment he goes through remembering/re-living that moment when he and Shelly were killed and how it drives him forward to complete his revenge while also driving him insane. Plus, the crow itself was not a physical being, but a spiritual manifestation along with the Skull Cowboy, guiding him along the way. Obviously, they only made the crow a physical bird just so they could do the whole "take away the hero's power so he has to beat the big bad on his own", which always really annoyed me. The story was so powerful on its own it didn't need that stupid trope and in the end only hurt the film. I hope that if they do remake it, they'll go the more psychological route with it and showcase that instead of making another stupid action flick.

I myself would love to see the original cut, hopefully one day

I really have to commend you that your content has always has a consistent quality. I've followed your channel for a while, and occasionally I go back to old videos, and they're the same high quality I see today. Not a lot of channels can say that after so long. I'm very appreciative.

Oh my god... I love this channel, such memories. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED The Crow 2!! I had seen The Crow 2 when I was a kid (13ish), wayyyyyyyy before I even knew what a Crow 1 was - I can't be sure, but I think it was called The Crow: City of Angels (Not The Crow 2: City of..) So that could've added to my confusion. I was obsessed with this movie, used to rent it once a week from my video store. I didn't notice any of the connection to the first one because I didn't know it existed, but just the grit and revenge of it was right up my alley.. Then maybe after a few months of watching, I got one of my friends to watch this obsession movie of mine - that person went home, watched it, and was running up and down the street quoting: "Caw, caw, bang, fuck 'em dead." The next time I saw here. And all I could think was, What's this crazy b on?? Why's she saying that?? Psycho." And slooooowly from that point, years later actually, I realized that there was this whoooooooole OTHER Crow movie and man, when I saw that one... WHOA! I thought I was obsessed with The Crow before, but after seeing the first one, I devoured everything Crow I could get my hands on!! This is back when the internet was good, so I'd find all these forums for fan fiction and shit, it was just all Crow all the time for me! I don't think it 'ruined' part 2 for me thought, I still have love for the Crow 2 because I was so young and obsessed with all the crazy on screen. ... and there's my Crow story no one asked for.

I knew there was more to this movie.

I used to think that Directors make Bad Movies. However, recent Hollywood and business and other incidents throughout movie history has proven this statement is wrong. Directors don't make Bad Movies anymore. Studios make bad movies.

Thank you so much for this priceless information. Yes, I dressed as the crow on my college prom night because of these movies back then... And now I know for sure that the city of angels was truly a masterpiece because I felt some parts were forced and this video proves my belief in it since much of the original creators made it and not many sequels can topple the originals and as you said, I pray too that city of angels will get it's overdue justice.

I'm a big fan of the character but i must admit I had no idea about this. Thank you for this amazing video!

no wonder why this movie seems like a complete mess. hacks with no vision take a really good story and try to turn it into a rehashed version of something else to make a quick buck and that's what's sad about the film industry.and remaking the crow is a travesty that should NOT be touched wish studios would make something new or give us the crow city of angels the way it was ment to be

Wow! I never knew any of this! This totally changes my views on this movie. :D

I recently saw the original Crow movie for the first time and I loved it. It depresses me that we will never truly see what City of Angels could have been, because it sounds like it could have been awesome, maybe even better than the original.

I just watched this movie for the first time and I really like it. The first crow movie is my favorite movie ever, and having seen any others I was scared but city if angels is good in my opinion

Ever thought of doing a Daredevil good bad flicks review ? I'm not really bothered much at DD...but the way you reviewd on how the Crow city of angels was made? I really loved it.

Here is the cameos of the "Eat Steel" and "Hey Clown-Face" guys ?

The original ending is so damn tragic and that ending alone could have made a sequel that could have been a classic. I love this movie but we could have a great sequel. We need the directors cut. Tim pope was the man and you could see glimmers of his brilliance throughout this movie.

thank you, I had no idea that it was the studio that destroyed this film, I hope the original is restored, I'd love to see it! thanks again, you rock!

The moment they said "Harvey Weinstein" I was like "Oh, well that explains everything."

Those safety protocols didn't help on the set of Rust.

Man, I had no idea that this and Blair Witch 2 were so heavily messed with. I really, really appreciate the research you do in bringing us all of this info, and just wish the original edits were available. Maybe someday.

I've been waiting for this review of my personal favorite misunderstood sequel of a movie. Thank you

Let’s get this hashtag spreading #ReleaseTheRealCrowCityOfAngels

with Harvey out of the way, maybe we can get the real version

I remember watching it years ago and thinking it was okay but not as good as the first because there were some things that did not make sense and it had so much potential to be amazing. Now I understand why it wasn't. It's a damn shame what they did to this film. Hopefully they will release it the way it was supposed to be made.

I saw this movie and theaters and enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't know until later that most people didn't. But the internet wasn't as pervasive back then.

Scream Factory should get the rights 2 The Crow: City Of Angels with both the theatrical version & the director's vision. For those who love it.

There’s an inaccuracy in this video that I think I should address. So I was on those “The Crow” boards at the time. When word got out about how different it was there was a lot of backlash. They recut it at least partially because the fans were up in arms. I distinctly remember one of the producers, I think Ed Pressman, reassuring fans on one board (Cecil’s Crow Page, I believe) that it wouldn’t be TOO different. Specifically he said the crow itself was killed and Ash had to fight the villain as a still somewhat powerful mortal like in the first movie. I’m not trying to defend Harvey Weinstein here, he absolutely did ruin this movie, but I think it’s worth noting that the reshoots and other changes weren’t just made because the studio wanted to replicate the original. They thought that’s what the fans wanted. It’s an early example of “don’t listen to the internet.” Fans usually don’t know what they want. Imagine what Twitter would have looked like in 1988 when Michael Keaton was cast as Batman

This film always had my respect and love... when I found out what it was supposed to be I loved it more! I truly hope it can be restored to its original beauty someday... because the story, script, and visuals are so powerful and different.

So I enjoyed City of Angels so to find out all of this out is friggin heartbreaking beyond all words. Here's hoping that we get the original vision sometime in the future guys and girls.

A female Crow would be absolutely awesome tbh

Weinstein thinking himself an auteur, one too many times

Great video this should help more fans to understand that the Crow: COA is a awesome script that good butchered by the studio I would gladly pay $80.00 for a Limited Edition of City of Angels as long as it had lots of cool extras.... Underrated flick deserves a real Directors Cut

Mia Kirshner absolutely nailed it as Sarah in this movie.

Weinstein, of the Weinstein brood, seems to heavy meddle in everything they're associated with