"Can't rain all the time" - Brandon Lee as Eric Draven and on “Hangman’s Joke” vinyl in "The Crow" 

I absolutely love this movie. But the first time I saw it was 2024 and it was a reverse-pop culture-search because of a Brandon Lee autograph in my collection. 

When I was going through some autographed cards and I saw that one was supposedly Brandon Lee, I was highly doubtful. But as a newly minted Bruce Lee fanatic (again, me being late!), I was interested in checking out and authenticating the autograph of his son. 

Amazingly, it matches perfectly with one of the few authentic examples online, shown here for comparison. 

But I hadn't seen "The Crow" and I was intrigued to understand the hoopla. It's such a good film, filled with amazing characters and a cast of talented supporting players.  Brandon as Eric Draven is simply unforgettable and now, I totally understand the cult following.  It's a classic and holds up so well even 30 years later. And Brandon is just captivating. Tough/tender, handsome/scary - unique. 

When I realized that his girlfriend, Shelly, was played by Sofia Shinas, I did a double take because I only knew her as a singer.  Checked my music library and saw that I had burned three of her charted dance songs only and sold the original CD years ago. But of course, I had to buy one back into my collection lol along with “The Crow” soundtrack which includes the rare song “Burn” by The Cure that they have apparently only played once in concert. 

An awful misfortune of another Lee family member dying so young.  Brandon's life and light were super brief, but the cult status of “The Crow” can be attributed to his talent and not just his accidental death.   

The supporting cast is superb - Michael Winnicott is so creepy good and menacing, Rochelle Davis and Anna Thomson give us dimension and so on - every player is a perfect piece of the puzzle; there is no weak link. I will have separate pages dedicated to those who have had long and high-profile careers and roles. And yes, we absolutely need to talk about Bai Ling. 

Rochelle Davis as Sarah Mohr is the heart-and-soul linchpin of the movie and her precocious, jaded yet sensitive, performance is simply outstanding.  Rochelle’s autograph is pretty rare and although she embraces her “Murder of Crows” fanbase to an extent, she only rarely makes convention or “Crow” related appearances.  We must respect that the trauma she experienced of losing a friend while working at such a young age is an intense thing to live with.  I’m very lucky to have been in contact with Rochelle and was able to purchase these three autographed pictures that you see here: beautifully inscribed, personalized and signed.  I have so much fondness for Rochelle Davis. 

It's interesting to note that the autographs I have of Sophia Shinas and Michael Massee are collector cards from their appearances in “The Outer Limits” and “Catwoman”, respectively.  A career in entertainment combined with collector fascination is like a roulette wheel. Sometimes an appearance on a random show or movie will outweigh or overshadow the rest of an entertainer’s resume.  And what collectors love the most may NOT always align with one that the performer loves! 

I'm sure Michael Massee (Funboy, in the movie) carried such internal suffering with him until the day he died.  It's been said that he never watched "The Crow" and that he had to take a long while off work because of his on-set shooting which resulted in the accidental death of Brandon. It was 100% an accident, but the emotional toll must have been the heaviest of weight for him to carry for all those years. 

"Victims. Aren't we all." - Brandon Lee as Eric Draven in "The Crow" 

Watch this film – stat- if you haven’t seen it! Brandon Lee lives on in celluloid immortality.