Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		2.5

The Crow Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 4, 2024

It's probably not a good sign when a supplement on a disc includes the director of a film mentioning how it was being written as it was being shot, perhaps comically offering a "not an ideal situation" as a reaction. The Crow frankly seems to have been a cursed property from the get go, or at least its first film adaptation, which infamously and tragically included the death of star Brandon Lee due to a freak accident. That very death probably brought that first film some attention it may not have merited otherwise, but one way or the other, it was rather celebrated in its day, doing brisk enough box office that several sequels including The Crow: City of Angels, The Crow: Salvation and The Crow: Wicked Prayer came along, each with a new if not exactly improved actor taking over the title role. There was also a short lived television property entitled The Crow: Stairway to Heaven, with yet another actor portraying the tragic anti-hero. All of this may then beg the question as to why another adaptation was really necessary, and that question may keep recurring to audiences who watch this effort. There's admittedly quite a stylish effort on display, but it often seems as moribund as The Crow (Bill Skarsgård this time 'round) himself.

If the film itself has manifest issues, one supplement on this disc may be worth the price of admission, even if it's rather short and could have been a much longer, more in depth, piece. That particular bonus feature is a brief homage to the late Edward R. Pressman, a fascinating impresario who evidently grew up the scion of a famous toy company owner, which Pressman's son Sam in some sweet interviews mentions may have given his father an almost genetic understanding of "IP" (intellectual property) and merchandise tie ins to various films. That data point aside, Pressman's actual film producing credits read like a who's who list of directors (many of whom were nurtured in their early careers by Pressman), and whose own credits as either producer or executive producer include everything from (unsurprisingly) the 1994 version of The Crow and its sequels, but an absolutely amazing run of notable films like Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Wall Street , Talk Radio, Blue Steel, Reversal of Fortune, Bad Lieutenant, The Island of Dr. Moreau , Badlands, Das Boot, American Psycho, The Pirates of Penzance, Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer.

That list (which is far from complete) is rather gobsmacking in and of itself, though Sam Pressman readily admits that while he was privileged to grow up on many film sets where his father had a hand in the production, he was often largely unaware of "backstage drama" like the now infamous conflicts that broke out during The Island of Dr. Moreau in particular. That may indicate that the elder Pressman was no stranger to things spinning out of control, but it may also beg another question as to why Pressman might have allowed rights to be doled out for yet another attempt at making The Crow.

In true Paul Harvey fashion (look him up if you don't recognize the name), "the rest of the story" actually kicks into high gear, or at least gear, after Pressman signed off on a remake or reboot or whatever you'd like to call this entry. As co-producer Molly Hassell at least alludes to in the rather long making of set of featurettes, and despite her production entity's cheeky name, this was not a hassle (and/or Hassell) free production, and it underwent both a long and torturous "development hell", and a seemingly equally troubled shoot, as evidenced by the fact the film was still being written as actors were already in front of cameras.

All of this background information is simply to indicate that what ended up on the screen is kind of a jumbled mess, one that's not particularly helped by the fact that The Crow is almost an ancillary character in this version, at least in his guise as The Crow, with this film instead concentrating on a doomed, star-crossed love affair between The Crow (AKA Eric) and Shelly (FKA Twigs), two young people institutionalized for various reasons, but who find (if I may quote the title of a fun Walker Percy novel) "love in the ruins", with those "ruins" referring both to the rehab facility as well as the "outside world" once the lovers escape from their confinement.

Those who already know the basic outlines of the tale will sense "happily ever after" isn't exactly in the cards, and in fact there's a pretty clear reference to Orpheus (the myth, if not this particular film), as Shelly and Eric meet their fate at the hands of villain Roeg (Danny Huston), only to have Eric resurrected as the title character in order to avenge Shelly's death and perhaps reanimate her. The approach here is almost willfully tangential at times to the original formulation, but that odd decision is probably further debilitated by some really clunky writing and especially by some "not ready for prime time" performances, notably music star KFA Twigs.

The Crow Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Crow is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. As of the writing of this review, the IMDb doesn't really offer much in the way of technical data points, and I maybe surprisingly haven't been able to dredge anything up online, which, along with some fleeting but still unable to be identified looks at the cameras in the making of featurette, does not allow me to authoritatively mention a camera or a DI resolution. The digital capture here is fantastically precise looking a lot of the time, though, and there's the kind of uptick in fine detail when comparing Lionsgate's 4K UHD edition to this already great looking 1080 presentation that leads me to believe this probably had a 4K DI, but as always with my reviews, if anyone is privy to verifiable information, PM me and I'll happily update things here. Mentioning that 4K UHD edition leads me to cut to the chase and recommend those with the appropriate setups who may be interested in this release to opt for that version, as it improves both detail levels and palette highlights, though those with "only" 1080 setups are still going to get an eyeful with this version. Despite the kind of surprisingly shoddy writing and some of the less than engaging performances, there's some visual flair on display here, and this presentation offers perhaps unexpectedly consistent detail levels given the glut of lighting and/or grading changes. A lot of the film is graded toward cooler tones, as can probably be gleaned in some of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review, and to my eyes this 1080 version had a slightly more blue (as opposed to blue-green or even teal) look than the 4K UHD version. There are any number of other interestingly lit and/or graded scenes in the film which pop pretty dramatically throughout. The addition of digital grain is probably at least a bit more subliminal at this resolution, as is the maybe questionable decision to try to make it look slightly yellow at times. Some quick flashback moments, as in the horrifying opening vignette featuring a horse caught in barbed wire, have a much grittier looking digital grain field than the bulk of the presentation.

The Crow Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Crow features a nicely layered and consistently immersive Dolby Atmos track. A surplus of ambient environmental sounds ranging from almost startle effect worthy crow cawing to weather events like rain are regularly offered in the side and rear channels, as well as least occasionally out of the Atmos speakers. The most discernable overhead activity to my ears was actually kind of intermittent and expectedly tied to brief visuals of flying or other aerial / overhead shots. There's a really nicely forceful midrange and low end that shows off some of the scoring to good effect. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Crow Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• True Love Never Dies: Making The Crow (HD; 1:05:56) is a well done multi part documentary that includes some interesting (if self revelatory) production information courtesy of quite a few interviews with cast and crew.


• Dark Romance: The Score (HD; 11:27) features composer Volker Betelmann.


• Reborn Through Revenge: Main Title Sequence (HD; 2:06) looks at the stylish opening credits.


• Every Film is a Miracle: A Tribute to Edward R. Pressman (HD; 11:08) is the above mentioned brief featurette devoted to the producer, with a title that is perhaps unintentionally and ironically disproven by The Crow.


• Deleted Scenes (HD; 5:53)


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 3:08)

Lionsgate sent its 4K UHD release for purposes of this review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release comes with DVD and digital copies, and packaging featuring a slipcover.

The Crow Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This particular Crow never really takes flight, and in fact the character of The Crow shows up rather remarkably late In the tale. That said, there are some highly stylized visuals and a baroque sound design that are both offered excellently on this 4K UHD disc, and those technical merits along with some enjoyable supplements may entice those who may be considering making a purchase.