Rating: 
Summary: One of the best supernatural thrillers ever
Review: This picture is intense and well made. So much so that in parts where there are dream/flashback sequences where you don't yet know how all the pieces fit, you never lose the thread of what's going on. You and the private detective (Mickey Rourke) put it together at the same time. A major reason why this film works so well is the Rourke/DeNiro combination. Mickey couldn't be better cast in this role. He fits it perfectly. The slovenly look, Brooklyn accent, good-natured charm, everything is on target. This is not one of DeNiro's most famous roles, but every moment he is on the screen is gold. He is the epitome of civilized menace. He is very polite, soft-spoken, gentlemanly, but underneath it all a very scary individual. Note for example his expression when he eats the egg after having made reference to it as a symbol of the human soul. Another reason this movie works is the script. Written by director Parker, it has some very funny and quotable dialogue.... --This text refers to the DVD edition
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Escape
Review: Most of Parker's films are visually interesting. This one is viscerally mesmerizing, as well, partly because he captures the essential undulent, oily sleaziness of the Big Easy so adroitly. I lived in New Orleans for five years and can spot a fraudulent, comercially bent take when I see one (Clint Eastwood comes to mind). Mickey Rourke was one of those hit or miss actors of the 90s (I was one of those who actually liked him in "Barfly"). In this instance he is more than adequate, and he rolls along with the punchy, quirky script like the prize fighter he longed to be. Lisa Bonet, as the Nubian Lolita, is perfectly cast. No need to provide spoilers here, but the ending is one of the all time greatest, where any ambiguity that the filmmaker might have set up for us is exquisitely resolved. Certainly not one of the deepest cinema excursions ever attempted, but one of the most enjoyable, particularly for those who like a little spice and suspense in their gumbo.
Rating:
Summary: Good old Louisiana spooky film noir.....
Review: Angel Heart never quite got the critical acclaim it deserved. Long before Mickey Rourke was reduced to doing Iglesias music videos, he actually had something of an acting career. In this, perhaps his best work, although not his best known, he plays an amnesiac private investigator sent on the trail of a 1940s crooner/singer named Johnny Favorite. While some of the plot twists are pretty evident to modern viewers (some later films have used similar twists to further their own plots), they were quite novel at the time of the film. The eerie film-noire atmosphere gives everything a sinister, seductive feel, and, while you can pretty much ascertain the identity of the PI's patron (Cypher), the identity of the elusive crooner remains a shocker at the end. Also, if you are a jazz fan, the eerie jazz of Trevor Jones provides a suitably melancholic atmosphere to the film. Lisa Bonet, the Cosby show's wild-child, performs admirably as a voodoo priestess who is also the daughter of Favorite, and the eventual lover of the PI. Rourke is great, as he was in those days, reflecting more emotional range than he was allowed in more notable films in which he participated, namely 9 1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid. De Niro oozes diabolical smugness and a certain sinister quality that you just cannot quite put your finger on (yeah, if you READ the name of the guy, you know what he is...but those seeing the movie didn't have that luxury until the end credits ... MUCH better in this role than Pacino), and this is one of my favorite roles for him. The film works in a little bit of everything darkly occult, from benevolent, poor but soulful black-folks in voodoo cults, to rich and powerful white-folks with their secret devil worship to keep them rich and powerful. Set against the mysterious bayou backdrop of New Orleans, which only serves to enhance the spooky atmosphere, this film is a classic for anyone who is a fan of film noir.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent combination of Film Noir and Horror
Review: Angel Heart takes us into the America of 1950s, when colored people still had seperate seats on buses. The story starts with a classic Film Noir opening. The unkempt, unshaven and heavily smoking private eye (Mickey Rourke) is called by a lawyer working on the behalf of a mysterious man named "Louis Cypher" (Robert DeNiro). Mr. Cypher is trying to track down a lost contract, and hires private detective Harold Angel.
From then on, the story goes off track as detective Angel is thrown into a web of burtal murders and sinister connections.
There's a very remarkable thing about "Angel Heart". Everybody in the cast and crew deliver a brillant job. There is not a single glitch in the texture. The settings are superb, vividly reflecting the era. Every character, even the functionless pedestrians, are thought on. Both Mickey Rourke and De Niro display outstanding acting, delivering very cleverly written lines in equally brillant acting (I will never look at an egg the same way again). Lisa Bonet, the third major character, is just as brillant although her act is small. Those among you who know her from Cosby Show are in for a big surprise, for Ms. Bonet is as un-Cosbyish as she can get.
Powerful occult images are beautifuly brought home. This is also a rare quality in horror where we usually see actors quoting directly from Crowley or La Vey.
In many ways, this is a one-man film, and Mr. Rourke deals very nicely with the almost impossible role he is portraying. As we watch his life go to pieces, we do not just derive this fact from the happenings around him. We see Harold Angel go to pieces, we witness his despairs and angers, and his thrashings as he slowly sinks to the bottom of himself.
