In Alan Parker's ANGEL HEART, based on the novel FALLING ANGEL by William Hjortsberg, a New York City gumshoe is hired to find an aging blues singer. Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) follows clues from the ominous ghettos of Harlem to the witchy backwoods of Louisiana, where he takes up with Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet), the beautiful young daughter of a voodoo priestess, whom he believes will be able to shed light on the growing mystery surrounding the missing musician. As Angel closes in on the truth of the case, his contacts start turning up dead. He begins to suspect he might be next.
Parker (MISSISSIPPI BURNING) threads a commentary on the limitations of modern Western society into his sensual, suspenseful thriller. As the story unfolds, Angel relies less and less on his failing, overwhelmed rational mind (and handgun) and more on Epiphany's ancient mojo. Rourke captures the unraveling protagonist perfectly, and Bonet adds an erotic and mysterious edge with her performance. Robert De Niro is both funny and malevolent as Angel's mysterious client, Louis Cyphre. Shimmering with a beguiling mist of the macabre, ANGEL HEART provides an unexpectedly haunting dose of gothic noir.
Harry Angel is a 1950s gumshoe hired by a dark stranger to search for the perpetrator of a string of grisly murders leading from New York to the voodoo cults of backwoods New Orleans. Each step Angel takes in this film noir nightmare brings him nearer to the heat of hell.
Director Alan Parker was forced to cut 10 seconds out of a lovemaking scene between Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke in order to qualify for an "R" rating. The unrated version of the film has those additional 10 seconds.
Feature film debut for "Cosby Show" actress Lisa Bonet.
Shot on location in New York and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Copyright 1987 Carolco.
Blu-ray Disc Features:
Region 1
Widescreen - 1.78
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - French
DTS HD Master Audio - French
Subtitles - English, Spanish
Source Writer
William Hjortsberg: Source Writer, ANGEL HEART (1987)
Director of Photography
Michael Seresin: American Director Of Photography
Review 1:
"...A definitive 1980s period piece..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.62 03/01/2001
Review 2:
4 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t's still a kick to see the two Method men lock acting antlers -- particularly with both at the peak of their pomp."
Source: Total Film
p.110 08/01/2006
Review 3:
4 stars out of 5 -- "ANGEL HEART grows richer with each viewing, especially in its autumnal palette."
Source: Uncut
128 09/01/2006
Review 4:
"...A mightily absorbing mystery that also represents the best sustained filmmaking of director Alan Parker..."
Source: Variety
03/04/1987
Review 5:
"...It is a movie cool to the eye....It is the film's cumulative atmosphere that builds its mounting sense of doom..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C1 03/06/1987
Review 6:
"...With spine-twisting atmosphere, oodles of sly wit and a nightmare-birthing ending..."
Source: Total Film
Review 7:
"[Rourke] gives off a vibe of mangy cool..."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.103 06/10/2004
Review 8:
4 stars out of 5 -- "ANGEL HEART duly remains a well-regarded Faustian puzzle of a film."
Source: Ultimate DVD
p.213 09/01/2006
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