Reviews (13)

The Crow, but more optimistic
People say that when you remake something, if you don't have a good idea of what the original's soul was, then what's the point? This TV series was every bit a vessel for the ideals of justice, good over evil, and romance as the original movie. Anyone who says different is simply whining, and isn't likely to be pleased by anything but the original. Mark is incredible, both in acting and martial arts. He is every bit as moving and intriquing as Brandon Lee ever was. The soundtrack, featuring some great if slightly unknown talet, is nothing short of a complete emotional experience in itself. The single, "Goodbye," by the alt rock group The Painkillers featured in one of the last episodes still sticks with me months later. My only regret is that they may not release all the episodes, and that this movie is only available on VHS and not DVD as well. If you love the movie, you'll love the series. If all you could think while watching Crow 2: City of angels was "He isn't as cool as brandon lee" then don't waste you time or money. Go read your comic books instead.

Good, if not quite up to the original movie
This is the opening two episodes for the Crow television series. As such it is a remake of the original Crow movie but it has been changed so that it is better suited to an ongoing series, i.e. Eric doesn't return to the grave at the end. It also introduces the Snakes, who are supernatural enemies of Crows, setting things up for future confrontations.

On the plus side, the series featured an exceptional cast. Mark Dacascos, who plays Eric, is a real find as he not only bears some resemblance to Brandon Lee but also has some exceptional martial arts moves and can act as well. It's a shame that he seems relegated to making B movies while Jean-Claude van Damme and Stephan Seagal get the high profile martial arts flicks. It's almost worth watching this video just to see him. Sabine Karsenti is lovely as Shelley and she and Dacascos have some real chemistry in their scenes together. And John Pyper-Ferguson does his usual good job as the villainous Top Dollar.

On the negative side, production values are lower since this was made for a straight-to-syndication television series. As is typical of this sort of effort, things didn't really start falling into place until several episodes into the series when everyone started getting really settled into their roles and the scriptwriters became more comfortable writing the different characters. At this early point, everything still felt a little stilted.

Something that you may or may not consider a bad thing is that it's also not as gloomy as the original movie. While not exactly upbeat, its not depressing either. There is an ongoing theme of hope, redemption, and rebirth in the series and it shows in this episode. If you're one of those Gen-X sorts who likes to wear all black and wander around complaining about how badly life sucks, this probably isn't a version of the Crow that you'll enjoy but other fans of the character probably do want to take a look at it.

Is it worth buying? I really can't see paying the current price (I hate priced to rent stuff) for any video tape but if it comes down to something more reasonable it's definitely on my buy list. In the meantime, rent it and hope that they eventually release the better later episodes as well.

sk8ertrite
what's with all the crow copies.the originalwas the best and will alwaya be. in brandon lee's last on camera interview he said if he where to have the same death and abail to come back he would have done the same as to come back and kill every one. city of angels was ok but they went too with a third one and all the rest. i think it is pethetic to have a bunch of sucky ones when the first was the greatest and having the star die in it you would think in honor of brandon lee it would be the only one. and whats with switchingfrom miramax to dimension. in my opinion demensionscrewed it the most.i hope that gives you an idea of how stupid all the crow movies hav gotten and how this one sucks . r.i.p. brandon

"The Crow" gets butchered by TV!
This is not a sequel to any of the Crow films but the poorly-received pilot to the painful syndicated television series. Martial artist/Straight-to-video star Mark Dacascos stars as Eric Draven in this awful, watered-down retelling of the first Crow movie.

Just as he did in the movie, Draven has been resurrected from the dead after he and his girlfiend were murdered by a group of thugs. Though instead of hunting them down one by one and killing them like he did in the movie, Dacascos' Crow is out to teach them a lesson. How moving! Draven has returned from the grave to become some sort of an undead "Big Brother" figure. Gimme a break. This silly remake even has cop Marc Gomes (who will never be mistaken for Ernie Hudson) arresting The Crow for murder. What the hell?

