Ok, let’s get the relevant details out of the way immediately. They’re remaking The Crow and Stephen Norrington is being tapped to write and direct it.
The classic James O’Barr comic was adapted to screen in the nineties by director Alexy Proyas and it starred the late Brandon Lee in his final role. Lee was killed during filming in an eerie on-set firearms accident that hearkens back to a scene from Game of Death which starred his father Bruce Lee, who died from injuries sustained during the filming of a movie as well (well, the details are hazy on how the cerebral edema came about, but it’s still eerie… deal). There were a few sequels: a part two which got a proper theatrical release but unfortunately went in the wrong direction. While the O’Barr comics had a palpable ethereal quality they were not overtly supernatural. The comic (and the original film) was a sanguine tale of revenge whose focus was on love and loss. But the sequel hijacked the most mediocre of other-worldly plot-elements from the first film and ran off a cliff with them creating their own absurd mythos. The subsequent direct-to-DVD jalopies are hardly worth a mention beyond that they exist and the latest one featured a barely recognizable Edward Furlong in the pole position.
Anyhow, Norringtion says that “Whereas Proyas’ original was gloriously gothic and stylized, the new movie will be realistic, hard-edged and mysterious, almost documentary-style.”
The Proyas film was an amazing adaptation of O’Barr’s dark tale of love and revenge, keeping very faithful to both the style and tone of the black and white comic, so when I caught news of this Crow remake my first thought was, ‘Why? The original movie pretty much summed up the entirety of the story pretty damn well.’ And when I hear that Stephen Norrington has been tapped to write and direct this remake, my first thought is ‘OMG, Why?! Did any of you guys actually watch League of Extraordinary Gentleman?’ And when I hear that it’s going to be done in an “almost documentary-style” … well, I just wanna be sick. Sick like I’m sure to be after two hours in a dark theater watching Crow-verfield.
I guess I should steel myself against it because it looks like it’s gonna happen whether we want it or not.
[Variety]
Eeeeeverybody harps on LXG. Nobody remembers he also made Blade.
Personally, I wish they’d tackle another character without rehashing the Eric Draven story AGAIN (four is enough… seriously).
BUT, the idea of a Crow movie with some artistic blood pumped back into it, and filmed in a more realistic style (sounds more like Bourne than Blair Witch) does kind of intrigue me. I’m willing to give it a shot.
Comment by NeverWanderer — December 15, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
@NeverWanderer
Heh.. I’m well aware that Norringtion worked on Blade also I’m just not prepared to forgive him for LXG in the least amount. Now, if he was also responsible for Blade 2 I might have cut him some slack, but that was all Del Toro’s doing.
My point is The Crow was done, and done well, by Proyas. Why revisit this when there’s soooo much more good stuff going on in the comic world right now that could benefit from an adaptation. So much!! And again, I just don’t trust Norringtion to make a worthwhile edition. He’s never proved to me that he can do edgy documentary-style anything. And I’m really not one who wants to continue to support the ‘decade of the remake’ because Hollywood is too timid to make the kind of bold choice it took to get the first Crow adapted to screen when it was unknown to the mainstream in the first place.
Comment by Dave3 — December 15, 2008 @ 11:15 pm
The original Crow was and will always be my favorite movie of all time. The other Crow movies didn’t make sense and just kind of killed the story. Brandon Lee will always be Eric Draven in my mind. This remake will have to be nothing short of gold, similar to how The Dark Knight was compared to the original Batman movie. The problem is that the original Batman movie was more “comic-esque” style with over-the-top characters and story, while The Dark Knight was gritty, real, and nothing short of amazing. The Crow original was gritty, real, and…nothing short of amazing.
You could literally see these two movies actually happening in real-life, and the acting was phenomenal. I really find it hard to believe how this remake will be anything more than a rehash of the original with horrible acting and over-produced.
Comment by slayerboy — December 15, 2008 @ 11:56 pm
uhhsmmmeella….Ohh sorry, I just suddenly got that vomit taste in my mouth. umm, yeah…a crow doc…awesomeeeella. gahh happened again.
Comment by TechGOnzo — December 16, 2008 @ 2:40 am
NO….. JUST NO.
Comment by necrophantomasphixiation — December 16, 2008 @ 5:12 am
The original Crow film is a classic.
