History Trivia / TheCrow

!!The film:
* BreakthroughHit: For Creator/AlexProyas.
* CaliforniaDoubling: Set in Detroit, filmed in North Carolina.
* CameoProp: If Top Dollar's rapier looks familiar, it's because it's the Six-Fingered Sword from ''Film/ThePrincessBride''.
* TheCastShowoff: The final fight makes good use of Creator/BrandonLee's Kung Fu skills.
* ChannelHop: The film was originally produced by Creator/ParamountPictures, who dropped the film after principal photography was completed, likely due to the negative attention from Brandon Lee's on-set death. It was later sold to Creator/{{Miramax}}, who released the film through their deal with Disney, followed by the sequels. After Disney sold off Miramax, the film was released to Blu-ray by Creator/{{Lionsgate}}, and the sequels by Echo Bridge Home Entertainment. After [=ViacomCBS=] purchased a minority stake in Miramax, Paramount Pictures took control of their library, and reissued ''The Crow'' on home video 27 years after originally dropping it.
* CompletelyDifferentTitle:
** Taiwan: ''Dragon God of War''
** Turkey: ''Immortal Love''
* DeletedRole: Scenes featuring Creator/MichaelBerryman as the Skull Cowboy were cut. Contrary to popular belief, they were cut ''before'' Brandon Lee's death, because everyone on set had thought the costume and look of the cowboy character clashed with the rest of the film.
* DeletedScene:
** The arcade demolition scene includes footage of the gang harassing and tying up the arcade clerk. She watches as the bomb's timer ticks down. Eric encounters the dying, burnt woman after the explosion and accidentally takes in her memory of the attack. After Eric leaves, Albrecht shows up and tries to help the woman as she finally dies, and the cop screams obscenities to the sky.
** In the extended version of the arcade demolition, one of the gang members mentions the Detroit River. Although the film takes place in Detroit, no mention of the city is in the final cut of the film (except for one reference to 'Motor City' and another to Lake Erie).
** Funboy wakes up in the bathtub and grabs the razor. He attacks Eric and cuts his hands and torso. Because Eric has weakened himself by getting the morphine out of Darla, he cannot heal properly. (This would have been explained by the Skull Cowboy, but those scenes were also cut.) To cover the wounds, he wraps them in black electrical tape. This explains why his hands and stomach are wrapped up later in the movie.
** The shootout in Top Dollar's penthouse contains a bit of additional dialogue and more explicit bloodshed.
** While Skank is getting smokes and road beers, two young boys attempt to rob the store armed with guns. This scene was supposed to show that crime has become so indiscriminate that even little kids have resolved to it, and it can even happen ''to'' criminals. Skank gets shot in the shoulder as he tries to escape, thus explaining why Skank is limping when he runs after T-Bird's car.
** The scene in which Brandon was accidentally shot in real life was changed - the original footage has been destroyed or is in the hands of police as evidence. The gun used is no longer wrapped in a grocery bag, and Eric (now played by Brandon's stunt double Chad Stahelski) is shot in the back instead of in the abdomen. Scenes showing his face were altered with digital effects and makeup, or reshot from different angles.
* DevelopmentHell: A complete reboot has been in the works since 2008, and passed between studios, actors, directors and even distributors. Several times it's gotten to the point of a filming start date being announced before someone along the chain drops out. In mid-2018, director Corin Hardy and actor Creator/JasonMomoa left the project.
* DiedDuringProduction: Creator/BrandonLee was killed during filming. The film was retooled and his remaining scenes were filmed using a body double, shot in shadows, or with Brandon's face digitally added.
* DisownedAdaptation: Creator/AlexProyas never liked the idea of remaking it, feeling that doing so was disrespectful to Brandon Lee's memory. When the first images from the remake were released, he [[https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3802157/bad-hair-day-original-the-crow-director-alex-proyas-shares-his-thoughts-on-reboot-images/ joked]] that it looked like "Eric Draven [was] having a bad hair day."
* DyeingForYourArt: Creator/BrandonLee lost forty pounds for the film.
* FakeAmerican: Shelly is played by Canadian actress Creator/SofiaShinas.
