A Crow resurrection ‘cawwed’ for

The Crow was released on May 13, 1994, and was the number one movie in America in its first weekend. Critics, including Roger Ebert and Rolling Stone's Peter Travers, praised the movie. Its total domestic gross was nearly $51 million.

Talk of a reboot has been circling since 2008. The movie lost several stars and directors and rendered the production company's bankruptcy, but news recently emerged that a new movie -- to be directed by Rupert Sanders, starring Bill Skarsgård, FKA Twigs and Danny Huston -- is expected to be released by Lionsgate in 2024.

The Crow follows musician Eric Draven (Brandon Lee), who is resurrected from the dead to seek vengeance against the gang that murdered he and his fiance, Shelly Webster (Sofia Shinas), all the while being pursued by a sympathetic police officer.

Unfortunately, I don't think The Crow got the feedback it deserved due to the tragedy that occurred on set, which overshadowed the film -- its star actor died on set.

In the film, a flashback sequence that showed how Lee's charracter died -- as he walked into the apartment he shared with Shelly to find her being raped and beaten by Top Dollar's henchmen, Funboy (Michael Massee) would pull out his .44 Magnum and shoot him. That's not quite how things turned out, however.

Reports state that the script of The Crow called for a close-up of the loaded weapon. The crew, following standard procedure when using. When the close-up was finished, the gun was unloaded, then reloaded with blanks. Blanks sound as loud as real bullets, but when they are fired, only the harmless cardboard wadding with which they are packed is ejected from the gun. This time, though, the action was far from benign. Funboy pulled the trigger, and Lee slumped to the ground, a hole the size of a quarter in his lower right abdomen.

Reports say that Lee was rushed to the hospital, but couldn't be saved. He died that afternoon at 28 years old.

It turns out, both dummy bullets and the blanks used on the production "had hastily been fabricated by taking out the gunpowder from real bullets because of the time pressure crew members were under," one report says. The lead tip of the dummy bullet became lodged in the barrel of the gun and "pushed out by the blank charge, scratched the bottom of the shopping bag before perforating Lee's navel."

The death of Lee did not stop the franchise' success.

"The Crow: City of Angels," starring Mia Kirshner as Sarah and Vincent Perez as The Crow, Ashe Corven, was released in 1996. In 1998, there was a short-lived TV series called "The Crow: Stairway to Heaven" starring Mark Dacascos. Then, in 2000, Kirsten Dunst and Eric Mabius starred in another movie, "The Crow: Salvation." That was followed in 2005 by "The Crow: Wicked Prayer," which starred Tara Reid, David Boreanaz and Edward Furlong.

In an interview, a Lionsgate executive said they appreciate what the original movie meant to legions of fans. "This new film will offer audiences an authentic and visceral reinterpretation of its emotional power and mythology."

I am not normally a fan of sequels and remakes. In this case, a crow resurrects someone they believe needs to set things right so changing the characters with each movie gives the "The Crow" a new hero with a new vendetta.

However, Lee brought this not-so everyday hero to life.

The Crow didn't have a huge budget, so the filmmakers used trickery to get the shots they needed. The opening scene shows a city on fire. It is clear the production used miniatures and projection technology.

For someone watching this when the movie was already 20 years old the opening was my least favorite thing due to the poor quality, but that was the technology we had then. And that is why I do have high hopes for the 2024 version

of The Crow.