The sequels have been mediocre and a remake is insulting to everyone involved in the original.
Comment by Jerry — December 16, 2008 @ 8:17 am
Ah for the love of fuck! Really? Not only is the original a classic, why are we remaking movies that are barely ten years old? That were great the first time around. With all the stuff that made it so great stripped away from it?
Just… fuck.
Comment by The Rub — December 16, 2008 @ 9:28 am
Dear Hollywood go ahead and make a new Crow movie but leave the Eric Draven storyline alone.
Not every movie needs to be made in a realistic manner!!!!
Comment by zero1 — December 16, 2008 @ 9:44 am
@ The Rub First off, The Crow is 15 years old. Learn to count homeboy.
Secondly: Yes, just… fuck.
This is the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. It’s like attempting to remake Bram Stokers Dracula and re-casting Oldmen with Carrot Top. You just don’t do it. We’ll never see a remake of the source material like that again in our lifes for one simple reason: It was perfect the first time.
Comment by Handgun Jesus — December 16, 2008 @ 10:08 am
(Insert Cheesy Hate Comment) ^_^
Comment by JoJo — December 16, 2008 @ 3:47 pm
WTF!!!WTF!!! Can’t friggin hollywood come up with some original ideas of their own for crying out loud. The original Crow with Brandon Lee is an iconic classic. I couldn’t imagine anyone else playing the role of Eric Draven. This is a load of crap and quite shocking to hear about a remake. This is completely disrespectful to the entire original crew and cast!!!!!!
Comment by Dragon72 — December 17, 2008 @ 1:16 am
@Dave3
No, I definitely get what you’re saying!
I think I’d probly be a lot less tolerant of this idea if I hadn’t seen pretty much the EXACT same thing done with the Eric Draven Crow comic back in the 90s.
McFarlane put out a full color series retelling the Eric Draven story as more of a dark, dingy detective story, and with some of the same character moments as the movie. Basically a marriage of the original comic and the Proyas flick.
Now, as someone who swears by the original James O’Barr masterpiece, I was EXTREMELY skeptical… but then I read the comic and was amazed by how well done it was.
Do I like that they’re retelling Eric’s story? No. Do I like that Hollywood is doing nothing new and original with their genre films? No.
But on the other hand, I don’t think any of those factors will decide whether or not this movie turns out good or not.
As for Norrington, he’s about broken even with me. I loved Blade, hated LXG. Even stevens. Plus, I’ve heard plenty of places that his experience on LXG was miserable because of issues with the studio and with the actors. Considering it was a 20th Century Fox production, I’m more inclined to believe they were being their typical domineering selves and didn’t let him make the movie he wanted to make. That puts a little more favor on his side for me.
Either way, I’m just not willing to call foul yet. The actual factors that will decide the quality of the film haven’t been established yet. And, again, I LOVE the idea of a “found footage” style Crow film.
Comment by NeverWanderer — December 17, 2008 @ 4:50 am
I do love that in the context of the article, Brandon Lee looks more annoyed than anything in that picture. ^_^
Comment by NeverWanderer — December 17, 2008 @ 11:15 am
Unless this was a SinCity-like movie based on “The Crow Author’s Edition” (see http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/thecrow/ ) I would hate a remake was made
Comment by John — December 18, 2008 @ 2:24 pm
leave the crow alone!! or write a different plot and not like the last three which were a total abomination. no remakes for me,please.
Comment by vvt — December 24, 2008 @ 5:38 am
ok the crow remake umm let me see NOOOOO F***ING WAY WHAT A DUMBASS THING 2 DO i liked the crow 1-3 but BRANDON LEE WAS THE FIRST AND ONLY CROW leve it alone stupid hollywood is runing out of ideas seriously just leve the classic crow alone
Comment by lesia — January 17, 2010 @ 4:50 pm
don’t fix it if it ain’t broke, remakes only work with movies like the ring and the departed, those movies really were set apart from the originals but that Alex Proyas film is a masterpiece, hollywood should keep its fucking hands off of it. Norrington was just fantastic with his work in Blade, he could make another Crow sequel but a Crow remake? no fucking way
Comment by romeo — November 13, 2010 @ 6:24 am