James O'Barr (1960) is an American comic book artist. When his fiancee was run over by a drunk driver, he sought to overcome grief through art and that's where the inspiration for The crow, originally published independently in 1981, and today a comic book classic, with more than 750,000 copies sold worldwide since then. Years later, in the 1990s, this tragic story created by James was turned into a film by the director Alex Proyas.
The Corvo had as its protagonist, the actor Brandon Lee, son of the martial arts and movie legend, Bruce Lee. This wasn't the actor's first role, but it was undoubtedly what would make him a star.
Many attribute the success of O Corvo to the actor's death. But no, both the comic and the movie are phenomenal.
They say that the best works are those that deal with the tragic, be they theater or literature. Well, it seems that The Crow fits that category.
the movie story
The night before his wedding, the musician Eric Draven and his fiancée are brutally murdered by members of a violent inner-city gang. On the anniversary of his death, Eric emerges from his grave and takes on the Gothic mantle of the Raven, a supernatural avenger, tracking down the bad guys responsible.only for the crime that murdered them mercilessly. Eric finally confronts gangster leader Top Dollar to complete his macabre mission.
From this synopsis, the film's plot looks more like a clichéd melancholy superhero story. Well it's not!
Here we are introduced to a character that goes beyond sadness. He is the loss itself. A person who completely lost everything he had, even his life. He returns from the realm of the dead, for his hatred for those who killed his beloved and him was greater than the designs of Death.
Eric, on his journey of revenge, remembers through touching the objects that belonged to him and Shelly, how much the love between them was not only great, but simple, because that's what she always told him: love is in the simplest things.
The objects were not the important thing, but they brought the moments lived by the two. Burnt food that ended in a smile, not a scolding, because someone had left the pot on the stove for too long. That walk in the park for no reason and so many other passages they had.
This is wrapped in a photograph that never shows the light, only the night and its endless rain under the strong beat of a Dark soundtrack.
But Eric isn't just a man who came back from the dead with a thirst for revenge. On his journey he will have, even if he doesn't want to, other souls to save, like his little friend's mother.
And here is one of the best – among many others – quotes from the movie:
“Mother is the name of God in the language of children.”
He tells her this after catching her with one of his killers while using drugs. He takes her to the mirror, forces her to look at herself, holds her arm as the drug comes out. It's a powerful scene and reminds us of our responsibilities to those who depend on us.
The Raven is not just a story of someone who brutally lost his lover. It is about everything that is taken away from us. It's about our life that is ripped away for no reason.
The film had other sequels, with other stories and actors, but none of them compares to the first with Brandon Lee. In addition to the cinemas, The Crow won a series with Mark Dacascos in the role of Eric.
Brandon's Death
One of the scenes shot for the film required a gun to be loaded, cocked and pointed at the camera, but because of the short shooting distance, the loaded ammunition was real, but no gunpowder. After the completion of this scene, the gunsmith's assistant (not the gunsmith, who had already left the set) cleaned the gun to remove the shells, dropping one of the projectiles into the barrel. The next scene to be filmed involving that gun was the rape of Shelly, with the gun being loaded with blanks (which usually have two or three times as much powder as a normal projectile, to make a loud noise). Brandon entered the set carrying a grocery bag containing a bag of explosive blood. The script stated that Funboy should shoot Eric Draven when he entered the room, bursting the bag of blood. The projectile that was stuck in the barrel was fired at Brandon through the bag he was carrying, killing him. The scene was never aired and the few scenes that were missing from the actor were shot with a stunt double. It's easy to know which scenes are not the actor. These are the ones where the character appears on his back, in the darkness, that is, the ones where we can't see Eric's face.
The actor was engaged and was going to get married after filming. He died at age 28.
The actor's last interview
“Because we don't know when we will die, we think of life as an inexhaustible good. But everything only happens a certain number of times, and it's actually a very small number. How many times will you recall a certain afternoon from your childhood, an afternoon that is such a deep part of your being that it is impossible to conceive of your life without it? Maybe four more, or five times? Maybe not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Maybe twenty. And yet, everything seems so limitless…”
the comic
An alliance, a celebration on an October afternoon, a dirty road, a broken car, rain, gunfire, death and screaming… lots of screaming. One year after witnessing the death of the love of his life... One year after feeling the claws of death taking his soul... Eric Draven has the chance to return to our world and claim revenge on the men who violently took his life. only his life, but the reason for his very existence. Neither dead nor alive, Eric wanders a Detroit dominated by terror and violence, torn between a thirst for revenge and memories of a love that cannot be forgotten.
Many compare the original work, in this case the comic, with the movie. There's no comparison.
Both are absolutely spectacular works. The two Erics are alike in the part of their ironic dialogue and phrases they say when talking to their killers.
The difference is for the Corvo that accompanies them. In the comics the bird in many parts talks to Eric. In the film, he has the sole mission of serving as the character's "eyes".
Anyway, if he talks or just serves as eyes, it doesn't matter. Because what really matters is the story!
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