30 Years Later: The Crow’s Enduring Legacy and Heartfelt Tribute to Brandon Lee

Whenever I mention The Crow in conversation, I’m usually met with the response; ‘Oh that’s the one where the star died on set during filming, right?’

Sometimes, a film’s production is so arduous and shocking that it casts a long shadow over the finished product. Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now is one that’s often brought up when we think of films with hellish productions.

Outside of Brando’s well-documented behaviour on set and continual clashes with Coppola, the choice to shoot on location in the Philippines proved to be a terrible decision, with the crew being forced to work in horrific weather conditions, and Martin Sheen, who plays the lead role, suffered a heart attack which forced production to be postponed and the budget to skyrocket.

Originally intending to shoot the film over five months, principal photography went on for more than a year. By the end of filming, Coppola’s sanity had been pushed to its limit. Nevertheless, the film’s hellish production proved to be worth it as Apocalypse Now has since become one of the greatest Vietnam films of all time.

Production of The Crow was vastly different to that of Apocalypse Now, but the tragic events that occured on set forced the production team to make a decision that would either see the film released or scrapped forever.

I recently had the pleasure of seeing The Crow on the big screen for the first time at the Light House Cinema here in Dublin, in honour of the film’s 30th anniversary. That’s certainly a fine age, I’m not too far off it myself, but this recent viewing has reminded me that, even with amidst the tragedy that this film is remembered for, the work and dedication put into The Crow is an achievement worth discussing.

Now, why don’t I fix us a brew and together we will explore just how this film has stood the test of time, and how it pays tribute to a fantastic actor gone too soon.

The Tragic Death of Brandon Lee

Directed by Alex Proyas and based on the graphic novel by James O’Barr, The Crow tells the tragic tale of Eric Draven and Shelly Webster. On Devil’s Night, the night before their wedding, the couple are viciously attacked and murdered by a gang of thugs working for the crime boss known as Top Dollar. One year later, Eric’s soul is returned to the land of the living by the crow and so begins his journey to exact revenge on the men who murder both him and his fiancé.

While the film’s narrative tells its own tragic story, The Crow’s production was wrought with its own share of tragedy when lead actor Brandon Lee died during filming after being fatally shot in a stunt that went horribly wrong.

Son of martial arts expert and film icon Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee was cast as Eric Draven and had shot the majority of his scenes prior to the accident which ultimately resulted in the actor’s death.

During a scene in which Draven is shot by the character Funboy, played by the late Michael Massee, a prop gun which had been previously used to fire dummy cartridges was loaded with blanks in preparation for the scene. Before filming however, the gun was not properly checked to see if a dummy round was still in the chamber, and when Massee fired the blank, a dummy cartridge was propelled at Lee as if it were an actual bullet, striking the actor in the abdomen.

Lee was rushed to the nearest hospital where he later died. He was 28 years old at the time of his death.

With the film mostly shot, aside from a few key scenes that had yet to be completed, the production team was faced with the decision of scrapping the project entirely or completing it without Lee. Despite the team feeling compelled to finish the film as a means of honouring Lee’s memory, Paramount Pictures – who had originally financed the film – pulled out of the project. The creation of the Entertainment Media Investment Corporation is ultimately what saved the film, as their acquisition of the project assured the funds need to complete Lee’s unfinished scenes using ‘ground-breaking’ CGI and body doubles.

The digital work completed for the film still holds up to this day, with the digital compositions blending so seamlessly with the original footage that it is nearly impossible to tell that Lee was digitally inserted into them. According to Collider, the digital effects used in the film only amount to about thirty seconds of footage, meaning that what you see of Lee’s performance in the final release is indeed his own.

A Touching Tribute

Today the film industry is so oversaturated with superheroes and comic book adaptations that it is impossible to ignore the fatigue that is starting to set in. Yet despite this, thirty years after its original release, The Crow stands out as a unique and fresh take on the genre.

The story presents a new, wholly original spin on the traditional revenge trope, and this combined with tightly-edited action sequences, well executed humour, and a slew of fantastic performances, both by Lee and his supporting cast members, make this film a hugely memorable viewing experience.

There were definitely some liberties taken with the adaptation. Top Dollar, the film’s antagonist, is vastly different to his comic book counterpart, and Eric is shown taking more a beating in the film than he ever did in the graphic novel.

These changes aren’t bad. I know some people take great offense when writers don’t stay true to the source material, but personally, I feel the changes here enhance the experience tenfold. Showing Eric can get hurt is a fine way of humanising him, and the added grandiose portrayal and importance of Top Dollar’s character doesn’t feel over the top but instead plays into the film’s unique style and production values.

Brandon Lee’s death during filming of The Crow has certainly cast a shadow over the final film, but unlike Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, it has done so in the best possible way. This truly feels like a film that, for it’s time at least, was trying something different and has resulted in a beautiful and poignant immortalisation of Lee’s final performance.

I feel as though I can’t end this post without mentioning the upcoming remake of The Crow. This film has already received some backlash, with both Proyas and Ernie Hudson openly speaking out about the film.

While I agree with Proyas that the original is a testament to Lee’s talent and legacy, and isn’t something that should be muddied by a shallow remake, which Hollywood is brimming with these days, I firmly believe that regardless of the remake’s quality – it may very well surprise all of us – the work and commitment that was put in to finishing The Crow has ensured that Lee’s legacy will continue to be discovered and praised for years to come.