The Crow: What Might Have Been

The following is a detailed list of scenes that can be found on the “work print” copy of The Crow. There is usually a copy available on eBay for bid. This is not an officially sanctioned copy of The Crow, so you will not find this in any retail stores. It is, more or less, a copy of The Crow in a “work in progress” stage. No extra sound effects are recorded.  Bullet noises are all the same and music played is not cut. Also, when a visual effect is missing, the sign “OPTICAL MISSING International Burbank Creative Effects” appears. This is not all of the scenes shown in the movie. We have listed only those scenes added or different, in comparison to the theatrical release.  Also, scenes are listed in the order they appear.

Beginning Scene - Starts off in a similar fashion as that of the theatre version.  The exception is the scene where Albrecht is walking through the apartment.  It is longer. As he goes through Eric's things, the other cop makes comments such as, “Hope they don't get their deposit back” (in reference to the wedding clothes). “Who the f—k gets married on Halloween anyhow?” Shelly being taken off to the ambulance is writhing in pain.   Longer than the theatre version.

Eric's resurrection - Begins with a camera shot from inside the coffin with hands pushing to open it. Eric crawls out and screams, rolls around, screams again and then arises, only to see the Crow fly in.

T-Bird and the boys in Arcade Games - A black woman is tied to a chair. The boys start trashing the arcade games in the store.  Then they focus on the woman. T-Bird comments, “I squirt you with this, you can jump in the Detroit river and burn all the way to the bottom.” T-Bird leaves the girl. Tin Tin wants to take her. T-Bird comments, “She can listen to her hair burn”.

Eric makes way to loft -Eric crawls through alley, feels the bullet holes that were put in his chest when he was shot, gets his boots.  Eric walks on. We flash back to the black woman struggling in Arcade Games. Bomb explodes. Eric gets caught in the blast and notices the woman crawling out of the burning building. He goes to help her. When he (Eric) touches her, images of T-Bird and the boys jolt Eric and flash on the scene. Eric puts her down. Albrecht comes in just as Eric leaves. The lady dies with Albrecht calling out and cops watching.  This scene was cut.

Medicine performs in club – much longer sequence, T-Bird and Skank talk in the crowd, T-Bird goes upstairs. Grange tells him, “Use the ashtray. You're on for tomorrow night”.

Top Dollar's introduction - Longer Top Dollar and Myca sequence has more dialogue.

Eric reaches loft - Back at the loft, Eric gets inside and is assaulted by images, much more violent than the theater version. He sees rape scenes and eventually the image of him being held up and slowly shot 4 times. Eric throws himself around the room and breaks glass, etc. Much longer scene.

T-Bird and gang drinking whiskey & bullet shooters - Boys in bar scene, much the same.

Eric at loft continued - Crow eats a roach, more clips of Shelly. Eric touches different things from the dresser individually, has a flashback for each, longer flashbacks. Eric suits up, also longer.

Sarah goes to the bar – the same.

Tin Tin visits Gideon's - there is more dialogue in comparison to the theatrical version. Gideon responds to the child molesting comment made by TinTin; “I'm not a child molester!”.

Roof top running - Full NIN song Dead Souls when Eric runs across the roofs, the song ends when Eric kills Tin Tin.

Victims, aren't we all - The famous “victims, aren't we all?” scene is longer. Eric stabs Tin Tin more than 4 times with his knife after reciting the famous line.

 

Sarah at bar continued - Extra dialogue between bar man and Sarah.

Tin Tin found - More dialogue between Torres and Albrecht after Tin Tin is found. Torres remarks, “Bust wino's…eat donuts, you're a beat cop”.

Eric drops in on Gideon - At Gideon's, the song ‘Fly Me to the Moon' by Sinatra is playing. Eric bursts in and recites ‘The Raven' in a heavy southern accent. More dialogue with Eric and Gideon. When Eric gets shot through the chest, it's in slow motion.Short flashback scene when Eric goes through rings, no more flashbacks in Gideon's after that. Longer torture for Gideon with the knife through his hand.

Watch Eric leave the burning Gideon's, more dialogue between Eric and Albrecht.

Top and Myca “smoke” - More dialogue between Top Dollar and Myca during the scene where she burns the human eye. Myca remarks, “Just you watch your ass”. Top Dollar responds, “How about you watch my ass for me?”.  Myca responds, “My pleasure.”  More coke is sniffed. Top talks to T-Bird about getting a replacement for Tin Tin.

Eric pulls Sarah out of traffic - As Eric saves Sarah from the car, there's a classical score.

Albrecht “drawing” conclusions - More dialogue between Albrecht and female cop during the scene where he (Albrecht) is sifting through photos of Hangman's Joke.

