The Crow vs The Wraith

[superman-mos]

So thanks to Netflix I watched The Wraith today. A movie that was released in 1986 and starred a young Charlie Sheen. In this film a young man is murdered by a ruthless gang of street racers . Later on a man clad in all black with a black souped up car picks off the members of the street gang one by one with his seemingly supernatural power . One member of this gang is a doped up thug named Skank and a mentally challenged ( from drug abuse?) gang member named gutter boy . The Wraith kills every gang member with a local detective on his case only to be revealed as the murdered young man back from beyond set on revenge . That being said in 1988-89 James O'Barr released the Crow and a few years later work began on the Feature film . This story revolves around a young man back from the dead looking for revenge on the street gang that took his and his finances life . Dressed in all black with seemingly supernatural abilities goes after the street gang some included a doped up gang member named Skank who has become slightly mentally challenged due to drug abuse and a doped up member named Fun Boy .

Now I'm not saying that there is any infringement going on here but more than a little inspiration definitely. Thoughts ?

 

[superman-mos]

Looking at what I typed I know I said seemingly supernatural abilities but I guess that's obvious if they came back from the dead 😂😂

 

[Batmannerism]

The tradition of revenge flicks, even supernatural revenge flicks is hardly anything new. As a literary tradition it goes back to at least 1844 (The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the all time great revenge tales). High Plains Drifter (1973) and Pale Rider (1985) are examples in the Western genre, and suggest a dead man returned to life to take vengence on his killer.

I 've seen bits of Wraith, and the Crow is far superior in every way.

The real question is whether James O'Barr (who wrote the original Crow comic) was influenced by Wraith in plotting some of the details in 1989 ?

Ultimately, who knows ?

 

[superman-mos]

The tradition of revenge flicks, even supernatural revenge flicks is hardly anything new. As a literary tradition it goes back to at least 1844 (The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the all time great revenge tales). High Plains Drifter (1973) and Pale Rider (1985) are examples in the Western genre, and suggest a dead man returned to life to take vengence on his killer.

I 've seen bits of Wraith, and the Crow is far superior in every way.

The real question is whether James O'Barr (who wrote the original Crow comic) was influenced by Wraith in plotting some of the details in 1989 ?

Ultimately, who knows ?

By all means you are correct. Most revenge movies , supernatural or not, follow the same guidelines . Many consist of street gangs , vengeful heros dressed in black, etc. however The Wraith was to me just a little to close to The Crow for there to had not been some inspiration to a high degree going on

 

[2kt09]

That's the movie I was looking for. All this time I thought it was the Knight Rider.

 

[The Shape]

The tradition of revenge flicks, even supernatural revenge flicks is hardly anything new. As a literary tradition it goes back to at least 1844 (The Count of Monte Cristo, one of the all time great revenge tales). High Plains Drifter (1973) and Pale Rider (1985) are examples in the Western genre, and suggest a dead man returned to life to take vengence on his killer.

I 've seen bits of Wraith, and the Crow is far superior in every way.

The real question is whether James O'Barr (who wrote the original Crow comic) was influenced by Wraith in plotting some of the details in 1989 ?

Ultimately, who knows ?

The Crow (comic/graphic novel) by James O'Barr came out in 1989. However, he began working on The Crow in 1981 following a personal tragedy of his own. It has been stated in interviews that The Crow "sat on a shelf" for something like 7 years before a publisher came along in 1988 and worked to publish it in the following year.

Yes, The Crow is essentially a spin on the classic "revenge tale" and follows that typical plot structure. However, I'm betting that any specific similarities between The Crow and The Wraith (plot details, character names, etc) are purely coincidental.

 

[Rowsdower!]

The Wraith is such a ridiculous movie that you just can't help but love it. It's so 80s. None of it makes any sense but it's fun. The Crow is a vastly superior film though, even if I find it to be a tad overrated.

 

[superman-mos]

The Crow (comic/graphic novel) by James O'Barr came out in 1989. However, he began working on The Crow in 1981 following a personal tragedy of his own. It has been stated in interviews that The Crow "sat on a shelf" for something like 7 years before a publisher came along in 1988 and worked to publish it in the following year.

Yes, The Crow is essentially a spin on the classic "revenge tale" and follows that typical plot structure. However, I'm betting that any specific similarities between The Crow and The Wraith (plot details, character names, etc) are purely coincidental.

I don't think any malicious theft of a story was happening or anything like that. I was just really referring to the similarities between the two films . I know there are some differences between the book and film and after watching The Wraith recently I couldn't help but wonder if the film version of The Crow took some ideas from that film . A lot of similarities down to the way certain parts are played

 

[Batmannerism]

The Crow (comic/graphic novel) by James O'Barr came out in 1989. However, he began working on The Crow in 1981 following a personal tragedy of his own. It has been stated in interviews that The Crow "sat on a shelf" for something like 7 years before a publisher came along in 1988 and worked to publish it in the following year.

Yes, The Crow is essentially a spin on the classic "revenge tale" and follows that typical plot structure. However, I'm betting that any specific similarities between The Crow and The Wraith (plot details, character names, etc) are purely coincidental.

What really distinguishes them for me (well, okay, besides acting, production value, storytelling, music and action ) is the tone. The Crow is a genuinely dark but moving film - even without Lee's tragic death, I would have found it sad and engaging (mostly due to his performance).

As an action film I think it's superb - I remember seeing it in the cinema, and thinking that it just got better and better as it went along (kind of like the first Matrix movie).

The Crow, kind of like Kill Bill 2, really manages to get the tone right, so that it's not just about the killing - the audience connects with the main character, the Avenger.

For me, Wraith had none of that.

 

[gohei_]

I love the Wraith, can't tell you how many times I've seen it in my youth. The cars are great, the races are great, the soundtrack is great and yes the black car is just all sorts of awesome.