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Plot
Halloween night in Detroit: Eric and Shelley are planning to marry. Their hope of a life together is savagely shattered by a criminal group led by Top Dollar, who murders him and rapes her, thereby killing her: she will die in the hospital after thirty hours of agony. Eric will return to life a year later, thanks to the imperial crow's powers, so that he can execute his revenge and rest in peace.
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Why you should watch it?
- Symbolgy of the crow: The crow is considered to be the bird that eats corpses, ripping their eyeballs out of their sockets.
Some Native American cultures regard the animal as a symbol of increased consciousness, with its black feathers resembling a real route to infinity. The Craw has intrigued many cultures and is associated with many different symbologies. It is a possessor of divinatory skills, protection from black magic, and a personification of Satan. Many of these beliefs are reflected in the film, such as the antagonists' characterization of the bird as an omen of death. The cawing of a crow portends death and sorrow; nevertheless, seeing one perched on a chimney presages imminent revenge. Malphas, a powerful spirit at the head of legions of demons, appears as a crow when summoned before taking human form, according to the work Ars Goetia, a collection of black magic methods. The Crow is a vengeance sign. Eric reappears as the incarnation of Malphas from beyond the grave to atone for Shelly's death. Eric not only has a connection to the bird that gives the film its name. In truth, Top Dollar's buddy is based on the legend that crows peck at the eyeballs of the deceased. Indeed, the vampire-like maiden has an obsessive fixation with gouging out her lover's intended victims' eyes.
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- "It Can't Rain All The Time" : "The Crow" is an outstanding cinematic masterpiece by Alex Proyas, with a high visual style that is gothic and decadent, a film filmed entirely at night, with the use of gloomy colors like black, gray, and a startling blood red that fills the flashback sequences in which Eric relives the night of his murder. The story has a strong emotional impact, with themes of love, death, and murder, but most importantly, the protagonist's vengeance. While the rain continues to fall, Eric becomes one with the magical creature of the crow, a symbol of death and revenge, who follows him into the city's most perilous alleys. Thanks to Eric's remark "It can't rain forever" and Jane Siberry's magnificent ballad "It Can't Rain All The Time," which is featured in the end credits, the rain has become the genuine icon of the picture. Only at the end of the film, after the protagonist has cleansed the entire city of Evil, will the rain cease falling. The director has taken into account all of the animal's various symbologies, combining them into one grand manifesto of vengeance, power, and foresight. The animal offers Eric power in the story, forming an unbreakable relationship between them. They both have the power to fly at night (no scenes are set during the day), and because they have a privileged point of view, they can know and learn everything before everyone else.
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- The last film of Brandon Lee: What happened to Brandon Lee, and how did he die? A guns consultant who was present on set every day was not paid, as would have been appropriate, presumably to save money. Basic safety guidelines were openly disregarded: for example, weapons were directed directly at the players (which is something they try to prevent by toying with shots), no checks were performed, and in several instances, actual bullets containing gunpowder were used instead of inert rounds. One of the rounds became lodged in the barrel of a gun subsequently loaded with blank cartridges (gunpowder but no bullet) and used in the scene where Eric enters his flat and discovers four thugs raping Shelly. Despite six hours of surgery in a North Carolina hospital, that bullet embedded in the barrel discharged at high speed and hit Brandon Lee in the chest, there was nothing Brandon Lee could do.
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- Soundtrack: Aside from the visual design and script, "The Crow" has another strong suit: the soundtrack. It helps to create a firm empathy between the viewer and the protagonist, tuning the emotions to Eric's anger and pain and making the film compelling from beginning to end, perfectly harmonized with the dark hues of the plot and composed of scratchy tracks by rock and metal bands such as Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, The Cure, and Pantera.
Conclusion
It's one-of-a-kind...unique...absolutely beautiful in every way! The Crow is a film that perfectly captures the style of someone who knows how to be himself. Grim when required, but also a call to life...to love...to justice that understands how to be clean even if it tastes like revenge! It's a quest for the sun that never beams. It's the kind of love that knows no bounds... No one should ever lose that hope... One can continue to live after death...in the hearts of those who love! One of my favorite movies (so my vote can be a little biased).
Rating
My personal vote is:
9.0/10.0