* FatalMethodActing: One of the most infamous cases, as Brandon Lee was accidentally shot and killed due to a prop gun that discharged a piece of blank cartridge that was left in the barrel. The unwilling responsible, Creator/MichaelMassee, took a year off from his career to recuperate, stated many years after the film's release that he still had nightmares about the incident, and reportedly never saw the finished film prior to his death.
* FollowTheLeader:
** This was one of a number of darker and highly stylized comic based films to be made after the big success of ''Film/Batman1989''.
** The appearance of Eric Draven in the film was the inspiration for the gimmick change of {{professional wrestl|ing}}er Wrestling/{{Sting}} in 1996 from a happy-go-lucky, bleached-blonde uber-face to an enigmatic, trenchcoat-wearing, bat-wielding loner; allegedly, fellow wrestler Wrestling/ScottHall suggested the idea to him (which wouldn't have been surprising, as Hall was known to look to famous movies as inspirations for his in-ring gimmicks).[[note]]Hall's "Razor Ramon" persona was derived from ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}.''[[/note]]
* HypotheticalCasting: James O'Barr originally envisioned Creator/JohnnyDepp as Eric Draven.
* OnSetInjury: Creator/BrandonLee somehow managed to cut his hand on a piece of sugarglass during the pawnshop scene.
* OrphanedReference:
** The reason Eric wears tape on his body is because of a deleted scene where Funboy attacks him with a razor. The Skull Cowboy (who ended up being cut from the film) later explained that draining the morphine from Darla weakened his healing factor.
** Skank is later seen with a bandage on his arm and limping. This is the result of a deleted scene where two kids rob the store he went to get smokes and road beers from and shot him in the arm and leg.
* TheProductionCurse: See below. Creator/BrandonLee's tragic death was only the beginning of it.
* StarMakingRole: The movie would've been this for Creator/BrandonLee were it not for his fatal accident.
* StuntDouble: Creator/ChadStahelski got his start as a stunt double on this movie, doubling for Brandon Lee, whom he trained with at the Inosanto Academy. After Lee's lethal accident, Chad was picked for his stunt/photo double because he knew Lee and how he moved, and looked more like him than any other stuntman.
* TroubledProduction: The film had an incredibly troubled shoot, so much so it would have been an infamous example of this trope ''before'' its defining behind-the-scenes accident:
** Series creator James O'Barr's first meeting with Paramount executives led to him discovering that they wanted to make the film a musical starring Music/MichaelJackson, and when he laughed thinking it was a joke, they told him they were absolutely serious. Later on, they refused Creator/AlexProyas' request to shoot the film entirely in black and white.
** With eight days of filming left, lead actor Creator/BrandonLee was accidentally shot and killed due to a prop gun that discharged a piece of blank cartridge that was left in the barrel. The resulting shot punctured Lee's abdomen and impacted his spine, and he eventually died from serious blood loss. The footage showing Lee being shot was destroyed, and the incident caused so much anguish for supporting actor Creator/MichaelMassee (who pulled the trigger on the gun, and was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident) that he took a year off from his career to recuperate.
** As a result of Lee's death, and Paramount Pictures writing the project off as a result, Miramax finished production of the film via reshot sequences that used a stand-in for Lee. The FX studio hired for the film, Creator/DreamQuestImages (which was already trying to make effects for the entire film on a budget of ''$15,000'') was forced to jury-rig handheld footage of Lee shot earlier in production to finish several effects shots.
** There were several more accidents that befell the production crew, leading to a widespread belief that the film was ''cursed''. A carpenter suffered serious burns on his upper body during the first day of filming. A manual worker had a screwdriver get embedded in his hand. An equipment truck burst into flames. A stuntman broke several ribs after falling through a roof, a rigger was horribly electrocuted, and a hurricane destroyed several of the sets. Just prior to his fatal shooting, Lee cut himself on a piece of breakaway glass (which isn't supposed to be sharp).
** A lot of the trouble was due to cost-and-corner-cutting; one of the crew recalled "they were trying to make a 30 million dollar movie for 18 million dollars". The film was shot in North Carolina, a "right-to-work" state, allowing the producers to get away with pay, conditions, and, crucially, production schedules that would have been nuked by unionized Hollywood. They began filming at night outdoors, but the aforementioned hurricane destroyed the sets, so they moved the production indoors - without changing the schedule, as switching a production from nights to days requires a 24-hour turnaround, time the harried production team didn't have. Moreover, it was still so cold that the camera rails had to be de-iced during filming by riggers with blowtorches hiding out of shot.
