Angel Heart (1987)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Alan Parker

Writers:

William Hjortsberg (novel)
Alan Parker (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

It will scare you to your very soul.

Plot:

Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite. Except things aren't quite that simple...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Dream Sequence | Stabbing | Bathtub | Genital Mutilation

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Mickey Rourke	...	Harry Angel
Robert De Niro	...	Louis Cyphre
Lisa Bonet	...	Epiphany Proudfoot
Charlotte Rampling	...	Margaret Krusemark
Stocker Fontelieu	...	Ethan Krusemark
Brownie McGhee	...	Toots Sweet
Michael Higgins	...	Dr. Albert Fowler
Elizabeth Whitcraft	...	Connie
Eliott Keener	...	Det. Sterne
Charles Gordone	...	Spider Simpson
Dann Florek	...	Herman Winesap
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Nurse
George Buck	...	Izzy
Judith Drake	...	Izzy's Wife
Gerald Orange	...	Pastor John (as Gerald L. Orange)

Also Known As:

Aux portes de l'enfer (Canada: French title)

Runtime:

113 min

Country:

USA | Canada | UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1992) | Finland:K-18 (1987) | Canada:18A | Portugal:M/18 | Brazil:18 | USA:R (Certificate #28544) (Cut) | USA:X | Argentina:18 | Australia:R | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Germany:16 (re-rating 2001) | Norway:18 | Singapore:R21 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:X (original rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Albany, New York, USA

Company:

Carolco International N.V.

Trivia:

The old train Harry takes in to Louisiana we see pulling up in the scene change wasn't a working train and for filming it had to be pushed in by a proper train from behind.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: 1980s vehicles in 1950s Brooklyn.

Quotes:

Margaret Krusemark: Do you speak French, Mr. Angel?
Harry Angel: [laughs] I'm from Brooklyn.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: Summer Special 2008/09" (2008)

Soundtrack:

Sunny Land

Love it or hate it - it looks stunning - very memorable

I'm not in the least surprised that other reviewers either love this or hate it to bits - I also bet that it's the younger users to whom the nature of the visual narrative of the film - the way it's all told to us, the viewer - may seem a bit dated. And to a point, they're right - "Angel Heart" is totally an eighties film, a film of the decade in which the movie world was discovering a new visual language in video and playfully indulged in experimenting with its new toy. It was literally speaking to a generation straight out of MTV classrooms and workshops and is in that sense very similar to stuff like "Betty Blue". And true enough, there is a lot to remark on what can today be seen as a slightly poseur-ish "one too many revolving fans, angularly lit staircases and heartbeat sounds in the soundtrack" kind of thing. However, "Angel Heart" does carry a tremendous amount of energy thanks to its imagery, which will stick to the viewer's mind in exactly the same way a sweaty shirt sticks to the body in sticky weather. Besides, the impeccably drawn cast led by Rourke does a truly remarkable job - that's beyond question - the sets are great, production design and cinematography are very evocative, the soundtrack is memorable and the story is one of the crucial ones. I personally love it.

Give it a go by all means.