The Crow
We have seen a lot of comic books adapted for the big screen over the years but one of the most iconic remains Alex Proyas’ interpretation of The Crow.
Proyas was in the director’s chair for the movie while Brandon Lee took on the central character of Eric Draven - a man who is revived from the dead to avenge his murder and the murder of his fiancee.
The Crow remains one of the best comic book movies that has ever hit the big screen as Proyas was not afraid to tackle the dark aspects of the story.
He produced one of the greatest gothic movies of all time that was dark, eerie, and atmospheric as well as having a real beauty to it.
There was a terrific central performance by Brandon Lee as he dominated ever scene that he was in - a performance that was made all the more powerful by his untimely death during the shooting of the movie.
The Crow is a film that has gone on to gain cult status over the years as it is a movie that still fascinates and intrigues audiences to this day.
Since the movie’s release back in 1994 there have been a string of sequels that have tried to recapture the essence of the original but all of them have failed miserably - seriously they are all rubbish and you wonder why Hollywood ever allowed these movies to be made.
But a remake of this classic movie is in the pipeline - and has been for some time as Bradley Cooper was originally linked to take on the central role.
Now being a firm fan of the original seeing this gothic great remade for a new audience does make me a little nervous as well as a little sad.
And while many fans of the original may not be looking forward to this sequel there was some good news this week in that it was revealed that Tom Hiddleston was in talks for the lead role.
I am a huge fan of Hiddleston as he is a super talented actor who has a long a very bright future ahead of him. He has a real presence on the screen and he delivers characters that have a real depth to them.
Loki in Thor and Avengers Assemble is the character that has really put his on the map but he has not depicted him as a villain who simply wants to take over the world; instead he is a character who has major internal conflictions as well as being driven by pain and betrayal.
I do think that Hiddleston would be a terrific choice as Eric Draven and it would lessen my fears about this remake as the character really would be in excellent hands.
Also while The Crow is a fantastic movie you have to remember that comic book film were not the force and box office success back then that they are now. So the film was restricted in term of budget as they were not throwing around the same amounts of money for films in this genre back then.
Today comic book moves really do rule the box office as hit after hit after hit is being released from the likes of Iron Man and Avengers Assemble to the dark Batman trilogy - all enjoying critical and commercial success.
This time around The Crow will have a great budget to play with along with all the technological toys that come along with the time that we live in.
But are the restrictions of the mid nineties what make The Crow so great? This is not a movie that is powered by CGI or ruined when the CGI is not up to scratch. This is not a movie that has, for some unknown reason, been made into 3D and so Proyas was allowed to concentrate on the story and the characters.
Spanish filmmaker F. Javier Gutierrez will be in the director’s chair for the film, and while he is an unknown name Spanish cinema has been delivering some fantastic and dark movies in recent years; the like of The Orphanage and [Rec] particularly stand out.
Spanish film and the director’s that work there really seem to understand and use the power of darkness and that is something that was very present in the original movie.
A remake of The Crow is never going to win over all of the fans of the original but if this is a film that doesn’t get lost in all of the CGI and whether to make it a 3D movie or not it could be a success.
Tagged in Brandon Lee Tom Hiddleston