THE BLACK LIGHT:
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                             THE CROW

In this installment of The Black Light, we focus on The Crow -
the comic, the movie, the soundtrack, and the general atmosphere
of it.  Created in the 1980's as a graphic novel by James O'Barr,
The Crow gained a cult following as most traditionally Gothic
creations have.  Hidden amongst stacks of Batman and The X-Men,
The Crow had a very underground group of readers for a number of
years, until it was released in 1994 as a major motion picture.
Since then, the graphic novel sales have skyrocketed, proving
that once again (take a look at The Cure, for example) mainstream
Gothicism can be successful with the right motivation behind it.


THE MOVIE - The Crow originally starred Brandon Lee as Eric
Draven, the man who eventually becomes The Crow after he and his
fiancee are brutally murdered.  He returns as an avenging spirit,
his goal being to wipe out the gang that killed him and his
girlfriend.  Ironically enough, one of the more bizarre aspects
of the movie is the fact that Brandon Lee was killed (whether it
was accidental is undetermined in this conspiratorially-minded
writer's mind) halfway through the filming of the movie.  Kind of
spooky, eh?  I remember watching the movie early one morning
after a coffee and modemming binge with Doctor Strange, and all I
could think about was that I was watching a dead guy.  Obviously.
But no, he's REALLY dead.  In real life, he's dead.  That would
be in real death, wouldn't it?  Whatever...

I liked the movie, though, and I have to recommend it to anyone
out hunting for a dark, violent, and image-filled flick with that
street-slick rough-edged feel to it.  The gangsters were
especially cool : Funboy was this wild, speed-crashed junkie
psychotic, T-Bird had the greasy hair, shades, and souped up
motherlovin' Bird, Skank was just this skanked out dude... The
characterizations were almost hilarious to see, they were so
sharply defined.  Top Dollar, the gangboss, had this thing with
swords and eyeballs...

Lastly, let me take a look at the special effects.  There is one
scene from The Crow that you never forget, ever... The part just
after Eric Draven has blown T-Bird out of the water (so to speak)
and he drops his lighter or something, and you get this perfect
overhead shot of the Crow symbol tracing itself out in flame on
the pavement... I wish I had a personal icon like that.  People
would bow down to me and kiss my feet, if I had a logo like that,
just this flame thing forever following constantly...  I can see
it now, "The Coyote"... This could be a real cool idea...

THE SOUNDTRACK - I liked it.  I bought it.  I listen to it every
day.  In fact, it's the only CD I own, considering the rest of
them were removed from my possession.  We won't go into it.
Sometimes I wish they would release the orchestrated movie score
music as well, but unfortunately this isn't the case here.  But
aside from this fact, I do like it, even though there are bad
songs along with the good.  Here's the rundown :

BURN by The Cure - If I hadn't seen the movie I wouldn't have
really given it much attention, but because it so perfectly fit
with the scene where Eric puts on his makeup, it conjures up
mental imagery that I like.

GOLGOTHA TENEMENT BLUES by Machines Of Loving Grace - Pretty
smooth beat to it, I like the way the singers soft voice fits so
well with the harsh bass lines and purcussion.

BIG EMPTY by Stone Temple Pilots - No thanks.  It's the best STP
song I've ever heard, and that's not saying much.

DEAD SOULS by Nine Inch Nails - It's relaxing, if you find a
perpetual chainsaw buzzing relaxing.  But it's a very musical
kind of angry powertool abrasion, and I have to admit I like it.

DARKNESS by Rage Against The Machine - What am I missing here?
Are RATM hiphoppers or something?  This song sucks - not to
mention, it's completely out of place on this soundtrack.  It
just doesn't JIVE with the atmosphere.

COLOR ME ONCE by Violent Femmes - Kinda nondescript.  It works,
but I'm not too big on it.  Next.

GHOSTRIDER by Rollins Band - Didn't this guy used to be a cop or
something?  I like Rollins, he's got a pissy attitude and he
reflects this in whatever he's singing - he could be belting out
'Mary Had A Little Lamb' and it would still convey this utter
hatred against the world.

MILKTOAST by Helmet - Kind of reminds me of I Mother Earth, but
Page!  Man!  Make up your mind - a rocker or a jock?  Not really
worth mentioning to your friends, but I'm a recent convertee to
Helmet, what with "Symptoms Of The Universe" on the Jerky Boys
soundtrack... So I like it, no more, no less.