"The Crow" concept clearly does not translate well to the small screen. Where the original movie was a dark comic book style tale of love and retribution, this is more or less, a two-hour PTA message that "two wrongs don't make a right". If you though "City Of Angels" destroyed the Crow franchise, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Worst Combo: Cheese & Pretentiousness
I think this is the worst movie and Tv show pretty much ever made, it makes City of Angels & Salvation look like Oscar Winners...
With that said, there is one good thing about this movie and the tv series & that is The Crow: Stairway to Heaven makes a pretty good comedy, but I don't think that was the show's intentions, it's horribly cheesy filled with unwitty & stupid one-liners.

The actors are pretty bad as well, Albrect was a near-emotionless potatoe, and Eric was just cheesy and oh so bad, shelly just doesn't fit.
I hope it's still in syndication, I need a good laugh...
And I can Easily make a better movie. ... Read more

Reviews (385)

How could they do that?
How can they make movie from a book without, obviously, ever reading it? Even recieved as a gift, you paid too much for this video.

Other then a few people and place names, the movie was all wrong. Even if you over look the problems of bringing a realistic 12' tall alien to life without CGI this was a turkey.

I didn't think it was that bad....
Some of the writers here are more critical of Scientology and are making up facts; the truth is that the book Battlefield Earth is quite entertaining. The movie was not the greatest mainly due to its not sticking with the novel. Read the Mission Earth series instead. Wouldn't a cartoon series of Battlefield Earth communicate better?

ARRRGH!
Oh My god!! What a hell is that?!
My Dog could make a better movie!
I don't know what this movie is about, I stopped watching it with 15 minutes! Two hours of my life are too important to spend whith this garbage!

Absolutely Great.....just ignore the bad reviews
Everyone who gave this movie a less than stellar review hasn't a CLUE what they're talking about. This movie is great fun. If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, you can't go wrong with Battlefield Earth. Great soundtrack, awesome special effects, amusing characters, and a more than decent storyline all amount to Roger Ebert being a moron. :)

A must-see.

New classic!
This abomination is what Ed Wood would have created if someone gave him 70 million dollars and a lot of booze.

At first my tortured mind recoiled in horror and I could actually see myself watching a clumsy looking John Travolta stomp around in platform boots terrorizing petty humans. Battlefield Earth is SO bad had to watch it four times in a row just to get my confused brain to accept what it was being forced to watch. After the shock wore off, Battlefield Earth gust got funnier and funnier. Like, how did the ape-like humans learn to fly complex jump jets in one short lesson? Why would such an advanced civilization need gold so badly? Why did the aliens have beaded dreadlocks? If the aliens were so smart, why didn't they find Fort Knox on their own? Was Travolta's character supposed to be the new Darth Vader? Did at least one studio executive loose their job for giving this a green light?

I don't know if it was intentional, but there is actually an Ed Wood line in the film. An amused alien played by Travolta calls the inhabitants of earth "stupid humans". Too funny. ... Read more

Reviews (385)

How could they do that?
How can they make movie from a book without, obviously, ever reading it? Even recieved as a gift, you paid too much for this video.

Other then a few people and place names, the movie was all wrong. Even if you over look the problems of bringing a realistic 12' tall alien to life without CGI this was a turkey.

I didn't think it was that bad....
Some of the writers here are more critical of Scientology and are making up facts; the truth is that the book Battlefield Earth is quite entertaining. The movie was not the greatest mainly due to its not sticking with the novel. Read the Mission Earth series instead. Wouldn't a cartoon series of Battlefield Earth communicate better?

ARRRGH!
Oh My god!! What a hell is that?!
My Dog could make a better movie!
I don't know what this movie is about, I stopped watching it with 15 minutes! Two hours of my life are too important to spend whith this garbage!

Absolutely Great.....just ignore the bad reviews
Everyone who gave this movie a less than stellar review hasn't a CLUE what they're talking about. This movie is great fun. If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, you can't go wrong with Battlefield Earth. Great soundtrack, awesome special effects, amusing characters, and a more than decent storyline all amount to Roger Ebert being a moron. :)

A must-see.

