Q&A with Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Polly. Presented with Culture Canon.

Director: Alex Proyas Run Time: 102 min. Format: DCP Rating: R Release Year: 1994

For Culture Canon’s inaugural event, we’ll be heading back to 1994 to celebrate 25 years of Alex Proyas’ The Crow.

While many remember The Crow for tragedy, this pivotal film is so much more than Brandon Lee’s on-set death. It’s a revenge tale, following the murdered-and-resurrected Eric Draven (Lee) as he uses newfound supernatural powers to hunt the gang that killed him and his girlfriend. It’s a superhero success story, deftly translating the graphic storytelling of James O’Barr’s 80’s black-and-white miniseries to moving images 15 years before Marvel crafted a proven formula for doing so. It’s a goth relic, with images of androgyny, leather, and black make-up preserved as a time capsule of the early ‘90s subculture. Most importantly, though, The Crow reminds us of a time when an action-packed blockbuster could stand on its own without devoting 1/3 of its runtime to franchise-building; even if the film’s success yielded sequels, Proyas’ attention is clearly trained on providing brooding visuals and visceral superhero action in the here-and-now of The Crow’s 102-minute runtime.

A raffle supported by local business will precede the screening. It will be followed by a Q&A with Bruce Lee biographer Matthew Polly to discuss Brandon’s contributions to the cinematic legacy of his father; Polly’s book Bruce Lee: A Life will be available for sale and signing after the screening. Both the introduction from Chief Film Curator Jon Hogan as well as Hogan and Polly’s post-screening conversation will be recorded and distributed as a podcast.” – Jon James Hogan, Culture Canon