** On top of all of this, cocaine abuse was rampant on set, according to ''Empire'' magazine, with cameramen shooting whilst high, crew going into the toilets to snort between shots, and people cutting around looking like the Got Milk? ads. One crewmember recalled hearing the sound of a sneeze on the set one day, and an annoyed Brandon Lee quipping, "Someone just lost $50."[[note]]His father Creator/BruceLee was reportedly a prolific cocaine user too, so this was probably personal for Brandon.[[/note]]
** Everything eventually got so bad that one of the neighbouring productions in the EUE studios began taking bets on mishaps...until a fire destroyed several of their sets as well.
* WagTheDirector: A positive example. Creator/BrandonLee requested that one Asian character from the comic who tries to steal Eric's powers be removed from the script, as he felt it was a stereotype.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Music/IggyPop was asked to play Funboy, but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts. The comic book version of the character was modeled after him to begin with. Instead, he played Curve in ''Film/TheCrowCityOfAngels''.
** Two other sequels were in development, one being ''The Crow 2037'', a futuristic dark gothic fantasy to be written and directed by Music/RobZombie; and ''Lazarus: A Tale of The Crow'' which took place in the world of gangsta rap and was set to star Music/{{DMX}} and Music/{{Eminem}}. Neither film failed to materialize and were actually attempted to be spun off into stand alone films separate from the franchise before those plans stalled as well.
** James O'Barr originally wanted Creator/JohnnyDepp to play Eric. Creator/RiverPhoenix (who coincidentally and tragically died the same year as Brandon Lee) and Creator/ChristianSlater both turned down the role.
** Creator/CameronDiaz was offered the role of Shelly Webster, but turned it down because she didn't like the script.
** Creator/BrandonLee and Creator/AlexProyas wanted the film to be in black and white like the comic, but the studio refused.
** Creator/EricMabius, who would go on to play the lead role in ''Film/TheCrowSalvation'', auditioned for the role of Funboy.
** According to screenwriter David J. Schow, who hung out with Lee before and during filming, Brandon thought Creator/PeterUstinov was a perfect fit to play Gideon, the sleazy pawnbroker (an idea he got after watching ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' late one night).
** According to former Music/JoyDivision and Music/NewOrder bassist Peter Hook, New Order was approached to provide the film's score, which included providing a re-recording of "Love Will Tear Us Apart". The idea was intended as a nod to the fact that, paralleling Draven's resurrection, New Order themselves were formed in the aftermath of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis' 1980 suicide, not to mention the fact that James O'Barr was a fan of Joy Division and named two characters after Hook and guitarist/New Order frontman Bernard Sumner. However, Sumner turned down the soundtrack offer, citing that they were too busy working on their album ''Music/{{Republic}}''; the album would be released in 1993, a year before the film. As something of a compensation, the band allowed a Music/NineInchNails cover of "Dead Souls" to be featured in the movie; both "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Dead Souls" were originally Joy Division songs.
** Music/StoneTemplePilots originally planned to contribute the song "Only Dying" to the soundtrack; The song was one of their earliest compositions, and they had demoed it in 1990 but had never officially recorded or released it. When Brandon Lee died, the band decided the song's title was HarsherInHindsight and instead contributed "Big Empty", which was released as both the first single from the soundtrack and from their second album ''Purple'', which was released a few months later. A demo of "Only Dying" would eventually be officially released as a bonus track to a reissue of STP's ''Core''.
** Prior to his death during filming, Lee was set to reprise his role in two more sequels as in the originally intended ending, Eric would've been forced to roam the earth as a result of saving Sarah after being warned by the Skull Cowboy on not doing so.