New classic!
This abomination is what Ed Wood would have created if someone gave him 70 million dollars and a lot of booze.

At first my tortured mind recoiled in horror and I could actually see myself watching a clumsy looking John Travolta stomp around in platform boots terrorizing petty humans. Battlefield Earth is SO bad had to watch it four times in a row just to get my confused brain to accept what it was being forced to watch. After the shock wore off, Battlefield Earth gust got funnier and funnier. Like, how did the ape-like humans learn to fly complex jump jets in one short lesson? Why would such an advanced civilization need gold so badly? Why did the aliens have beaded dreadlocks? If the aliens were so smart, why didn't they find Fort Knox on their own? Was Travolta's character supposed to be the new Darth Vader? Did at least one studio executive loose their job for giving this a green light?

I don't know if it was intentional, but there is actually an Ed Wood line in the film. An amused alien played by Travolta calls the inhabitants of earth "stupid humans". Too funny. ... Read more

Reviews (385)

How could they do that?
How can they make movie from a book without, obviously, ever reading it? Even recieved as a gift, you paid too much for this video.

Other then a few people and place names, the movie was all wrong. Even if you over look the problems of bringing a realistic 12' tall alien to life without CGI this was a turkey.

I didn't think it was that bad....
Some of the writers here are more critical of Scientology and are making up facts; the truth is that the book Battlefield Earth is quite entertaining. The movie was not the greatest mainly due to its not sticking with the novel. Read the Mission Earth series instead. Wouldn't a cartoon series of Battlefield Earth communicate better?

ARRRGH!
Oh My god!! What a hell is that?!
My Dog could make a better movie!
I don't know what this movie is about, I stopped watching it with 15 minutes! Two hours of my life are too important to spend whith this garbage!

Absolutely Great.....just ignore the bad reviews
Everyone who gave this movie a less than stellar review hasn't a CLUE what they're talking about. This movie is great fun. If you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan, you can't go wrong with Battlefield Earth. Great soundtrack, awesome special effects, amusing characters, and a more than decent storyline all amount to Roger Ebert being a moron. :)

A must-see.

New classic!
This abomination is what Ed Wood would have created if someone gave him 70 million dollars and a lot of booze.

At first my tortured mind recoiled in horror and I could actually see myself watching a clumsy looking John Travolta stomp around in platform boots terrorizing petty humans. Battlefield Earth is SO bad had to watch it four times in a row just to get my confused brain to accept what it was being forced to watch. After the shock wore off, Battlefield Earth gust got funnier and funnier. Like, how did the ape-like humans learn to fly complex jump jets in one short lesson? Why would such an advanced civilization need gold so badly? Why did the aliens have beaded dreadlocks? If the aliens were so smart, why didn't they find Fort Knox on their own? Was Travolta's character supposed to be the new Darth Vader? Did at least one studio executive loose their job for giving this a green light?

I don't know if it was intentional, but there is actually an Ed Wood line in the film. An amused alien played by Travolta calls the inhabitants of earth "stupid humans". Too funny. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

The Crow, but more optimistic
People say that when you remake something, if you don't have a good idea of what the original's soul was, then what's the point? This TV series was every bit a vessel for the ideals of justice, good over evil, and romance as the original movie. Anyone who says different is simply whining, and isn't likely to be pleased by anything but the original. Mark is incredible, both in acting and martial arts. He is every bit as moving and intriquing as Brandon Lee ever was. The soundtrack, featuring some great if slightly unknown talet, is nothing short of a complete emotional experience in itself. The single, "Goodbye," by the alt rock group The Painkillers featured in one of the last episodes still sticks with me months later. My only regret is that they may not release all the episodes, and that this movie is only available on VHS and not DVD as well. If you love the movie, you'll love the series. If all you could think while watching Crow 2: City of angels was "He isn't as cool as brandon lee" then don't waste you time or money. Go read your comic books instead.

