THE RAVEN Blu-ray Review

The Raven arrived on Blu-ray and DVD on October 7 to commemorate Edgar Allan Poe's death, which was Oct. 7, 1849. James McTeigue directed this suspense thriller which stars John Cusack as Poe. The cast also includes Alice Eve, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Kevin McNally. Despite a solid cast and production The Raven failed to entertain on a number of levels. 

Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare penned the screenplay, which takes audiences inside the final days of the eccentric author. The story takes place in Baltimore, Maryland where a fictionalized account of Poe's life, in which the poet is in pursuit of a serial killer whose murders mirror those in the his stories. In The Raven, the city of Baltimore acts as an integral part of the plot as Poe races through the city to bring the murderer to justice.


The Raven gets off to a very slow start, almost moving at a snail's pace. You would think that would mean some nice character development, but that was far from the truth. Cusack does a solid job as Edgar Allen Poe, but it is very hard to see a Cusack movie without always seeing the character as being played by Cusack. His personality, and line delivery continue to shine through no matter how much of a dialect he uses.

Alice Eve is very pretty, but she did not have any chemistry with Cusack. I would have rather seen someone a bit older in the role. Luke Evans is in one of his better roles as of late as the Detective. McTeigue could have done a better job, and I was expecting a lot more in terms of the tone after his fantastic work on V for Vendetta

If you enjoy doom and gloom and are a fan of Poe's work, this may be a film you enjoy. The disc is loaded with informative features about Poe, and the mystery surrounding his life and death. I specifically enjoyed the documentary that featured two Poe experts.

Special Features:

● Deleted & Extended Scenes
○ Poetry Reading
○ The Red Mask
○ Emily’s Recital
○ Fields Check on Poe
○ Poe Brings Carl to Field’s Home
○ Doctor Clements and Fields
● The Raven Guts: Bringing Death to Life
● The Madness, Misery, and Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe
● Behind the Beauty and Horror
● The Raven Presents John Cusack & James McTeigue
● Music for the Raven: The Team
● Audio Commentary by Director James McTeigue, Producers Marc D. Evans,
Trevor Macy and Aaron Ryder
● Theatrical Trailer

 

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