Without Brandon Lee, ‘The Crow’ Doesn’t Fly

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( it can’t rain all the time [Without Brandon Lee, The Crow Doesn’t Fly]( The textured humanity Lee gives The Crow is still its strongest asset, and 30 years after the film’s debut, still its most memorable quality. Photo: Miramax That face. That beautifully sculpted, exquisitely controlled face, so capable of warmth and affection and menace and fury. Brandon Lee knew exactly what to do with his profile, his reactions, and his gaze in The Crow, the 1994 adaptation of James O’Barr’s cult-classic graphic novel — the film seethes with the nuance and energy of Lee’s dual performance. It’s impossible to talk about The Crow without acknowledging Lee’s accidental death during its production, and the eerie coincidence of Lee being fatally shot during the scene when his own character is killed. That tragedy will always hang over the film like a shroud, fueling [conspiracy theories]( about the similarly early deaths of Lee and his father, martial arts icon Bruce Lee. But to focus only on that calamity is to ignore that Lee is marvelously, exhilaratingly alive in The Crow, an actor so totally disinterested in artifice that he gives the movie’s supernatural circumstances an intoxicatingly human pull. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Below Deck Mediterranean: [Fish Knife]( • The Bachelorette: [Wicked Ways]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Muppet*Vision 3D Should Be a National Heritage Site The only way to ensure that this gem of a Disney World theatrical experience is protected is straight-up government intervention.]( By Rebecca Alter [The Breaker’s Back Crikey, that’s Raygun Dratch!]( By Jason P. Frank [Did Quentin Tarantino Warrant George Clooney’s Cattiness? “Quentin said some shit about me recently, so I’m a little irritated by him.”]( By Jason P. Frank [Dan Stevens Is Our Finest Weird (Usually) British Man He’s sometimes Australian, German, or American. But he’s almost always being weird.]( By Hannah Strong [Glenn Close and Her Cat Bite Back at J.D. Vance’s ‘Childless’ Comments “Eve would have left a bleeding mouse head in the bed of anyone who criticized any kind of lady with a CAT!”]( By Alejandra Gularte [Everything We Know About The Gilded Age Season 3 A psychic has entered the chat.]( By Jennifer Zhan and Alejandra Gularte [Sutton Foster Brings Some Bounce to Once Upon a Mattress Working off a book freshened up by Amy Sherman-Palladino, the actress gives it her all in this transfer of an Encores! production.]( By Christopher Bonanos [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 2-Down, Three Letters: Passport from Snoop Dogg, e.g. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Lyvans Boolaky/FilmMagic, Elyse Jankowski/WireImage, Paramount/Everett Collection [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name an Oscar-nominated Aaron Sorkin movie? Photo-Illustration: Vulture: Photos: Clockwise From Top Right: James Devaney/GC/Getty, Steve Granitz/FilmMagic/Getty, Jamie McCarthy/Getty/Tribeca Festival A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved