The Crow Road

The Crow Road is a novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1992.

Plot introduction

A pivotal period in Prentice McHoan's life is described, seen through his preoccupations with death, sex, his relationship with his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, a missing uncle, relationships, cars, drink (and other intoxicants) and God, with the background a celebration of the Scottish landscape.

Plot summary

This Bildungsroman is set in the fictional Argyll town of Gallanach (by its description, reminiscent of Oban but on the north east shore of Loch Crinan), the real village of Lochgair, and in Glasgow where the adult Prentice McHoan lives. Prentice's uncle Rory has disappeared eight years previous while writing a book called The Crow Road. Prentice becomes obsessed with papers his uncle left behind and sets out to solve the mystery. Along the way he must cope with estrangement from his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, and failure at his studies.

The estrangement from his father concerns belief in God or an afterlife. Prentice cannot accept a universe without some higher power, some purpose; he can't believe that people can just cease to exist when they die. His father dogmatically denies the existence of God, universal purpose, and the afterlife.

The Crow Road (TV series)

The Crow Road is a four-part television miniseries by BBC Scotland in 1996, based faithfully on the novel by Scottish novelist Iain Banks. It was directed by Gavin Millar.

The cast includes Joseph McFadden as Prentice McHoan, Bill Paterson as his father, Dougray Scott as his older brother (another, younger brother in the novel has been written out here) and Peter Capaldi as the disappeared uncle who, via a narrative device employed in the adaptation, visits the thoughtful Prentice when he is alone. The production was nominated as Best Drama Serial at the 1997 British Academy Television Awards. Following the success of this TV serial, the same team went on to adapt Banks's Complicity as a feature film.

Cast

The Crow: Wicked Prayer

The Crow: Wicked Prayer is a 2005 American supernatural action film directed by Lance Mungia and inspired by Norman Partridge's novel of the same title. It is the fourth and final film of The Crow film series. The movie was filmed in the summer of 2003. It had a one-week theatrical premiere on June 3, 2005 at AMC Pacific Place Theatre in Seattle, Washington before being released to video on July 19, 2005. Like the other sequels to the cult movie, The Crow, it had a poor critical reception.

Plot

James "Jimmy" Cuervo (Edward Furlong), paroled after serving a prison sentence for killing a rapist in a fight, lives with his dog in a mobile home in Lake Ravasu on the Raven Aztec reservation. Jimmy plans to start a new life with his girlfriend, Lily (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and leave the town for good. Lily's priest father, Harold (Danny Trejo), and brother, local cop Tanner (Dave L. Ortiz), both despise Jimmy, however.

The town is home to a Satanic biker gang led by escaped convict Luc "Death" Crash (David Boreanaz) and his fiancée Lola Byrne (Tara Reid). Along with their three confederates "Pestilence" (Yuji Okumoto), "Famine" (Tito Ortiz) and "War" (Marcus Chong), Luc and Lola murder Lily and Jimmy in a brutal ritual that they hope will conjure the rebirth of the Antichrist. The ritual includes removing Lily's eyes — bestowing precognitive powers upon Lola — and Jimmy's heart. They dump the bodies inside an old freezer.

The Crow: City of Angels

The Crow: City of Angels is a 1996 American supernatural action film directed by Tim Pope. It is a sequel to the 1994 cult film The Crow.

Plot

The film is set in Los Angeles, where drug kingpin Judah Earl (Richard Brooks) has mechanic Ashe Corven (Vincent Pérez) and his eight-year-old son Danny (Eric Acosta) killed after they witness a gang of Judah's thugs murdering a fellow drug dealer.

Sarah from the first film (Mia Kirshner) is now an adult, working in a tattoo parlor by day, and painting surreal images of death and resurrection in her apartment at night. She is haunted by disturbing dreams about Ashe and Danny, and after a day's work in the tattoo parlor, Sarah is visited in her apartment by a large crow as she contemplates a ring that Eric Draven gave her years before.

Sarah follows the crow to the harbor at night on All Saints' Day, and witnesses Ashe's resurrection and frantic escape from his watery grave. She takes him to her apartment. When Sarah tells Ashe he is dead, he panics and runs screaming into the night, ending up at his own home, where he relives the final moments of his life.

The Crow: Salvation

The Crow: Salvation is a 2000 American supernatural action film directed by Bharat Nalluri. Starring Eric Mabius as Alex Corvis, the film is the third in a series based on The Crow comic book by James O'Barr. After its distributor cancelled the intended wide theatrical release due to The Crow: City of Angels' negative critical reception, The Crow: Salvation was released mostly directly to video.

Plot summary

In Salt Lake City, Alex Corvis (Eric Mabius) is a death row convict framed for the murder of his girlfriend Lauren Randall (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe). Three years later, he is sentenced to death in the electric chair. When he is asked for his last words, he says he still loves Lauren and that he is innocent. However, the guards ignore his plea to live, and the switch is pulled. The generator is struck by lightning during the electrocution, overriding the electricity, and Alex suffers a painful, excruciating death. Soon after the execution, Alex is resurrected by a mystical crow and gifted with supernatural abilities, so he can clear his name and avenge Lauren's death. Alex follows the crow to the Salt Lake City police department's evidence room, where he discovers that Lauren was killed by a group of corrupt cops. Alex has a vision of one of the killers, who has a scar on his arm matching one he saw just before his execution. Alex finds the knife that was used on Lauren, and then goes to her grave. There, he meets with Lauren's sister Erin (Kirsten Dunst), who believes he is guilty. He tells her that he will prove his innocence, and disappears.