Filmmaker reacts to The Crow (1994) for the FIRST TIME! 

My excitement for this film's release was immense. I was at the video store the morning it released and the dude behind the counter unwrapped the cellophane from the tape in front of me prior to renting. RIP Brandon Lee, life cut way too short, just like his father. Glad you enjoyed it bro 🤟

"You move and you're dead!" "And I say I'm dead, and I move!" Most badass line ever.

Bruce Lee's son. Brandon was utterly fantastic in this role and really flexed his acting prowess throughout. A total tragedy he died during the filming of this, but he left us with an unforgettable performance that'll last the test of time. The soundtrack is also one of the all-time greats.

I’ll never forget the first time I watched Eric Draven suiting up and standing in the smashed out window, glaring into the storm with righteous fury in his eyes, the crow on his shoulder, and The Cure blasting over the soundtrack. I still get chills

I was a grunge goth kid and saw this in theaters when it come out, it became one of my all time top 10 to this day, Rest in Peace Brandon, sorry that this had to be your magnum opus, not that it's a bad one, but you were to sure have more in the pocket.

This film is a true piece of art, in every aspect. "Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children".

A lot of people have already expressed how tragic it was that Brandon Lee died during the making of this film. Another part of the tragedy that isn't mention is Michael Massee, who played Funboy in the film and was the one who fired the shot that killed Brandon. He was traumatized by what happened that he took a year off from acting and never watched the final film. In a 2005 interview, 12 years after the event, he revealed that he still had nightmares about it saying, "I don't think you ever get over something like that." It's sad to think that even up to his death, he was still haunted by it.

I have been jamming to this soundtrack for almost 30 years now (30th anniversary next year). I may never get sick of it. It's an amazing collection of artists and tracks, some of which have never been performed again (The Cure famously never plays Burn live). It's goth, rock, metal and grunge. Simply incredible.

RIP Brandon Lee, he would have been a major star. Also the film is based on a comic book.

Loved this movie. Brandon died when I was on a WestPac deployment. Back in those days, news was scarce on my ship, but his death made the ship's paper. As a Bruce Lee fan since kidhood, it was a real kick to the gut to know that legacy had hit an end. The Crow came out right before I ended my active duty. I must have gone to the theaters twenty times. It was an amazing movie. My first love also loved the movie and I would quote mushy parts to her and she would do the same. So many great memories of this movie. It is loaded with my optimism of youth, my broken heart of losing my first love (we broke up, nothing sinister), and is a testament to the great human we lost when Brandon died. I wish we could have had a library of awesome Brandon movies, but this film was truly a gift.

An absolute tragedy that we lost Brandon Lee during the making of this. He could’ve been a great talent like his father. This movie hold so much in my little goth heart. It has some of the most quotable moments. And the costumes is just chefs kiss. The music too. The 90s were just built different in terms of filmmaking. So many more risks and real creativity. No matter how out there it was. “Victims aren’t we all?”

This movie is based on an independent comic written and drawn by James O'Barr. After his girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver, he began developing the comic as a way of dealing with his anger, which, sadly, he said only further enhanced his rage. He also then read a newspaper story about an engaged couple who were murdered over a wedding ring and harnessed that in his story. After 7 years of trying to find a publisher for his comic, it was finally picked up by Caliber Press. Originally, the movie was being aimed as a direct-to-video release. During filming, Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee and rising star who played Eric Draven in the film, was killed by an errant bullet struck him in the abdomen after a gun they had used as a time-saving measure was not inspected. The producers considered scrapping the movie entirely and Paramount Pictures pulled out of distributing the film, only for Miramax to step in with additional funding to complete the movie. Although Brandon Lee had already filmed most of his scenes, some of the shots ended up being filmed in silhouette with stunt actors and voices overlaid. The shot where he finally sees Sarah at the window is one such example. The movie ended up going on to make 4 times its budget and spawn 3 sequels and a TV series. A reboot of the original film has been in development hell for around 15 years. Also, this was Alex Proyas' first North American film. He later went on to co-write and direct 'Dark City,' another excellent film you should check out if you've never seen it before. That film was co-written by David Goyer, who wrote Blade around the same time and would go on to co-write Batman Begins and help develop the next two films in Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Lord if Wesley Blade and Brandon Crow had a flick together...perfection...

“People once believed that when someone dies, a crow carries their soul to the land of the dead. But sometimes, something so bad happens that a terrible sadness is carried with it and the soul can't rest. Then sometimes, just sometimes, the crow can bring that soul back to put the wrong things right.”

No movie is more quintessentially early 90's than this.

