Angel Heart (1987)

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 | Cut Hand | Scene After End Credits | Deal With The Devil | Devil

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 line "How terrible is wisdom when it brings no profit to the wise" is drawn from Sophocles' Oedipus The King.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Harry finds Dr. Fowler dead, he lights a cigarette and the camera shows a close up of the gun in Dr. Fowler's hand, not fully grasped, pointing towards the left side of his body. In the next shot Harry goes to grab the Bible with the ammunition inside, and the gun is now pointing up towards Dr. Fowler.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Making of 'Enemy of the State' (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Zu Zu Mamou

One of the creepiest thrillers ever made

Harry Angel(Mickey Rourke) is a sleazy private detective in 1955 New York. One day, Harry is approached by a mysterious lawyer named Louis Cyphre(Robert De Niro). Louis also has unusually long fingernails and needs help in searching for a former client of his who disappeared mysteriously without ever paying him back. So Harry begins his investigation which takes him from the dark alleys and streets of New York to the hot, musty bayous of Louisiana. While there, he meets up with Epiphany Proudfoot(Lisa Bonet) who is a voodoo priestess and soon enough Harry becomes caught up in voodoo mysticism.

This is the first movie directed by Alan Parker that I've seen and is also the movie that introduced me to Mickey Rourke. The movie has a really dark atmosphere and I really like the heartbeat on the soundtrack that helps to build the tension. "Angel Heart" ranks up there with those really twisted supernatural thrillers like "The Sixth Sense" and "Jacob's Ladder". Why this movie hasn't gotten much attention over the last fourteen years I'll never know. What really makes this movie good is probably its 1950s setting which gives "Angel Heart" some originality. The film's ending just gives me the creeps because it just comes at you from out of no where and there is nothing that hints it. Viewers should also be cautioned when watching "Angel Heart" because it is extremely bloody and then of course there is that love scene between Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet which stirred up a little bit of controversy when it was first released back in 1987.

10/10