“The Raven” with Brandon Lee, despite the actor’s tragic death, premiered in the US on May 13, 1994 and received extremely positive reviews from critics. The film turned out to be an unexpected hit, because with a budget of $23 million it earned $94 million in theaters. It was not without significance that the film directed by Alex Proyas was much darker than adaptations of comic books such as “” and “Superman”.
The production, which drew heavily from the gothic subculture, skillfully used countercultural inspirations, which was further highlighted by the extremely accurate and atmospheric selection of the soundtrack. The creators reached, among others: to songs from the genre of industrial and heavy metal music. During the film, bands that are now considered cult can be heard. We are talking about groups such as The Cure, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine and Stone Temple Pilots. As a result, the film has developed a fan cult. By the way, it is worth adding that Dariusz Wolski, a cinematographer born in Warsaw, was responsible for the photos for “The Raven”. Later, he became famous for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series of films; he also worked on, among others, with Tim Burton. He especially enjoys filming with him, having hired him for nine of his productions.
They said from the very beginning that “The Raven” was a cursed film
The emotions surrounding “The Raven” were undoubtedly fueled by the tragic events surrounding the production. First of all, the comic book on which the film’s script was based had a dark history. Its author, James O’Barr, created it to deal with the tragic death of his fiancée, who died in an accident caused by a drunk driver. It is therefore hardly surprising that the plot is about a lover seeking revenge.
The story begins with rock musician Eric Draven and his fiancée Shelly Webster being brutally attacked in their Detroit apartment. He dies on the spot, she fights for her life in the hospital for the next few weeks. A year later, Eric is resurrected by a raven who carries the souls of the dead to the afterlife. Draven discovers that he is practically indestructible, has superhuman strength and can read minds – he uses his new powers to avenge the death of his loved one. The raven shows him the people who contributed to her death.
The comic book was published in 1989, and work on the film adaptation began in February 1993. Initially, River Phoenix or Christian Slater were considered to play the main role. The author of the comic book was not convinced about Brandon Lee’s candidacy. However, his son convinced him – he wanted the role because he believed that thanks to it he would finally be able to get out of his father’s shadow and the pigeonhole in which he had been sitting since the beginning of his film career. Previously, he starred in six different action films, where he showed off his knowledge of martial arts. He liked “The Raven” so much that he lost weight especially for the role, co-choreographed the fight scenes and largely gave up the support of stuntmen and stunt doubles. He was also very involved in what the entire film would look like.
This was supposed to be Brandon Lee’s breakthrough role. No one predicted it would be the last
Work on “The Raven” was planned for 54 shooting days, which were extremely demanding for the crew. The filmmakers were working in North Carolina, and the weather was extremely unfavorable. It was very cold, the region was often hit by extremely violent storms, which often destroyed the decorations. There were also several accidents on set. During one of them, a technical worker was electrocuted and barely survived. Later, one of the workers building the set pierced his hand with a screwdriver. There were also several car collisions involving crew members, and a truck with the filmmakers’ equipment caught fire. Then these events fit into the persistently pushed theory about .
On March 31, 1993, Brandon Lee was filming a scene in which his character is shot after witnessing the rape of his fiancée. Actor Michael Massee was supposed to simply point a revolver at him and fire a blank. However, a tragic accident occurred. That day, the person responsible for supervising the weapon was sent home earlier, so the revolver was prepared for the scene by a member of the props crew. He didn’t know what to check, he just put blanks in the magazine. The camera rolled, Massee fired, and to his horror, he saw that he had shot Brandon Lee in the stomach. The charge penetrated his stomach, ruptured nearby organs and caused internal bleeding. The injured man was immediately transported to the hospital, where he was placed on the operating table. Despite the doctors’ efforts, he did not survive. Brandon Lee died at the age of 28, 17 days before his planned wedding to writer Eliza Hutton. The author of the comic, James O’Barr, later said in one of his interviews that after the actor’s death he felt exactly the same as when his fiancée died. He also claimed that he regretted writing “The Raven” at all.
‘The Crow’ / ‘The Raven’, dir. Alex Proyas, producer Dimension Films et al (1994) Miramax Films promotional materials
A subsequent investigation revealed that defectively constructed dummy cartridges had been used during the shooting of scenes a few days earlier. As a result, there was a bullet left in the barrel, which was fired with the same power as it would be with live ammunition. The police concluded that it was an unfortunate accident and no one was charged. Despite everything, Michael Massee was so traumatized by the event that he quit acting for the next year. Twelve years later, in one of the interviews, he confessed that he still had nightmares about that tragic moment. He did not watch the film until his death in 2016.
