CrimeThrillerMystery

The Raven

- The only one who can stop a serial killer is the man who inspired him.

A fictionalized account of the last days of Edgar Allan Poe's life, in which the poet is in pursuit of a serial killer whose murders mirror those in the writer's stories.

Release Date : 2012-03-09

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Relativity MediaIntrepid PicturesFilmNation EntertainmentGalavis FilmPioneer PicturesEndgame Entertainment

Production Country : HungarySerbiaSpainUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Edgar Allan Poe

Original Name : John Cusack

Gender : Male

Character Name : Detective Fields

Original Name : Luke Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name : Emily Hamilton

Original Name : Alice Eve

Gender : Female

Character Name : Colonel Hamilton

Original Name : Brendan Gleeson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maddux

Original Name : Kevin McNally

Gender : Male

Character Name : John Cantrell

Original Name : Oliver Jackson-Cohen

Gender : Male

Character Name : Captain Eldridge

Original Name : Jimmy Yuill

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. Bradley

Original Name : Pam Ferris

Gender : Female

Character Name : Reagan

Original Name : Brendan Coyle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ivan

Original Name : Sam Hazeldine

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doc Clements

Original Name : Adrian Rawlins

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stage Manager

Original Name : Aidan Feore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Percy

Original Name : Dave Legeno

Gender : Male

Character Name : Old Gentleman

Original Name : Michael Cronin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Professor

Original Name : Michael Poole

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Morgan

Original Name : Michael Shannon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fields' Maid

Original Name : Charity Wakefield

Gender : Female

Character Name : Griswold

Original Name : John Warnaby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sailor

Original Name : Matt Slack

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fire Marshall

Original Name : Ian Virgo

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bookseller

Original Name : Michael J. Fourticq Sr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Older Tenement Woman (Dead)

Original Name : Jasmina Ilic

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Tenement Woman (Dead)

Original Name : Teodora Uveric

Gender : Male

Character Name : Wretching student

Original Name : Kristof Farkas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Small Boy

Original Name : Luka Mijatović

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sherry Merchant

Original Name : József Tálos

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hamilton's Security Guard

Original Name : Matt Devere

Gender : Male

Character Name : Salty Sailor

Original Name : Sergej Trifunović

Gender : Male

Character Name : Porter - Paris

Original Name : Miloš Đuričić

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Reveler

Original Name : Mike Kelly

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer at Precinct

Original Name : Bojan Perić

Gender : Male

Character Name : Lady Macbeth

Original Name : Ana Sofrenović

Gender : Female

Character Name : Doctor in "Macbeth"

Original Name : Steve Agnew

Gender : Male

Character Name : Gentlewoman in "Macbeth"

Original Name : Malina Nikolic

Gender : Male

Character Name : Headline Man 1

Original Name : Miklós Kapácsy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Headline Man 2

Original Name : Andrew Hefler

Gender : Male

Character Name : French Officer

Original Name : Pierre Boris Jaurdin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Doc Clements' Maid

Original Name : Tamara Krcunović

Gender : Female

Character Name : Crew Member

Original Name : Jason Ryan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cardinal

Original Name : Antal Publik

Gender : Male

Character Name : Breathless Tenement Man

Original Name : László Konter

Gender : Male

Character Name : Barfly 1

Original Name : Mark C. Phelan

Gender : Male

Character Name : Barfly 2

Original Name : Krisztián Peer

Gender : Male

Character Name : Actress

Original Name : Annamária Ördög

Gender : Male

Character Name : Church Secretary

Original Name : Ádám Földi

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maurice Robichaux

Original Name : Dejan Cubrilov

Gender : Male

Character Name : Uniformed Guard

Original Name : Máté Haumann

Gender : Male

Character Name : Young Man Skeleton

Original Name : Péter Fancsikai

Gender : Male

Character Name : Servant

Original Name : Sava Rapic

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Elementary my dear Edgar. The Raven is directed by James McTeigue and written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare. It stars John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve and Brendan Gleeson. Music is by Lucas Vidal and cinematography by Danny Ruhlmann. "On October 7, 1849, Edgar Allan Poe was found, near death, on a park bench in Baltimore, Maryland. The last days of his life remain a mystery" It's a real smart idea that the makers have here, putting their own theory forward on what happened in the lead up to Poe's death. Essentially a period whodunit procedural as Poe (Cusack) and Inspector Emmett Fields (Evans) race against time to find the person who is killing in the style of Poe's literary works. Poe's love interest, Emily Hamilton (Eve), is in grave danger, so as to add extra peril and suspense into the clock ticking drama. It's a safe piece of entertainment, one that acquaints the uninitiated with Poe's work and his life struggles away from the writing bureau. The detective angle is fun and the murders grizzly and appropriately Gothic in execution. Unfortunately it rarely convinces as a period piece. The dialogue is often out of sync with the era, Eve is miscast, the score is inappropriate and it always feels like actors playing at period rompery. It's a shame that it is bogged down by such irritants because Teague's direction is stylish, while the art design deserves a round of applause. Cusack is fun to watch, but more at ease playing Sherlock in the second half of the piece than a tortured soul in the first, and Evans is confident in the straight backed gentleman detective stakes. There's a good time to be had here on a surface whodunit follow the clues experience, and Poe fans will delight at catching the many references to his life and spiky works, but it unfortunately misses the mark in too many key areas. 6/10

Per Gunnar Jonsson

@Dark Jedi

2024-05-16

I just happened to find this movie in the program listings yesterday. Movies based on Edgar Allan Poe can be a bit hit or miss but I like quite a few of his works so I decided to give this one a try. I have to say that it is surprisingly good. The Victorian era setting together with the rather dark plot and atmosphere makes for a very enjoyable old times thriller. The movie is based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe but not in the usual way that one would think when one says based on. Instead the story in this movie is a new story spun around Edgar Allan Poe as a person where his work is used by the evil mastermind in that the various stories are re-enacted in real life…with deadly results. I, for obvious reasons, have no idea how Edgar Allan Poe was as a person and I did not really have any pre-conceived opinions before watching this movie either. I can imagine that he, as a poet and writer of rather grisly stories, might have been a wee bit excentric though so to me John Cusack’s performance as the rather excentric, somewhat alcoholic and sometimes almost insane but still brilliant Edgar Allan Poe was a very good one. Not that the rest of the actors are below par by any means. The story, if you take it apart and remove the parts taken from Poe’s original works, is not really something to jump up and down over. However, put it together with the bits and pieces from Poe, add the characterization of Poe by Cusack, the dark Victorian ambiance and generally well implemented cinematics and you have a movie that is, as I wrote above, surprisingly good.