Good, if not quite up to the original movie
This is the opening two episodes for the Crow television series. As such it is a remake of the original Crow movie but it has been changed so that it is better suited to an ongoing series, i.e. Eric doesn't return to the grave at the end. It also introduces the Snakes, who are supernatural enemies of Crows, setting things up for future confrontations.

On the plus side, the series featured an exceptional cast. Mark Dacascos, who plays Eric, is a real find as he not only bears some resemblance to Brandon Lee but also has some exceptional martial arts moves and can act as well. It's a shame that he seems relegated to making B movies while Jean-Claude van Damme and Stephan Seagal get the high profile martial arts flicks. It's almost worth watching this video just to see him. Sabine Karsenti is lovely as Shelley and she and Dacascos have some real chemistry in their scenes together. And John Pyper-Ferguson does his usual good job as the villainous Top Dollar.

On the negative side, production values are lower since this was made for a straight-to-syndication television series. As is typical of this sort of effort, things didn't really start falling into place until several episodes into the series when everyone started getting really settled into their roles and the scriptwriters became more comfortable writing the different characters. At this early point, everything still felt a little stilted.

Something that you may or may not consider a bad thing is that it's also not as gloomy as the original movie. While not exactly upbeat, its not depressing either. There is an ongoing theme of hope, redemption, and rebirth in the series and it shows in this episode. If you're one of those Gen-X sorts who likes to wear all black and wander around complaining about how badly life sucks, this probably isn't a version of the Crow that you'll enjoy but other fans of the character probably do want to take a look at it.

Is it worth buying? I really can't see paying the current price (I hate priced to rent stuff) for any video tape but if it comes down to something more reasonable it's definitely on my buy list. In the meantime, rent it and hope that they eventually release the better later episodes as well.

sk8ertrite
what's with all the crow copies.the originalwas the best and will alwaya be. in brandon lee's last on camera interview he said if he where to have the same death and abail to come back he would have done the same as to come back and kill every one. city of angels was ok but they went too with a third one and all the rest. i think it is pethetic to have a bunch of sucky ones when the first was the greatest and having the star die in it you would think in honor of brandon lee it would be the only one. and whats with switchingfrom miramax to dimension. in my opinion demensionscrewed it the most.i hope that gives you an idea of how stupid all the crow movies hav gotten and how this one sucks . r.i.p. brandon

"The Crow" gets butchered by TV!
This is not a sequel to any of the Crow films but the poorly-received pilot to the painful syndicated television series. Martial artist/Straight-to-video star Mark Dacascos stars as Eric Draven in this awful, watered-down retelling of the first Crow movie.

Just as he did in the movie, Draven has been resurrected from the dead after he and his girlfiend were murdered by a group of thugs. Though instead of hunting them down one by one and killing them like he did in the movie, Dacascos' Crow is out to teach them a lesson. How moving! Draven has returned from the grave to become some sort of an undead "Big Brother" figure. Gimme a break. This silly remake even has cop Marc Gomes (who will never be mistaken for Ernie Hudson) arresting The Crow for murder. What the hell?

"The Crow" concept clearly does not translate well to the small screen. Where the original movie was a dark comic book style tale of love and retribution, this is more or less, a two-hour PTA message that "two wrongs don't make a right". If you though "City Of Angels" destroyed the Crow franchise, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Worst Combo: Cheese & Pretentiousness
I think this is the worst movie and Tv show pretty much ever made, it makes City of Angels & Salvation look like Oscar Winners...
With that said, there is one good thing about this movie and the tv series & that is The Crow: Stairway to Heaven makes a pretty good comedy, but I don't think that was the show's intentions, it's horribly cheesy filled with unwitty & stupid one-liners.

The actors are pretty bad as well, Albrect was a near-emotionless potatoe, and Eric was just cheesy and oh so bad, shelly just doesn't fit.
I hope it's still in syndication, I need a good laugh...
And I can Easily make a better movie. ... Read more