Heaven's Prisoners (1996)

A hardened New Orleans cop, Dave Robicheaux, finally tosses in the badge and settles into life on the bayou with his wife. But a bizarre plane crash draws him back into the fray when his family is viciously threatened.

Director:

Phil Joanou

Writers:

James Lee Burke (book), Harley Peyton (screenplay)

Stars:

Alec Baldwin, Kelly Lynch, Mary Stuart Masterson

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Alec Baldwin	...	Dave Robicheaux
Kelly Lynch	...	Annie Robicheaux
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Robin Gaddis
Eric Roberts	...	Bubba Rocque
Teri Hatcher	...	Claudette Rocque
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Minos P. Dautrieve (as Vondie Curtis Hall)
Badja Djola	...	Batist
Samantha Lagpacan	...	Alafair
Joe Viterelli	...	Didi Giancano
Tuck Milligan	...	Jerry Falgout
Hawthorne James	...	Victor Romero
Don Stark	...	Eddie Keats
Carl A. McGee	...	Toot
Paul Guilfoyle	...	Det. Magelli
Christopher Kriesa	...	Priest (as Chris Krisea)

Storyline

Ex-detective Dave Robicheaux has made a new life for himself and his wife Annie running a bait shop in the outskirts of New Orleans. When they save a little girl, the sole survivor of a plane crash, their lives become forever changed. They take the orphan child into their home and prepare to raise her. However, a visit from DEA agent Dautrieve brings out the detective instincts in Robicheaux and he begins to ask about the rest of the passengers. This brings trouble to Robicheaux and he turns to drug lord Bubba Rocque, a childhood friend. But the friendship becomes estranged when an assault on the Robicheaux home leaves one victim...Annie.

---

Plot Keywords:

based on novel | plane crash | bayou | salvadoran | old flame | 

---

Taglines:

For an ex-cop obsessed with an unsolved murder, trusting the wrong woman could be a deadly choice.

---

Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language, and for some nudity

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mississippi Delta

Filming Locations:

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,308,797, 17 May 1996, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$5,005,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

PVM Entertainment, Rank Organisation, The, Ruddy Morgan Organization, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min 135 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of the character Alafair in the movie and book is the real name of the author's (James Lee Burke) own daughter, who is now also a writer.

---

Goofs

The amount of sweat on Dave when he talks to Dautrieve for the first time.

---

Quotes

[Toot holds a straight razor to Dave's neck]
Eddie Keats: Now, you can get outta this easy, or Toot can sculpt your ears off and make your head look like a fuckin' mannequin. He'd love to do it for you. He was a voodoo priest or some fuckin' thing down in Haiti. Tell him what you did to Robin, Toot.
Toot: You talk too much. Get finished. I want to eat.
Eddie Keats: Guess what he did to her.
Dave Robicheaux: Fuck you!
Eddie Keats: What?
Dave Robicheaux: You heard me, I said fuck you. Whatever you do to me here, I'm gonna square, and if I don't, I got friends who will.
Eddie Keats: Yeah?...

---

Connections

Followed by In the Electric Mist (2009)

---

Soundtracks

Beaux's Bounce
Written by Bo Diddley (as Ellis McDaniel)
Performed by C.C. Adcock

User Reviews

Good Movie; entertaining

Excellent flick. Caught me by surprise on TV, never heard of it. Very well done; all actors superb. Violent and good action yet slow enough to go deep. Interesting story and atmosphere down in Louisiana. Knowing that Alec Baldwin is from Long Island I thought the accent was done well enough to be convincing. I agree on someone's comment on the DEA agent/ friend. His character could have been more established but no real harm done. I really got into this movie.