** Music/StoneTemplePilots originally planned to contribute the song "Only Dying" to the soundtrack; The song was one of their earliest compositions, and they had demoed it in 1990 but had never officially recorded or released it. When Brandon Lee died, the band decided the song's title was HarsherInHindsight and instead contributed "Big Empty", which was released as both the first single from the soundtrack and from their second album ''Purple'', which was released a few months later.

** An extra page in Gideon's pawnshop, in which Eric advises young rookie cop Albrecht to reconcile with his estranged wife
** A flashback sequence of Eric and Shelly dancing together
** A flashback sequence called 'An August Noel' which O'Barr says was so autobiographical in nature that it was simply too painful to include it the first time around

!!General trivia
* TheWikiRule: [[http://thecrow.wikia.com/wiki/The_Crow_Wiki The Crow Wiki]].

** The arcade demolition scene includes footage of the gang harassing and tying up the arcade clerk. She watches as the bomb's timer ticks down. Draven encounters the dying, burnt woman after the explosion and accidentally takes in her memory of the attack.

** Skank gets shot in the leg by someone robbing the liquor store from which he was ordered to get smokes and road beers. This scene was supposed to show that crime is indiscriminant and even happens to criminals. This is why Skank is limping when he runs after T-Bird's car.

** With eight days of filming left, lead actor Creator/BrandonLee was accidentally shot and killed due to a prop gun that discharged a piece of blank cartridge that was left in the barrel. The resulting shot punctured Lee's chest and impacted his spine, and he eventually died from serious blood loss. The footage showing Lee being shot was destroyed, and the incident caused so much anguish for supporting actor Creator/MichaelMassee (who pulled the trigger on the gun, and was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident) that he took a year off from his career to recuperate.

** On top of all of this, cocaine abuse was rampant on set, according to ''Empire'' magazine, with cameramen shooting whilst high, crew going into the toilets to snort between shots, and people cutting around looking like the Got Milk? ads. One crewmember recalled hearing the sound of a sneeze on the set one day, and an annoyed Brandon Lee quipping, "Someone just lost $50."

* WagTheDirector: A positive example. Creator/BrandonLee requested that one Asian character from the comic who tries to steal Eric's powers, be removed from the script, as he felt it was a stereotype.

** Two other sequels were in development, one being ''The Crow 2037'', a futuristic dark gothic fanatsy to be written and directed by Music/RobZombie; and ''Lazarus: A Tale of The Crow'' which took place in the world of gangsta rap and was set to star Music/{{DMX}} and Music/{{Eminem}}. Neither film failed to materialize and were actually attempted to be spun off into stand alone films separate from the franchise before those plans stalled as well.

** The appearance of Eric Draven in the film was the inspiration for the gimmick change of {{professional wrestl|ing}}er Wrestling/{{Sting}} in 1997 from a happy-go-lucky, bleached-blonde uber-face to an enigmatic, trenchcoat-wearing, bat-wielding loner; allegedly, fellow wrestler Wrestling/ScottHall suggested the idea to him (which wouldn't have been surprising, as Hall was known to look to famous movies as inspirations for his in-ring gimmicks).[[note]]Hall's "Razor Ramon" persona was derived from ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}.''[[/note]]

* CreatorBacklash: According to the example on that page, James O'Barr later regretted that he glorified revenge, saying "I wish I had never written the goddamn thing." However, the Special Edition released in 2011 shows that now, O'Barr has come to terms with the work, seeing it as about true love and the importance of self-forgiveness. This is thanks in no small part to Brandon Lee's fiancée Eliza Hutton, with whom O'Barr became close.
* CreatorBreakdown: As mentioned in the description, what started the whole thing. And despite the cathartic intent behind making the project, O'Barr later admitted that it actually made his emotional problems ''worse'', and that, combined with Creator/BrandonLee's death during shooting of the film, made O'Barr "wish I had never made the goddamned thing," and wouldn't be able to come to terms with it until much later.

* OldShame: James O'Barr said that he regretted the comic now, both due to what he now feels is a glorification of revenge, as well as the death of Creator/BrandonLee due to the movie adaption. He only spoke positively of it many years later. Sadly, aside from ''Sundown'', it's one of his few works that most people find awesome.

** The scene in which Brandon was accidentally shot in real life was changed - the original footage has been destroyed or is in police hands as evidence. The gun used is no longer wrapped in a grocery bag, and Eric (now played by Brandon's stunt double Chad Stahelski) is shot in the back instead of in the abdomen. Scenes showing his face were altered with digital effects and makeup, or reshot from different angles.

* DiedDuringProduction: Creator/BrandonLee was killed during filming. The film was retooled and his remaining scenes were filmed using a body double, shot in shadows, or with Brandon's face added.

* FatalMethodActing: One of the most infamous cases, as Creator/BrandonLee was accidentally shot and killed due to a prop gun that discharged a piece of blank cartridge that was left in the barrel. The unwilling responsible, Creator/MichaelMassee, took a year off from his career to recuperate and said he would never watch the film due to the tragedy.

* StuntDouble: Creator/ChadStahelski got his start as a stunt double on this movie, doubling for Brandon Lee, whom he trained with at the Inosanto Academy. After Lee's lethal accident Chad was picked for his stunt/photo double because he knew Lee, how he moved, and looked more like him than any other stuntman.