THE BADGE by Pantera - Hm.  I'm not sure yet whether killing cops
and their families and their dogs because of the image they
project fits with the entire gist of The Crow.  I mean, one of
the main good guys is a cop... ?  As for the song, well... Ever
heard a Pantera song?  This is just like it.

SLIP SLIDE MELTING by For Love Not Lisa - I kinda like this song.
It's punk without being PUNK, it's kind of an all out "I'd REALLY
Do Anything For You" kind of love song... You know "I wouldn't
really lie for you or let you take advantage of me like all those
jelly-spined goons out there, but I'd die for you and that's what
counts".  But not in those words.

SNAKEDRIVER by Jesus And Mary Chain - I didn't like it, at first.
It's that kind of song that slowly grows on you.  Of course,
could be wrong, it could just be that I've fallen madly and
hopelessly in love with Hope Sandoval (Hell, she's not even IN
Jesus And Mary Chain!  She only did ONE song with them!)  Oh
well, it'll pass.  Probably.

AFTER THE FLESH by Thrill Kill Kult - Buy the damn CD just to
hear that guy say, "I am the new way to go... I am the way of the
future"... That makes it all worthwhile.

TIME BABY III by Medicine - Neat.  Uhmmm... Kinda technish, not
really my style, kind of a light-hearted version of Ministry.  Or
maybe a hardcore version of Enya.

IT WON'T RAIN ALL THE TIME by Jane Siberry - I wish I could say I
love this song, but it would damage my reputation as a macho
chauvinistic emotionless bastard... Whoa, wait, you say I don't
really have a reputation of that kind at all?  Okay.  I love this
song.  It's mushy, it's kind of depressing, but there's this
insane feel to it that just appeals to me desperately.

According to Doctor Strange, he heard a Voodoo Monster Machine
song somewhere in the background while he was watching the movie,
and so far we've been unable to locate it in the soundtrack... So
it could just be an uncredited track, although that wouldn't
explain why there are songs that aren't even IN the movie in the
first place on the soundtrack.


THE COMIC - Like I said before it was originated in 1988 by James
O'Barr. Weren't you listening the first time?  It's possible that
O'Barr was inspired to create The Crow when his wife and unborn
daughter were killed in a car accident with a drunk.  When the
book first came out, it was black and white print, and to my
knowledge it still is (although hey, maybe they've upgraded it
with the release of the movie and all), and it was under the Dark
Horse label, I think.  Oh no, wait, it was under Caliber.

It's interesting to note, I think, that James O'Barr was not only
the writer, but also the artist and the inker.  In issue one of
The Crow, he opens the doors to a dark and gritty main street
reality of life and death, a bittersweet love story.  Which is
what The Crow is, basically : A love story, with a tragic ending.

So where can you get this great book?  Well, it was originally
sold for about 2 bucks, but thanks to the success of the movie
it's worth well over $30.00 at the moment... If you've got a copy
lying around, take care of it, because a movie sequel to The Crow
would skyrocket the collector's price near utopia.  Sequel?
Right, more about that later.

Just a side remark before I go on - Apparently there are some
Crow comics floating around written by Neil Gaiman, of Sandman
and Animalman fame... If you should find one of these, do
yourself a favor and hold onto it.


THE STORY - Well, here's the down and dirty deal.  It's Devil's
Night (presumably Hallowe'en) and it's the night before the
wedding of rocker Eric Draven and his girlfriend Shelley.  They
live in the loft of an old cathedral, which has been rebuilt as a
tenement, and Shelley especially has been very active in getting
rid of the criminal vagrants who are taking up refuge in the
building.  Without warning, a gang of these thugs break into
their loft and murder them both gruesomely, then destroy the
apartment.

However, all hope is not lost... a crow brings Eric's soul back
from beyond, and he returns to wreak havok on the lives of those
who ended his life, and to revenge his loved one's soul.  It
turns out that the gang that killed them are under the wing of
Top Dollar, a ganglord with a penchant for black magic.  Eric
fights his way to the top of the list, leaving a bloody trail of
dead hoodlums all the while and taking some time to help a little
girl and a tough old cop.

Eric has a quick wit to compliment his violent tendancies, and
this makes the movie all the more enjoyable to view.  He makes
perversely memorable comments like "Victims... Aren't we all?" Or
'Don't move or you're dead!', "And I say I'm dead... and I
move...", while all the while stabbing Funboy with syringes and
jumping out of windows and blowing up cars.


