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The Crow (1994 film)

1994 superhero film directed by Alex Proyas

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ250912
Source-derived summary

The Crow is a 1994 American gothic supernatural superhero film directed by Alex Proyas, written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and based on the 1989 comic book series by James O'Barr. It stars Brandon Lee in his final film role, as Eric Draven, a rock musician who is resurrected from the dead to seek vengeance against the gang who murdered him and his fiancée.

Lee was fatally wounded by a prop gun during filming. As he had finished most of his scenes, the film was completed through script rewrites, a stunt double, and digital effects. After Lee's death, Paramount Pictures opted out of distribution and the rights were acquired by Miramax Films. The film is dedicated to Lee and his fiancée, Eliza Hutton.

The Crow premiered in Santa Monica on May 10, 1994, and was released in the United States on May 13, 1994, by Dimension Films. The film received positive reviews for its stylized noir aesthetic, emotional resonance and Lee's performance. It grossed $94 million on a $23 million budget and has gained a cult following. The success led to three sequels, a television series, and a 2024 reboot, all of which failed to replicate the first movie's success.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Crow (1994 film)” as 1994 superhero film directed by Alex Proyas. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1994, 1989, 2024—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1994-07-28, 1994-09-02, 1994-01-01—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Crow, film and superhero can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1994 superhero film directed by Alex Proyas. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q250912. The Library of Congress control number is n96039029. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 3 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1994, 1989 and 2024.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Crow (1994 film)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Crow (1994 film) primary sources, The Crow (1994 film) archive and Crow research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Crow (1994 film)”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Crow (1994 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.