** On top of all of this, cocaine abuse was rampant on set, according to ''Empire'' magazine, with cameramen shooting whilst high, crew going into the toilets to snort between shots, and people cutting around looking like the Got Milk? ads. One crewmember recalls hearing the sound of a sneeze on the set one day, and an annoyed Brandon Lee quipping "someone just lost $50".

** Music/IggyPop was asked to play Funboy, but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts - The comic book version of the character was modeled after him to begin with. Instead, he played Curve in ''Film/TheCrowCityOfAngels''.

** Series creator James O'Barr's first meeting with Paramount executives led to him discovering that they wanted to make the film a musical starring Music/MichaelJackson, and when he laughed thinking it was a joke, they told him they were absolutely serious. Later on, they refused director Alex Proyas' request to shoot the film entirely in black and white.

** Creator/CameronDiaz was offered the role of Shelly, but turned it down because she didn't like the script.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: While based on a comic from 1989, the film is very much a product of TheNineties, with the industrial-gothic soundtrack and visual style, the trenchcoats, the round-lensed glasses worn by Grange, the preponderance of shoulder-length hair, etc.

* FatalMethodActing: One of the most infamous cases, as lead actor Creator/BrandonLee was accidentally shot and killed due to a prop gun that discharged a piece of blank cartridge that was left in the barrel. The unwilling responsible, Creator/MichaelMassee, took a year off from his career to recuperate and said he would never watch the film due to the tragedy.

** This was one of a number of darker and highly stylized comic based films to be made after the big success of Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/Batman1989''.

** Brandon Lee and Alex Proyas wanted the film to be in black and white like the comic, but the studio refused.
** Eric Mabius, who would go on to play the lead role in ''Film/TheCrowSalvation'', auditioned for the role of Funboy.
** According to screenwriter David J. Schow, who hung out with Brandon Lee before and during filming, Brandon thought Sir Creator/PeterUstinov was a perfect fit to play Gideon, the sleazy pawnbroker (an idea he got after watching ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' late one night).

** As a result of Lee's death, and Paramount Pictures writing the project off as a result, Miramax finished production of the film via reshot sequences that used a stand-in for Lee. The FX studio Dream Quest Images (which was already trying to make effects for the entire film on a budget of ''$15,000'') was forced to jury-rig handheld footage of Lee shot earlier in production to finish several effects shots.

* TheForeignSubtitle:
** Japan: 'The Crow: Flying Legend''

* TheProductionCurse: See below. Brandon Lee's tragic death was only the beginning of it.
* StarMakingRole: The movie would've been this for Brandon Lee were it not for his fatal accident.
* StuntDouble: Chad Stahelski got his start as a stunt double on this movie, doubling for Brandon Lee, whom he trained with at the Inosanto Academy. After Lee's lethal accident Chad was picked for his stunt/photo double because he knew Lee, how he moved, and looked more like him than any other stuntman.
* TroubledProduction: The film had an incredibly troubled shoot, full of cost-and-corner-cutting (a crewman stated that "They were trying to make a $30 million movie for $18 million."), crewmembers suffering accidents, a hurricane hitting the set, rampant cocaine abuse... and that was before the fatal accident that killed Brandon Lee just 8 days before production was supposed to wrap, forcing [[FakeShemp the use of stand-ins, plus special effects]] by Creator/DreamQuestImages (which was already trying to make effects for the entire film on a budget of $15,000) to add him to the remaining scenes.

* CreatorBreakdown:
** As mentioned in the description, what started the whole thing.
** After the death of Creator/BrandonLee in the movie, James O'Barr said in an interview that writing the comic had been a vicious, self-destructive process and not at all cathartic, and that, combined with Brandon's death during shooting the film, made him "wish I had never made the goddamned thing," and wouldn't be able to come to terms with it until much later.

** According to former Music/JoyDivision and Music/NewOrder bassist Peter Hook, New Order was approached to provide the film's score, which included providing a re-recording of "Love Will Tear Us Apart". The idea was intended as a nod to the fact that, paralleling Draven's resurrection, New Order themselves were formed in the aftermath of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis' 1980 suicide, not to mention the fact that James O'Barr was a BigNameFan of Joy Division and named two characters after Hook and guitarist/New Order frontman Bernard Sumner. However, Sumner turned down the soundtrack offer, citing that they were too busy working on their album ''Music/{{Republic}}''; the album would be released in 1993, a year before the film. As something of a compensation, the band allowed a Music/NineInchNails cover of "Dead Souls" to be featured in the movie; both "Love Will Tear Us Apart" and "Dead Souls" were originally Joy Division songs.