BRANDON'S (AND ERIC'S) DEATH - As you may or may not know,
Brandon Lee is the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee (See The
Dragon and you'll get to see a kid play young Brandon Lee) who
was mysteriously killed during the filming of the ironically
named 'Game of Death'.  Even more ironically, Brandon Lee himself
was killed during the filming of The Crow, itself a movie
basically about death.  The circumstances surrounding this are
rumorous and many, so I'd like to clear things up with some prime
information I dug up straight from the director, Alex Proyas.

At one point in the movie, during a flashback, in fact, of Eric
Draven back to before he became The Crow, there is a scene where
he enters the room carrying a bag of groceries to see Funboy
raping Shelley.  Funboy pulls out a shotgun and shoots Eric in
the chest with a blank (a bullet with no powder) which was
supposed to release a blood pack in the grocery bag. At the end
of each day, the armsmaster was supposed to check all the weapons
and make sure they were harmless for the next day. However, he
was myseriously absent, and the propsmaster instead cocked
Funboy's shotgun, accidentally knocking out the blank and putting
an empty cartridge in the barrel instead.  The bullet went right
through the grocery bag and out the other side, and killed
Brandon almost instantly.  The footage was edited out and
destroyed, but only half the movie had been filmed.

What could the producers do?  They could scrap the film, but it
was a talented, accomplished actor's last work: it seemed almost
dishonorable.  After all, it hadn't stopped the producers of
'Game of Death' when his father had died... So they went ahead
with it.  The special effects wizards took a body double and
plastered Brandon's face on him seamlessly, took voice clippings
and developed an Eric Draven voice synth to say his lines, and
basically cut and pasted like never before.  For this reason
alone, The Crow is on my top ten list of movies with the best
Special FX, because when you're watching the movie you CANNOT
TELL where Brandon left off and the body double took over.

I would think that the other actors would've been quite paranoid
about the rest of the movie, considering their leading man had
been killed.  This is not the kind of thing that happens
commonly.  The world lost a skilled entertainer when it lost
Brandon Lee, and we truly mourn his passing.


THE CROW II - Okay, more rumors.  I particularly like these ones,
though =).  Nothing here is to be taken as the Gospel truth, I've
heard these things unofficially, however trustworthy my sources
have always been in the past.

Apparently, James O'Barr is casting around for a sequel to The
Crow.  The hero will NOT be Eric Draven this time, however; which
is plausible seeing as how he finished avenging in the first
movie.  So who will it be?  This is good: Jon Bon Jovi was
rumored to be playing a FEMALE Crow.  Bwahahahahahaha.... I
really don't like Bon Jovi much.  Actually, the truth is that The
Crow ][ HAS been announced, with a brand-new actor taking the
helm of Eric Draven.  Apparently, the story is about Shelly (now
grown up) who sees The Crow again and they fall in love.  Or
something.


BITS AND CHUNKS - There's a cameo of James O'Barr in the movie,
he's stealing a TV from Mr. Gideon's shop after it was blown up.
Also, one of the baddies at Top Dollar's long-table get-together
was one of the script-writers, although I'm not sure who.

If you look close, you can see a scar on Eric's face, from under
his eye to the top of his nose.  This was intentional: Eric was
shot in the head, originally (in the graphic novel).  It was
scarring from torn bone.  It's interesting how ghosts can have
scars, but no mortal can hurt them, eh?

The scene where Albrecht and Eric are in Albrecht's apartment was
COMPLETELY adlibbed.  Nothing they say was in the script
anywhere.

I'm sure you all know this, but when Eric starts quoting poetry
(I think it's in Gideon's shop) it's an excerpt from Edgar Allen
Poe's 'The Raven'.  I knew they'd put that in there somewhere.

More cameos : Both Medicine and Thrill Kill Kult appear in the
movie, they play in the pub\bar\club\whatever that Funboy and
Daria hang around.

I could go on and on about the Director's Cut, but I'm not going
to.  Suffice it to say there's a guy named The Skull Cowboy, and
he's got this thing against Eric returning to the mortal world.
It's directly his fault that Eric gets hurt at the end, it really
has nothing to do with the crow getting shot itself.

The little crow never existed, it was completely
graphics-generated.

WHY DONCHA TAKE A LOOK AT THESE FLICKS, IF THE CROW WAS SO
FUCKING WONDERFUL :

Blade Runner
Batman (don't bother with Batman Returns)
Batman: Forever
Ghost
Any adaptation of an Edgar Allen Poe story or poem
An American Werewolf In London

Or check out Doctor Strange's video collection (bahaha)...

If I had more time I'd think of some more...

Anyways, that's a wrap.  Next installment we'll look at something
totally different.  Have a nice day.




AUTHOR: Coyote