| Angel Heart | | Cast : | Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro | | Director : | Alan Parker | | Studio : | Lions Gate Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | March 06, 1987 | | DVD Released Date : | May 18, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | Charlotte Rampling never won an Academy Award | Content
 | I always wondered why? She is terrific. Robert DeNiro I like but always thought he was over rated. Mickey Rourke is dirty and adorable as usual but I wish he'd speak clearer (he mumbles his lines.) This movie was part detective, part noir ,part occult, and very humid New Orleans. I enjoyed it, but it has to be watched more than once or twice. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 14, 2005 | | Summary | Best Alan Parker Movie | Content
| "Angel Heart" is one of my favorite movies of all times.
Have re-watched it over and over again since 1987 but am still haunted by Parker's first-class story-telling and cinemaphotography; Trevor Jones' wonderful music score (excellent use of theme song, "Girl of My Dreams", in melodious refrain); and superb casting from the leading to supporting cast, showcasing a particularly diabolical de Niro teamed up with Mickey Rourke at his very best - the scene where he smashed his hand into the mirror while uncontrollably shrieking "I know who I am, I know who I am..." in the hour of reckoning was hauntingly memorable.
But kudos and praise must certainly go to top-notch direction/screenplay by Alan Parker. This is the very first time I am rating the movie better than the original fiction, "Falling Angel", by William Hjortsberg. Parker's very own modifications like shifting part of the movie from Harlem to New Orleans for contrast was clever and visually gratifying.
To be nitpicking, the only flaw in the movie was the use of special effects on Lucifer and Epiphany's baby to signify evil when truth was revealed at the final hour. This came across as a tad heavy-handed, especially when the supernatural / demonic influence thread was already so effectively sewn throughout the film sans special effects. Don't get me wrong though - what made this little imperfection stuck out like a sore thumb was just how good 99.99% of the movie was. As shown in the Director's Commentary (yes, they are finally adding "Bonus Materials" to the Zone 1 Director's Cut), Alan Parker equally questioned himself on the addition of "green contact lens" to heighten the visual impact years ago - he was right to have asked himself that question and should probably have stuck to his guns with the "less is more" principle.
All said, despite this little irksome flaw, the movie is as excellent as great movie-making, acting, story-telling and unstoppable visual feast can go. Don't miss it. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 27, 2005 | | Summary | Obvious, but watchable | Content
| A seedy gumshoe (Mickey Rourke) works a missing persons case in New Orleans, unaware that he has a terrifying personal connection to it. This connection and the true nature of his employer (Robert DeNiro) only become clear to him at the end of the film, but they should be clear to any attentive filmgoer long before that, even if you haven't read the Amazon review, which gives away a major plot revelation. Director Alan Parker scores points for style, but his story is a constant barrage of horror movie and private eye conventions. DeNiro's performance is broad, overly mannered, and cliché; the identity of his character is immediately apparent, robbing the revelation at the end of the film of its impact. Parker's direction and interesting performances from Rourke and Lisa Bonet keep it watchable, but a bit more self-restraint and imagination would have improved this film a great deal./ |
| Rating | | | Date | February 26, 2005 | | Summary | jaw was dropped almost the whole time I watched this | Content
| can only put words into this movie
because this is what I said in my head after seeing this movie
and am glad I saw it on dvd
glad I bought it on dvd too
it's:
shocking
terrifying
strange
sick
twisted
freaky
interesting
abnormal
poweful
moving
I say the same to this one as I did John Carpenter's The Fog
because seriously it's that great of a movie
it takes a while to understand
but it's great |
| Rating | | | Date | February 12, 2005 | | Summary | Dark atmospheric thriller | Content
| Mickey Rouke stars as Private Eye Harry Angel who is given a job by the mysterious Louis Cypher (Robert de Niro). Unfortunately for Harry the people he is investigating for the job have a habit of being found dead after he has talked to them. Naturally this puts Harry in the frame for murder. His increasingly desperate search for answers, alongside the gloomy, rainy, Louisiana sets make for a tense viewing.
Alan Parker has produced a film that is part thriller, part occult-horror, but always gripping. Recommended.
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