Angel Heart (Special Edition)
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Brownie McGhee, Charlotte Rampling, Lisa Bonet, Mickey Rourke, Robert De NiroBrand: LIONS GATE HOME ENT.
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 113 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-05-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Angel Heart (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Devilish noir
Summary: 5 Stars
"I know who I am." Dismay and disbelief resonate in this repeated, disquieting phrase at the climax of Angel Heart, seedy noir gumshoe story tangled with horror and one of the highlights of the career of Mickey Rourke.
In the 1980s, there were few film actors with the magnetism and innate acting chops of Mickey Rourke. Sure, there was Pacino, Nicholson, and DeNiro, all established in the 1970s, and Brando was still around someplace. There were rising stars on the scene such as Kevin Bacon, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen, and Val Kilmer. However, Rourke had a naturalistic approach and quality that none of his peers managed to evoke as well as he could. He brought an energizing and invigorating approach to his acting style, yielding fine gradations in his character portrayals, simultaneously dynamic, graceful, and gritty, and making it all seem effortless. From his earliest, scene-stealing film work in Body Heat and Rumble Fish, to his memorable performances in the poignant Diner and the vibrant The Pope of Greenwich Village, and even his star turns in mediocre fare like 9 ? Weeks and Year of the Dragon, Rourke seemed unstoppable and unassailable, bound to reap many awards and enjoy a lifetime of superlative film work. Alas, shortly after Angel Heart, the intriguing Johnny Handsome, and the exceptional, Charles Bukowski-penned Barfly, his career took a precipitous tumble. Movies like Wild Orchid, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, Another 9 ? Weeks, Exit in Red, Double Team (among too many others), a misguided foray into professional boxing, and discordant, abrasive words and diatribes against Hollywood and the acting world estranged him from his industry and his audience. In recent years, however, with his pugilistic aspirations on the ropes and callous dissonance and tactless commentary against the industry seemingly behind him, Rourke's commanding presence has resurfaced. He can be seen in several independent features, including the recent Spun, Steve Buscemi's The Animal Factory , Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, and with a heartbreaking performance in Sean Penn's The Pledge. Rourke also received critical raves for his appearance in Francis Coppola's decent film adaptation of hack novelist John Grisham's The Rainmaker.
1987's extraordinary thriller/horror/neo-noir masterpiece Angel Heart gave Rourke one of his ultimate roles, that of small-time New York detective Harry Angel, a man on a mission of discovery. Based on the hardboiled novel by William Hjortsberg, the film takes a handful of liberties with the story, but sticks true to the book's central premise, situations, and characters. Though the action in the novel is confined entirely to New York City, the film sends detective Harold Angel from a cheerless Manhattan winter and into the sultry bayou of Louisiana. Low-rent P.I. Harry Angel is hired by the eccentric and enthralling Louis Cyphre (Robert DeNiro) to track down Johnny Favourite, a missing, once-famous crooner who vanished without a trace on New Year's Eve 1943, fifteen years earlier. Angel accepts, unable to refuse the work or the substantial pay. His legwork takes him from his dilapidated midtown office to Poughkeepsie, to Harlem, and to Coney Island, collecting clues and names along the way. All evidence about magic-dabbler Favorite points to a Louisiana/New Orleans connection, and Angel hops aboard a train. Out of the New York winter he steps off the train and into stifling southern warmth and humidity. His investigation continues, plunging him into the world of voodou ritual, and as the body count inexplicably increases, Angel's suspicions and fears intensify. Cyphre pulls the strings, and the fires of ultimate, crushing comprehension flicker alive in Angel's mind.
Alan Parker, responsible for the classic Midnight Express, wrote a sharp script, and directs with a keen and ardent eye for the macabre. His use of shadow and light reflects the evocative noir films of the 1940s and 50s, sinister, sharp patches of stagnant darkness cut by beams of cold light and unseen movement and rustling from the deepest shadows. Necessary symbolism abounds in the revolution of industrial fans, their rusted, creaking blades with measured, inexorable movement, in the tap dancing feet of a southern child, in the cracks of a splintered mirror and Angel's blank stare of a reflection. The trail is cold in the New York winter, but as Angel nears the truth, the heat nearly emanates from the screen itself. The magnificent photography by cinematographer Michael Seresin is perhaps some of the most underrated in modern film; that is how accomplished and chillingly exquisite it is. Capturing mood and setting alike absolutely perfectly, be it the sweeping and snowy landscape of upstate Poughkeepsie, the slushy, grimy sidewalks of Manhattan, the glaring winter beach of Coney Island, or the heat, dust and sweat of the Deep South, the photography excels at providing the requisite texture the film requires. The soundtrack as well, with a portentous underlying, undulating drone and indistinct, ghostly whispers, lends itself to the overall ominous build-up and effect.
Robert DeNiro as the well-coiffed, charming, and menacing Cyphre offers dependable support in his minor but crucial role. The several interactions with Rourke and DeNiro sparkle with verve, and it is almost a revelation to watch these two outstanding actors playing off each other so effectively. Their verbal game of cat-and-mouse, or master-and-puppet, crackles with wit, humor and an understated, looming peril. The final shot of DeNiro is unforgettable. Lisa Bonet, cast here during her Cosby Show heyday, is ideal as Epiphany Proudfoot, an indigent southern voodou priestess with an abundance of spirit and secrets that involve Johnny Favourite.
Angel Heart has its sporadic moments of blood and gore, the use of a straight razor, a ritualistic dagger, and an old-fashioned six-shooter, intrinsic to the storyline, and not simply present as shock value. There is a major jolt at the finale, however, as unwelcome recognition and discovery dawn on Angel and the hapless gumshoe finds out more than he ever wanted to know. For Mickey Rourke, this is some of the finest work he's done. His performance stands alongside his role as Boogie in Diner, Henry in Barfly, and as "Jan the Actress" in Animal Factory as one of the best of his career. Angel Heart is an intelligent, remarkably well-crafted modern noir film, and, in the end, as disconcerting and edgy as any horror/thriller to date.
"They say there is just enough religion in the world to make men hate one another but not enough to make them love." - Louis Cyphre
Summary of Angel Heart (Special Edition)
HARRY ANGEL IS A TOUGH NEW YORK DETECTIVE PITTED AGAINST THEMOST FEARSOME ADVERSARY POSSIBLE. IT IS A PROVOCATIVE AND CHILLING STORY ENTWINED IN THE WORLD OF THE OCCULT, SET INBACKWOODS NEW ORLEANS.Similar DVD Movies
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