After Brandon Lee’s death, the producers had a tough nut to crack. The actor managed to record most of his scenes, he only had three days of shooting left. However, due to recording delays and an accident, the first distributor withdrew, so the entire project hung in the balance. However, the director was strongly in favor of finishing the film, and the late Lee’s fiancée was very supportive of him – she was convinced that this was what Brandon would have wanted. Ultimately, it was decided to slightly modify the script and complete the missing scenes with the help of stuntman Chad Stahelski (he was the one who directed the “John Wick” film series many years later). Using special effects, the likeness of the deceased actor was simply superimposed on his face in post-production, and that’s how “The Raven” was completed. The production was dedicated to the deceased and his fiancée, and viewers and critics watched it enchanted.
The film’s success led to a franchise based on it, which produced three more films: “The Crow: City of Angels” (1996), “The Crow: Salvation” (2000) and “The Crow: Wicked Prayer” (2005) ). None of them featured a single member of the original cast and completely new characters appeared. The success of the 1994 production has never been repeated.
The director of the original mocks the new version of “The Raven” with Skarsgård
Re-filming the comic book, considering its cult status and the sad story of Brandon Lee’s death, seems like a risky move. However, the task was undertaken by director Rupert Sanders, who managed to assemble an intriguing cast. The main role will be played by Bill Skarsgård, known for his famous horror film “It”, and he will be accompanied by, among others: singer FKA twigs and “Succession” star Danny Huston. The first photos from the set hit the Internet and there was an immediate stir because the makeup department actually decided to follow a new lead. The main character no longer resembles a Gothic avenging angel with long hair and macabre makeup, a menacing Pierrot. Instead, the new Raven has a multitude of tattoos all over his body, including above his eyebrow, bangs that reach halfway down his forehead, shaved sides of his head, and longer hair hanging down the back. This is a definite nod to contemporary trends (David Podsiadło had a similar hairstyle a few years ago in the first season of the Polish “The Office”) and many people definitely do not like this aesthetic. One of them is the director of “The Raven” from 1994.
Bill Skarsgård in the new ‘The Raven’ photo: Larry Horricks / Lionsgate promotional materials
Alex Proyas posted a still from the film, and in the caption he makes fun of the character’s hairstyle: “Eric Draven is having a bad hair day. Thank you for this next reboot.” In the comments, he adds mockingly: “I assume he’s supposed to look like a badass with all the tattoos, werewolves and skulls on his jacket.” And then: “He could at least drink something with more character” (Skarsgård holds a bottle of beer in his hand).
The photos sparked a wider discussion online, and it’s hard to say that commentators were particularly delighted with what they saw. Many people on the X website write that the character’s image reminds them very much of what Jared Leto looked like as the Joker in “Suicide Squad” and as a meta-comment they add fragments from “The Godfather” in which Don Corleone says: “Look how they massacred my boy.” “He didn’t have to be so rebellious, we already have Jared Leto, that’s enough”, “You know how Bill Skarsgård would look great with long hair and Raven makeup? Instead, he looks like a Soundcloud rapper who discovered last night that goths exist” – The website reports the outraged reactions
Director Rupert Sander already explained the image decisions in an interview with “”: “I think Bill is beautiful in a disturbing way and when he undergoes transformation, he turns into someone he cannot control. Just like in this famous saying: who fights monsters, he has to be careful not to become one of them. This is what I looked like in the 90s, when I went to raves in London and lived in squats. We threw in modern inspirations in the form of Post Malone and Lil Peep. I hope that today’s 19 -year-olds will look at this Eric and say: this guy is like us,” he noted. He also referred to the original with Brandon Lee and emphasized that, in his opinion, the actor will always be synonymous with “The Raven”. “I hope he is proud of what we did here and how we told this story anew. His soul is very much alive in our film,” he emphasized.
It is true that Bill Skarsgård is indeed a great actor, but there may be some doubts about the accuracy of the director’s aesthetic choices, as he wasted Scarlett Johansson’s potential in the brown film “Ghost in the Shell”. The shooting of the new version of “The Raven” has already been completed, so the first trailer of the film should also appear next – perhaps then we will see whether part of the “curse” will not turn out to be a sadly unsuccessful remake with a promising cast. The American premiere was announced for June 7, 2024.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