That slow-mo shot when he's with those kids dancing around was his last usable shot of him alive. It would've been great to see how far his career would've gone had he lived longer. Live long and forever, Bruce Lee & Brandon!! May your legacy and philosophy of life be passed on for generations to come!

One of the BEST movie soundtracks of all-time! Nine Inch Nails' cover of "Dead Souls" is INCREDIBLE!

This movie came out on a Friday the 13th that year. My father picked me up from school early when I was 9 to go watch it. We always watched his fathers movies and were excited to see Brandon in his final film. RIP Dad RIP Brandon

Heh, your first reaction got me. As Eric says in the comic, "This isn't Hell. But you can see it from here." Literally spent opening day traveling between theatres to see each showing in my city. The Crow was a formative work in my life. The movie definitely captured its essence.

16:55 This scene gets me every time with how somber and, in a way, beautiful it is. It just feels like a remembrance to Brando Lee, an "in memorial" scene. 30 years but still RIP.

The Crow is best watched the night before Halloween. This movie is based in Detroit and the yearly thing "Devils Night" there. Its mentioned in the Graphic Novel. And this came out BEFORE Blade......glad you loved it.....

I love everything about this movie. I love the tragic story, the characters, the acting, the atmosphere, the soundtrack, it all works! This is by the same director as Dark City, and both films are great and very rewatchable.

The CGI you mentioned at the beginning (make-up reveal) was the first time a movie used CGI to bring a dead actor back to life. Brandon Lee was killed during the making of this movie and they used a body double to complete some scenes and used CGI to replace his face with Brandons, including the scene you mentioned.

This was the favorite movie of someone who was in my life very briefly but made a profound effect. And what a perfect movie for that to be the case with. Keep someone in your memory forever and they're always around. What a movie.

So from what I remember, he was killed because they used a revolver with dummy rounds that only had the primers. The dummy rounds are used strictly for visuals, so you can't see the obvious blank rounds when looking straight on. At some point, the trigger was pulled, and the primer had enough powder to push out the projectile to where it got lodged in the barrel. They then switched to the blank rounds that actually fire but don't have projectiles. But, in this case, it actually became a live round because of the projectile that was lodged in the barrel. So when the blank was fired, it propelled the projectile that was in the barrel like a regular bullet. I remember when this story broke, and I remember feeling so bad for his mom Linda and his sister Shannon. They had to deal with another untimely death.

This came out when i was in high school and the movie and soundtrack are so special to me. I love seeing people watch this for the first time.

As a kid this movies aesthetic was so fire and being a fan of obarr art it nailed it. Also one of the best movies about eternal love.

I still have and play the soundtrack to this film. There is not enough space in the comment section for all the memories I have associated with this movie as well as Interview with the Vampire.

The movie is based on a graphic novel, and it really shows in a strong and evocative way.

One of my favorite (comic book and in general) movies.

Seriously one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time!

The Crow hands down has the best gun fight in cinematic history. Absolutely top tier.

haha growing up near Detroit, when his first words were, "Automatically we're in hell", I had to laugh. You ain't wrong dude!

Love The Crow, love The Cure.

the way this film is put together, from the set pieces, wardrobe, lighting, music, the whole package, is a work of gothic perfection. this was lightning in a bottle.

This is a great movie, which, unfortunately will always be associated with Brandon Lee passing away, tragically during filming. Alex Proyas, who directed this film, also directed dark city.

The pawn shop owner - Gideon - is played by Jon Polito, who's often cast in films by The Coen Brothers, several that you've reacted to. Probably where you've seen him before.

R.I.P. Brandon Lee. Tragic freak accident that happened. Phenomenal person took to soon unfortunately. His performance cemented this film as an instant classic. Especially around Halloween. But a Phenomenal anyway you slice it.

Always love watching "the Crow". The club at the end was modeled after Leland City Club (still going strong!), a place my friends and I would go to every weekend and run it 'til close every night! (Would go to Ascension UK after for coffee with "special" ingredients, IFYKYK. Yea, that place got firmly shut down)

I absolutely love this movie, both the story and the soundtrack which I owned both. Great reaction

I am old enough to have caught this at the theater when it released. I thought it was so damn cool,like most people. Glad you "got" it!

The story behind the crow, creator, comic and the film is wrapped in tragedy.

I saw this at the cinema in South Africa at age 17 on a first date...the relationship didn`t last, but the impact of just what a great adaptation from comic book to film this was still carries weight! The story, the performances, the soundtrack, the backdrop...all perfect... "Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children...Morphine is bad for you..." Such a good line!

Hell yeah man, hope you enjoyed it :)

"It can't rain all the time." RIP Brandon.

