Maybe it's because I've always been a forward thinker (which doesn't equal a good planner, just ask my wife), I've never been one for reading about history. Some historical facts are interesting, but on the whole, I'd rather think about the present or the future. Having said that, I am a fan of historical fiction (not to be confused with revisionist history) where actual figures from the past are placed in fictional situations. If you haven't read The List of 7 and The Six Messiahs by Mark Frost, you should, as they cast Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as an adventurer who's "experiences" influenced the Sherlock Holmes novels. I've also read two different books entitled Nevermore, one by Harold Schecter and one by William Hjortsberg, both of which deal with the imagined life of Edgar Allan Poe. Now Hollywood has gotten into a similar business, as we get The Raven, a film which speculates on Poe's mysterious final days.

American author and poet Edgar Allan Poe died on October 7, 1849 in Baltimore, Maryland. His death was shrouded in mystery and to this day, authorities still aren't sure how he died. The Raven explores the last few days of Poe's life and offers a possible (although clearly impossible) suggestion of what could have happened.

As The Raven opens, two important events occur. First, Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) returns to Baltimore, a city he knows quite well. He is broke and hoping that the local newspaper editor, Maddux (Kevin McNally), will run one of his reviews. Poe also wants to see Emily Hamilton (Alice Eve), a woman he's very fond of, despite the fact that father, Captain Hamilton (Brendan Gleseson sees Poe as being low-class. At this same time, two women are found murdered in a locked room. Detective Fields (Luke Evans) investigate the crime and finds that the window has a hidden release mechanism, just like one in a one of Poe's stories. Fields confronts Poe and when another body is found, Poe is asked to assist with the case. Despite the fact that he's written about detectives, Poe doesn't consider himself to be one and he's horrified that someone would mimic the dastardly acts portrayed in his stories. However, when the murderer targets Emily, Poe throws himself headlong into the investigation.

(We'll ignore the fact that The Raven shares some similarities with William Hjortsberg's novel Nevermore and move forward with the review.) The Raven offers an interesting concept which is intriguing on two fronts. First of all, Poe's death is one of the great unsolved mysteries in America. Many have offered theories on what happened, but the few clues are very strange. Poe wasn't supposed to be in Baltimore and he was found wearing clothes which weren't his. Poe was delirious and unable to explain his condition. The second thing which makes The Raven interesting is that it takes the author who is often credited as having created the detective story and placing him in a serial killer movie. The notion of "Edgar Allan Poe meets Seven" may be simplifying the movie a bit, but it captures the essence of the movie as Poe and Fields chase a demented killer who leaves clues as each murder scene.

The Raven decided that given Poe a pet raccoon would be a good idea on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc carries an AVC 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 34 Mbps. The image is sharp and clear, showing no distracting grain and no defects from the source material. This is a very dark movie, but the transfer handles that well and the action is always visible. The few flashes of color look good. The level of detail is fine and the image shows nice depth. The Disc carries a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.1 Mbps. I don't know if John Cusack has an aversion to microphones or if he decided to whisper his way through is performance, but unless he is yelling, he's very hard to understand. Thus, I found myself riding the volume control while watching this. That aside, the surround sound and stereo effects are good, especially those which capture things like the sounds of hoofbeats on cobble-stone streets. These effects are nicely detailed and show good separation. The action scenes provide subwoofer effects which don't overshadow the dialogue.

The Raven Blu-ray Disc contains several extra features. We begin with an AUIDO COMMENTARY from Director James McTeigue, Producers Marc Evans, Trevor Macy and Aaron Ryder. The Disc contains six DELETED & EXTENDED SCENES which run about 11 minutes. These scenes are mainly dialogue moments which don't introduce any new characters or ideas. "The Raven Guts: Bringing Death to Life" (14 minutes) is a making-of featurette which explores the story, the characters, and the casting. Through interviews with the filmmakers and the cast, we get an idea on how the story of Poe was brought to the screen and how this was twisted into a detective story. "The Madness, Misery, and Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe" (10 minutes) is a mini-documentary which gives us an overview of Poe's life and also (inadvertently) reveals that at least one part of the film couldn't have happened. "Behind the Beauty and Horror" (2 minutes) is simply a synopsis of the film told through interviews with the cast and McTeigue. "The Raven Presents John Cusack & James McTeigue" (3 minutes) is a conversation between the actor and the filmmaker. "Music for The Raven: The Team" (5 minutes) takes us into the music studio to get an idea of how the score for the film was created using various mediums. The final extra is the THEATRICAL TRAILER for the film.