Review of Crow, The Collector`s Series

Introduction

Brandon Lee followed his legendary father Bruce into movies and was just beginning to make a name for himself when he was accidentally killed during the making of the 1994 thriller, The Crow. The makers used state-of-the-art CGI to put Brandon into the scenes that he hadn`t completed and the film was released as a tribute to the young star.

Director Alex Proyas` vision of The Crow is a beautifully made dark thriller which tells the story of revenge and retribution following the brutal murder of guitarist Eric Draven (Lee) and his fiancée.

Video

The original Region 1 release of The Crow featured a non-anamorphic widescreen that wasn`t entirely satisfactory at times – this new release replaces the video with 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen which features significantly better image quality.

The video is generally grain free, but the image still isn`t quite as sharp as it could be, although in the film`s defence, it`s shot entirely at night and is a very dark movie in more ways that just the plot.

The Crow is a very stylish film, featuring a great deal of aerial shots, fast action, tracking shots (using models) and it looks pretty good, although some of the models are a bit too obvious compared to today`s CGI effects wizardry.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 5.1 of the original release is accompanied by a DTS 5.1 track on the new release, and I chose the DTS track whilst watching the film.

When I first saw this film in the cinema, I was very impressed with the soundtrack (and I have the CD somewhere) – the DTS track on this disc replays the music with all the power and range that the director intended. Good use is made of the available channels for effects and atmosphere – look out for rain and lightning in particular.

The dialogue is always clear and understandable during the film.

Features

Being a "Collector`s Series" release you would expect plenty of extras, and you won`t be disappointed, with a wealth of features on offer including: a commentary from the producer and screenwriter, a behind-the-scenes featurette, a profile of the creator of the comic strip on which the film was based, extended scenes, a montage of deleted footage, concept posters, design stills, storyboards, DVD-ROM games, screenplay and weblinks.

The disc is packaged in a black double case, which includes a single sheet card insert detailing the eighteen chapter breaks.

Conclusion

This superb film is fast-paced and violent as a resurrected Draven returns to brutally kill all the members of the gang that raped and murdered his girlfriend. What sets The Crow aside from any number of other action thrillers is that it is also a very moving film, with a superb performance from Brandon Lee and it is a great shame that his tragic death during the filming prevented him from going on to make more movies of this quality. The Crow has been on my list of favourite films ever since I saw it at the cinema when it was originally released and if you`ve only the two very poor follow-up films, do yourself a favour and watch the original, it is in a different class altogether.

As far as this "Collector`s Series" DVD goes, it is a great deal better than the original Region 1 release, and I am very pleased that I "upgraded" my copy. The picture is better, mainly from being anamorphically enhanced, and of course the addition of a DTS 5.1 soundtrack is a huge bonus for those with the suitable replay equipment to appreciate the great soundtrack.

There`s also a great range of extras spread over the two-disc package and when compared to the dismal full-frame Region 1 release, this is the only way to own this film.