One of the most legendary movies ever made. W everything that went into this movie w Brandons iconic death and all that. Ya, man. This is one of the most iconic movies youll ever react to.

Brandon Lee was awesome. I strongly feel he would have played Neo in The Matrix had he not died so young. And the pawnshop guy was in Miller's Crossing that you watched recently (I believe) he's in a lot of stuff, great character actor.

This is my favorite movie of all-time and struck a chord with me immediately. I saw it multiple times in the theater and dollar theaters. As a black guy who was only into hip hop and pop at the time this movie got me into rock music and started me on that journey of branching out. Loved the deft of weaving the soundtrack throughout this movie along with the musical score.

When a film mentally tosses the viewer into the world, it makes for such an amazing experience. 💟

A brilliant comic book movie. I love the mood, setting and dark storyline, and Brandon Lee is awesome as the Crow. And afaik the only CGI used is face replacement on Brandon's stunt double when he replaced Brandon in a few shot to be able to finish the movie. The rest I'm pretty sure is all practical, old timey compositing and model work.

They made the most perfect movie based off a comic book ever

A classic, with a killer soundtrack.

grew up on this movie....so awesome!

My fav movie growing up. Brandon did such a great job in this, the dark lighting scenes throughout is rare to see, but excellently done in this

One of my all time faves. Me and my band nerd homies we’re all about this movie when it came out our senior year h.s.

Please do a follow up vid to this touching on Brandon Lee. This came out about the same time as Dragon, the Bruce Lee story. His father. In Dragon, there is a scene where Bruce is trying to defend a young Brandon from this deadly family curse. He succeeds in the movie, but it makes the death of Brandon during the filming of The Crow even more chilling. Such a tragic loss. Us in Gen X will always remember him.

I LOVE This movie, awesome Soundtrack as well

This movie was amazing on opening night. I still would have like to have seen the more comic accurate version they originally shot. They changed things after Brandon died, which is understandable. He was a great up an coming actor and a fantastic martial artist. This movie stands as a great memorial for his long time fans. For those who ask who Eliza is at the movies end dedication, it was Brandon's fiance, Eliza Hutton.

Rip Brandon. You made your dad proud

Yes!! One of my favorites!! Love it!!

A great movie that will never get old. RIP to Brandon Lee (Draven), Michael Massee (funboy), John Polio (Gideon), Lou Criscuolo (Uniform cop), and those unmentioned who died since.

Great film, great soundtrack, and great comic. Rest in peace to Brandon Lee

One of the things I loved most about this film was the music. The soundtrack is absolutely epic, and Revell's score is just sooooo good. I still listen to both all the time, all these years later.

One of my favorite movies ever, RIP Brandon and Michael Manse (Fun Boy). Thank you James for giving this one a watch, Alex Proyas directed this and then directed Dark City! Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick movies was a stuntman for Brandon and Brandon's body double for composite shots to finish the film.

One of my favorite movies since I was around 13. It's bittersweet knowing some of it was filmed here in NC where I'm from. Unfortunately, it's also where Brandon Lee passed away while filming. He was amazing in this role. 🖤

the entire movie is such a mood >< so many people watching it this october, gonna be happily shredding a guitar on the roof after watching them all!

one of the best comic book films

Everything about this movie is lit. The soundtrack, the story, the setting, the characters. The soundtrack still soothes my grungy goth heart. I believe this was one of the first movies made based on a graphic novel. Alex Proyas is an Australian director and he nailed the mood. You mentioned how cool Eric Draven looks anywhere he is posed, but I would have loved to see your reaction to the scene where he walks into the church with the camera set above and looking down at him with the crow flying overhead. Very symmetrical and stylised. I love every bit of it. The main villain is Michael Wincott, who is also in a bunch of movies you might recognise like The Count of Monte Cristo (he's the warden in charge of the prison), Robin Hood Prince of Thieves (the Sheriff's cousin), and a bunch of others. Very cool voice that brings a great amount of menace to every role.

I find this movie sadly beutuful, with the worst hell is losing your true love, and sweetest heaven spending forever with them.

One of my favorite movies of all time. Brandon Lee was taken too soon. RIP

NO, I don't recommend this to toddlers. But that being said, this is one of my earliest movies I can remember watching, amazing imagery and spoopy Love the content!!✊️

Hell yeah I've been waiting for his reaction to this movie for a long time

I saw this opening night, the theater was in the heart of downtown Chicago (north end) and I was there in a sea of people deep in the goth culture. It was a fantastic time and we loved every minute of it. Plus being a fan of Bruce Lee and was just getting into the career moves Brandon was making, so his passing making this movie, around the same age as his father's passing just cut deep. Didn't feel like that again until The Dark Knight.