Eric pays a visit to Funboy - Eric sits outside Funboy's. We watch Funboy put in a Machines of Loving Grace tape and then injects morphine slowly. He then smokes rock (dope?) and reacts differently to the Crow. Eric comes in and Funboy thinks, “It's just the dope.” Eric's hand explodes rather than just having a hole in it when shot. Funboy writhes in more pain when he's shot, Darla makes her exit to the bathroom slowly. After Eric extracts the Morphine from Darla's arm she asks him, “How did you do that?”. Eric responds, “Magic” (remind you of anything?). Eric picks up the syringe and is attacked from behind by Funboy. Eric eventually overtakes him. Grange slowly makes his way, from talking to Gideon in the bar, to Funboy's apartment through a red lit corridor.

Added solo - Guitar solo on roof from Eric.

 

Eric visits Albrecht - Stormy Weather (Billy Holiday singing?) played in background at Albrecht's. Much longer dialogue, Albrecht can't imagine how Eric is back from the dead. We learn that the only thing Shelly said before she died was “Eric.” Eric smokes a lot more in the apartment.

Gideon “gets the point” - At Top Dollar's – Gideon speaks more to Top Dollar, same sequence, longer dialogue, Gideon doesn't die easy, Top Dollar shoots him more than 5 times. Possible U2 playing in background.

Eric takes T-Bird for a ride - At the store, more dialogue between Skank and T-Bird. Inside, the store is robbed by some young kids, Skank pushes one of the kids aside. The kid then gets up and shoots him through the arm. Skank is hit by the car and the kids laugh. Car chase sequence is much longer, with more dialogue from the cops. Skank is getting more frustrated and there are more shots of T-Bird. Plenty more shots of Detroit with other cars and trucks.  Flaming Crow takes a lot longer to light.

News update - More ‘Action News' sequences in Darla's apartment, the rest is the same.

Grange visits Eric's grave - Grange at Eric's grave, longer.

Sarah visits loft - Eric back home thinking about having sex with Shelly. There are sex sequences. Some show a bare-chested Shelly. Sarah comes up and hunts for Eric. She tells him how she missed him and Shelly. Eric comes back and says, “I care Sarah and you're not alone anymore.”

Albrecht gets some bad news - Longer dialogue between Albrecht and Torres.

Skank sees a “dead whore” - Different dialogue between Grange, Skank and Top at The Pit during the inquisition of Skank.

Sarah and Albrecht meet at Maxi's - Scene at Maxi Dogs has more dialogue between Sarah and Albrecht. Overall, scene is longer.

Final guitar solo - Really long guitar solo from Eric, he goes nuts and plays many different tunes and then beats up the guitar and amp. He then sits and meditates.  Scene switches immediately to The Pit and the band is playing.

Top talks about the ‘idea' - Longer Top Dollar dialogue, more on ‘the idea.' Talks about spirit, then future and historical figures being based on greed, man shooting red coats, George Washington. A very nice speech, in depth.

Eric crashes party - Crow breaks in, Eric creeps in and sits at table. He then remarks, “I suppose you're wondering why I brought you all here today”  (laughs). Top Dollar replies, as do the goons, with a hail of bullets. Eric is shot in slow motion with many, many shots. More death, people shoot other goons in anger, scene is slower and more ordered as Eric picks them off one by one. After a goon falls through the window, My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult band leader yells, “Get the fuck outta here!”.  The crowd and the band run out. After Skank falls, the cops shoot Eric up. More scenes of Eric running over roofs.

 

Top, Myca, and Grange fleeing -Top laments about how upset he is at Eric. He (Top) comments on how Eric was motivated with no money involved. Myca tells him that Eric was in his destiny.

 

Eric wants to rest - Eric takes his coat off with no “I'm coming home Shelly” reference. This was taken from a later scene.

 

Eric visits graveyard - Longer graveyard scene. After Eric gives Sarah the neckless.  She says, “I'll never take it off if you promise that you won't go away forever.”   Eric replies,  “I don't know if I can, for you I'll try real hard” (this dialogue hints at the possibility of a sequel). Classical score.

 

Sarah is captured - Grange watches Eric at grave, captures Sarah and talks to Top. Top asks Sarah, “Can you spell bait?” He continues on,  “Of course, zombie's in makeup are every mother's choice for a perfect playmate. You know, you're really cute.”

Eric helps the living - (view Skull Cowboy scene here - needs Real Audio) Eric comes to the rescue, bounds over graves and meets up with SkullCowboy at the church steps. Much longer entrance to the church, casting a long shadow.

 

Eric is human again - Top walks in, gives speech and shoots Eric. Albrecht is outside the church and hears shots.  He gets his guns from his car. While TopDollar is punching Eric he comments, “I suppose I could go around the city lighting fires, but that's business…this…this is just plain old fun!” Grange dies from Albrecht's shot. Long death sequence. Longer dialogue between Albrecht and Eric. When the Crow attacks Myca, Eric tries to save her, but she falls. Eric climbs to the roof and collapses against a wall.

He then says, “I'm coming home Shelly.” (theatrical version has him saying this earlier in the scene where he takes off Tin Tin's coat and the trick-or-treaters circle him).

The end of Top Dollar - Longer fight scene between Eric and Top with more dialogue. Top slowly gets impaled on the gargoyle.

The end - Movie ends with a pan on a burning Detroit street.