Based on James O'Barr's comic book, 1994's The Crow was a groundbreaking work of stylistic fantasy action. Simultaneously blending elements of the past while also pioneering a new style of movies for the future, Alex Proyas' film won over critics and audiences alike with its unique blend of dark fantasy, horror, and action, pioneering a new style of revenge film.
However, it's impossible to talk about The Crow without discussing the freak on-set accident that struck down a rising star in his prime. Brandon Lee, son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, was just beginning his ascent to what was certainly going to be a long and acclaimed career when a weapon malfunctioned while filming a scene and claimed his life during what was only his third American film role. Lee's ing definitely hangs heavy over the movie, but The Crow has also been praised for serving as a wonderful tribute to the late actor and will always be a monument to the impact he had already made during his all-too-brief career.
It's hard to dig into the making of The Crow and not get too distracted-- and depressed-- by what happened to Lee to research much else about it, but the story behind the film is a fascinating one even apart from that event. Below, we look at a lot of interesting and bizarre facts about the production of The Crow, from the franchise's birth as a comic book series to its long, difficult road to Hollywood.
Here are 20 Crazy Details Behind The Making Of The Crow.
It's Based On A Comic Book With A Tragic History
It's probably not a huge surprise that the creation of The Crow came from a place of real pain and mourning.
James O'Barr conceived of the Crow character and story after losing his fiancee when he was only 18.
O'Barr said that the process of creating the comic book-- which, according to O'Barr, is the best-selling black and white indie comic of all time-- was a way to cope with the ing of his fiancee and help to find a sense of closure.
He explained that he realized all of the other ways he had tried to deal with his grief were ultimately just numbing his pain, and it wasn't until he found a creative outlet that he was finally able to start truly healing.
It's Also Based On A Real Crime
According to Jeff Connor's book The Crow: The Movie, which chronicles various facets of the film and its origins, James O'Barr was moved by another tragedy that would inform his new comic book-- a couple being robbed for their engagement ring, with the thief needlessly taking their lives in the process.
O'Barr said that the sad story inspired Eric Draven's mission of revenge after becoming the Crow, and the things that Draven would do in order to set right the injustice that ultimately drove him and his love apart.
"That became the beginning of the focal point... the idea that there could be a love so strong... and this soul would not rest until it could set things right," he explained.
The Birds In The Movie Aren't REALLY Crows
Some birds are less trainable than others, and crows aren't typically a species of bird known for their ability to work on command-- not to mention that fact that crows aren't particular fond of people at best, and are physically aggressive towards them at worst.
Animal trainer Larry Madrid was brought aboard on The Crow and decided that ravens would be a suitable substitution for crows given their intelligence, ability to be trained, and better demeanor with humans. Plus, would the average person even known the difference anyway, especially given that much of the film is shrouded in darkness?
Only five real ravens were actually used during the production-- mostly for close-ups and the like-- with wide shots and scenes with larger flocks of birds relying on special effects trickery.
Other People Were Considered For The Lead Role
Even though The Crow was a fairly low-budget affair, it still had a cast of established actors and would've definitely benefited from an A-list lead.
Interestingly, because of the original comic's rock music influence and its many references to real musicians, producers initially considered casting a musician in the role of Eric Draven, thinking that a rocker would be a good fit for the obviously rock-and-roll-inspired anti-hero.
O'Barr had different ideas. Obviously, you want to shoot for the moon when dream-casting a movie based on something you wrote.
O'Barr was thinking that Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, and River Phoenix would've all been good fits for the lead.
Ultimately, Brandon Lee was chosen in large part because he had the physicality necessary for the role in addition to the acting chops.
There Are Many Misconceptions About The Tragic Accident
When someone leaves this world during the filming of a movie, there is bound to be all manner of myth and exaggeration that surrounding the event-- and Brandon Lee's ing is certainly no exception, with much false information being perpetuated about the incident over the years.
One of the most persistent rumors is that the moment that Lee lost his life as the result of a malfunctioning gun can be seen during the movie.
This is patently false, and in fact, great lengths seem to have been gone through to ensure that footage never be leaked. Additionally, many have claimed that Lee's life was lost instantly, but the reality is that he went through six hours of surgery before he ultimately lost his battle.
It was one of many accidents on set
While what happened to Brandon Lee is no doubt the biggest tragedy that occurred during the making of The Crow, the production had already been beset by accidents and injuries even before that unfortunate accident.
Among the incidents that took place on the set of The Crow were a carpenter driving a screwdriver through his hand, a stuntman falling through a roof, a disgruntled fired crewmember driving his car into an on-set workshop, an injury caused by a crane hitting live power lines, and a bad storm destroying large portions of the set.
Whether you believe in curses or not, this seems like a lot of mishaps to occur during the making of a movie.
Finishing Without Lee Was Expensive
Brandon Lee was only scheduled to film for three more days when he was taken from us, which doesn't seem like much in of getting enough footage to finish the movie but involved a few pivotal shots that just couldn't be done without.
After original distributor Paramount dropped The Crow following Lee's ing, Miramax stepped up to produce the movie.
The studio pitched in $8 million for whatever was necessary in of digital trickery to get Lee's uncompleted scenes finished.
It ended up ing for a third of the movie's entire budget, and involved cutting-edge technology-- the first of its kind to ever be used in a movie-- for a production that had been largely modest and low-fi up to that point.
Where the Iconic Make-Up came from
For anyone who read James O'Barr's original comics-- or picked up on the theatrical rock-and-roll vibe of the movie-- it seemed pretty obvious that the Crow's makeup was inspired by '70s rockers KISS and/or Alice Cooper, with the latter's performance make-up coming remarkably close to the Crow's painted look.
According to O'Barr himself, however, neither is true.
O'Barr borrowed the look and style of the Crow's make-up from a marionette mask he had seen on a sign on a London theater.
It turns out the mask just fit the rock vibe of the story, rather than the other way around.
The Crow's make-up and vibe would later do some inspiring of its own, as it heavily informed the re-branding of wrestler Sting in the mid-1990s.
Brandon Lee Asked For An Offensive Character To Be Removed
According to director Alex Proyas, Brandon Lee gave a lot of creative input on the script for The Crow, which Proyas says he was always open to as Lee had a lot of really interesting and valuable ideas-- many that involved trying to bring the movie closer to the tone of the original comic.
One of the biggest changes to the script that Lee himself is responsible for was the complete removal of an entire character: a villain who would've had the ability to steal Eric Draven's Crow powers.
Seeing the character as little more than a one-note Asian stereotype, Lee requested the character's removal-- and ended up getting his way. That's some progressive stuff for a movie made nearly 25 years ago.
James O'Barr Felt Guilty Profiting From The Movie
James O'Barr ended up feeling a lot of guilt about the movie adaptation of his work leading to the ing of Brandon Lee, not only because it was tragic in general but also because the pair had become friends during the making of the movie.
In fact, O'Barr would later reveal that he donated most of the money he received from the movie to charity, only buying his mother a car and treating himself to a surround sound system for his house before giving the rest away.
O'Barr says he tried to hide that fact from the public for many years, as he feels that giving to charity shouldn't be about announcing that you did so and that "it's not charity if you get credit for it."
