THE DANMAN CAN

Alex Proyas '  The Crow   (1994) was an important film for me as a teenager. I'm fairly certain that I saw it multiple times when it was released theatrically (it celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday). I've owned it on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and now 4K UHD (looking the best it ever has)—I've watched it many times. Over the years, it's lost some of its luster, but I still like a lot about it. The film's soundtrack was perhaps even more important to me and I still like it a lot as well. Though it's nowhere near as egregious as in  Dark City  (1998) [ review ], the same rapid fire editing that I really dislike is also present in The Crow . It's almost as if Proyas either doesn’t get enough coverage or trims down way too much in the editing—there are all these connective shots that seem to be missing. As in DC , The Crow  also features wonderful production and costume design, but Proyas never gives it enough time to be appreciated or the film enough time t...

Alex Proyas , I get it—you like: Art Deco, film noir, Franz Kafka ,  Edward Hopper , Fritz Lang , H. R. Giger , Terry Gilliam , Jeunet & Caro ,  Blade Runner  (1982) [ review ],  Hellraiser   (1987) [ review ], Tim Burton 's Batman s [ review , review ]. If only you'd been able to take those influences and make something original that didn't feel like a ham-fisted mishmash of homages. Everything in Dark City (1998)   feels borrowed and blended with no cohesiveness, like a pale imitation. Maybe that works for some viewers, given the themes of the film, but it doesn't for me. I saw DC when it was released theatrically. At the time, I loved it. I was also 18. I've owned the film on DVD and Blu-ray. That was the last time I watched the film, when the Director's Cut debuted on the latter format in 2008. Over the years, I've liked the film less and less, and this latest viewing proved that it really has not aged well. Admittedly, I love the production ...