Angel Heart (1987)

Directed by

Alan Parker

Genre

fantasy film, horror film, erotic film, erotic thriller, neo-noir, mystery film

Country

United Kingdom, United States, Canada

Runtime

1h 53m

Rated

R

Rating

7.1 of 10 from 1,752 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A New York private investigator named Harry Angel is hired to find a missing singer named Johnny Favorite. His search leads him to New Orleans where he gets caught up in a string of violent murders.

noirmoodyslow-burntenseeroticbleakunsettlingmysterious

What happens

Angel Heart is a 1987 neo-noir psychological horror film, an adaptation of William Hjortsberg's 1978 novel Falling Angel. The film is written and directed by Alan Parker, and stars Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet and Charlotte Rampling. It is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Harry Angel (Rourke), a New York City private investigator, is hired to solve the mysterious disappearance of a singer known as Johnny Favorite. His investigation takes him to New Orleans, where he becomes embroiled in a series of brutal murders. Following publication of the novel, Hjortsberg began developing the screenplay for a film adaptation, but found that no major studio was willing to produce his script. The project resurfaced in 1985 when producer Elliott Kastner brought the book to Parker's attention. Parker began work on a new script and made several changes to Hjortsberg's novel. He also met with Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, who agreed to finance the $18 million production through their independent film studio Carolco Pictures. Filming took place on-location in New York City and New Orleans, with principal photography lasting from March to June 1986. Weeks before its theatrical release, Angel Heart faced ratings issues from the Motion Picture Association of America for one scene of sexual content. Parker was forced to remove ten seconds of footage to avoid an X rating and secure the R rating that the film's distributor Tri-Star Pictures wanted. An unrated version featuring the removed footage was later released on home video. Angel Heart received a mixed reaction from reviewers, who praised the performances of Rourke and Bonet, as well as the production design, score and cinematography, but criticized Parker's screenwriting. The film underperformed at the North American box office, grossing $17.2 million during its theatrical run, but has since been regarded as underappreciated and influential. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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