The actor that plays Candyman, in this movie, was also in a movie called the man from earth, small film, small cast, interesting film. might be hard to review, but i enjoyed the "what if" discussions in it. =).

The guy who played Gideon was Jon Polito. He’s definitely been in a lot of stuff. One of his projects around this time was Homicide: Life on the Street. Brilliant show.

Damn I wish Brandon was still alive, he was awesome.

This is my favorite movie of all time, the acting, set pieces, aesthetic, characters, cast, i love every second of this masterpiece

Pushing a skateboard like that is called "mongo." And on top of that her stance is goofy foot. VERY unusual combination. And RIP Brandon Lee. He did such a great job in this.

This film is so brilliantly dark and enlightening simultaneously, in the sense of justice that should be done of so many wrongs that are not. Yet, it's so satisfying even if the wrongs are made right in the wrong way. I watched this when I was 11 and understood the message. They deserved their ends, clearly and exactly the way they did. Rest in Peace Brandon Lee.

Another great action flick that showcases what a star Brandon would've been, and is also super underrated is Rapid Fire. Great flick, lots of awesome hand to hand fight scenes showing Brandon's martial arts capabilities, great cinematography, a cool story. It's a blast to watch and holds up great. Couldnt recommend it enough. Brandon Lee really had it all, acting chops, good looks, charm, and fantastic martial arts skills just like his dad. The epitomy of gone too soon.

What a movie. I remember watching this on my parents VHS, at wayyy too early an age 😂

Awesome movie, amazing soundtrack!

I saw The Crow in theaters with a lot of my friends in tow. What a film! R.I.P. Brandon Lee. Such a great story and one of the most stylistically beautiful movies I've ever seen.

No CGI my friend, just good old sfx, miniatures, and photochemical vfx comppossiting.

The use of music in both the score and soundtrack is absolutely iconic in this movie! This movie was a touchstone for a generation of goths, and goths-at-heart. 💜🐦‍⬛🖤

Being the son of the greatest martial arts legend Brandon Lee left his own mark. You can see how The Crow influenced Ledger's Joker in the Dark Knight. The scene where Joker walks in to meet with the mafia bosses and druglords is similar when Eric goes after Skank, and also villian Top Dollar always talking about his dad like Joker did and Top Dollar actually did tell Eric "You have put a SMILE on my face." And tragically, Heath Ledger also dying young, as did Brandon Lee, WAY too many similarities. Both were 28 when they passed.

This film was such an important part of my youth

The crow is by far one of my favorite movies. The graphic novel it is based off of is amazing as well and because of working with the artist/author they made this film work amazingly. Oh and the creator of The Crow did a cameo in the movie he was the long hair guy looting the pawn shop

R.I.P. Brandon Lee

Without getting into the real life tragedies surrounding both the original comic and the on-set death of Brandon, this movie is a visual feast. The shot of the rings blasting from the shotgun during the pawnshop scene is beautiful. The director's next film after this, Dark City, is definitely worth a watch as well. I still listen to the soundtrack.

Absolutely one of the best comic book/graphic novel film adaptations of all time. My buddy that was into comics when we were kids and I somehow got to see it in theaters when it came out and I was a completely blown away 13 year old. Still an annual watch the night before Halloween. Glad you liked it.

Great choice! This is such a fantastic film. Please watch Four Rooms, a movie that is a wild collaboration from 4 different filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez.

Every line is quotable in this movie, true piece of art

Man this is such a great movie. Brandon Lee really had something. RIP.

This was epic on the big screen, and the roof running scene was iconic at the time. Brandon Lee nailed it and made the ultimate date movie.

My mother took me to the drive in on a rainy day to watch this back in 94. The best memory I had with my mother.

This movies making... taught me more about gun safety then the actual classes you have to take for public carry. even when im doing acting i will check the shaft and bullets to be sure its not real.

Just a little recommendation: "Dark City", by Alex Proyas: same director here. A fascinating film that deserved the success of 'The Matrix', hardly anyone saw it at the time but it has become a cult gem of science fiction and noir cinema.

Back then, I recommended it to everyone as just the most romantic movie ever. Saw it in cinema 3-4 times and many times over on my home wall afterwards. Kinda glad I got the graphic novel afterwards, since of course the graphic novel does more, but I think it was the right way to tell the story in film. And the soundtrack was just perfection for it, too.

Spawn (1997) is another good comic book movie you probably never seen that's good for Halloween lol