To conclude, Angel Heart is a very remarkable film. Two classical plots, one being the mysterious detective assignment, the other being the hand-in-hand walk of the protagonist and antagonist, are masterfully blended into each other. This is a must for any horror fan, or anyone who likes to view a good film regardless of the genre.
Rating:
Summary: Byzantine
Review: I hated this when I saw it years ago. On second viewing last weekend, I found it much more fascinating then I had realized, even more imaginative than I had recognized. It is not a film to make one enjoy it or to feel "good" or "happy" since the plot is unpleasant, the characters pretty much reprhesible; but the exceptional acting by Rourke and DeNiro...Ah!!!!!!!!! Even Lisa Bonet seemed better in the second viewing. It was worth the two viewings; maybe a third down the road a piece. And the ending...well, evil is punished as it should be, but so are the innocent. How true to life that sometimes is.
Rating:
Summary: another alan parker classic!!!!!!!!!
Review: the mickey rourke that im used to showed up big time.i am always psyched to see films by mr parker(he is the rational mans david lynch).but when i saw mickeys name,i was kinda iffy.but i should have known he would have excelled in this type of role.and as the movie played out,he was the only one that made sense.this is a magnificent supernatural thriller,truely original,and i found not 1 minute of wasted time.this movie stayed on course.sometimes you get a movie/film with a great premise but implodes 1/2 way through,or has some corny ending that kills the rest of the movie/film.not here.and not with these actors/actresses(miss bonet ALMOST ruined it).heres the plot;harry angel(rourke)is a private eye who is called on to find a missing person.the problem is that the person isnt quite missing.his employer,mr cyphere(de niro)needs to clear up a debt that johnny favorite(missing person)owes.its basically that simple.but while finding clues to johnny's whereabouts,harry becomes more and more embroiled in the world of voodoo and murder.is he being set up?is there even a missing person?each clue seems to drag harry deeper into the abyss.this was one of my 1st DVDs purchased and i would strongly urge everyone to have this in their collection.
Rating:
Summary: A Strong Supernatural Thriller.
Review: When a down and out Private Investigator (Mickey Rourke) has been hired by a slighty odd sinister man named Louis Cyphre (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Robert De Niro) wants him to find a missing Singer in to order a Settlement on a Vegue Debt. Written and Directed by Alan Parker (Pink Floyd:The Wall), which this film is not for all tastes and the Squeamish, this is Unique Film, which it`s hard to watch by Some Viewers. Intense Performances by Rourke and De Niro make this One a Winner. Also Especially from Lisa Bonet make This is a Frighting Disturbing film. Based on the Novel by Wiliam Hjortsberg (Legend). Grade:A-.
Rating:
Summary: Film Noir at its be(a)st.
Review: Director Alan Parker said once he wanted to work in every genre of film before he died. He might as well have retired after making "Angel Heart" because the movie exists simultaneously as film noir, a 50s pulp detective story, a horror movie, and a supernatural thriller. Mickey Rourke is outstanding as Harry Angel, a down-on-his-luck (is there any other kind?) private eye in post-WWII New York who gets hired by a sinister and enigmatic "businessman" named Louis Cyphere (Robert DeNiro, looking almost exactly like his favorite director, Martin Scorsese). Cyphere wants Angel to track down a crooner named Johnny Favorite who owes Cyphere....something. Angel goes from New York to New Orleans on his quest for the missing Johnny Favorite, and on the way becomes progressively more unwashed, unshaven, bleary-eyed, sweaty, beaten up, and desperate as his seemingly routine mission uncovers a hidden world or voodoo, murder, and identity theft. Rourke never had a better performance in his Hollywood career than his turn as the fallen Angel, though he was largely stereotyped after this film to play only scumbags or sex freaks, so maybe it wasn't worth it....we all lost a fine actor....anyway the cast is excellent all around, particularly Lisa Bonet, who should have stayed in feature films but like Rourke took more flack for her intensely explicit sweat-and-blood love scene with Rourke than she got praise for her performance as Epiphany, Angel's sex-interest. "Angel Heart" is an absolute must for fans of detective fiction, horror and most especially, film noir -- Parker does a superb job of creating not only the time period, but a brooding, stylish atmospehre. The flick took a major beating from some critics for being too ugly, too dark, too shocking, too sexual and too disturbing, but I think they miss the point. It's suppposed to be, and it is. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Must be seen twice
Review: This is one of the best movies ever made. The symbolism and hidden meanings are awesome, but it must be seen twice before you understand even half of the things that are going on! Bravo.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Hot Erotic Thriller
Review: The performences are very good but not as good as the big bloody sex scene, it will leave you stuned! It starts out with them dancing to music then they start kissing and lay on the bed. Then you see them having sex with him kissing her near her bare breasts. She has her bare feet wraped around his butt and legs. It starts to get more intense when the blood starts coming. They start to move back and forth harder. Her bare feet jump in the air. Then shows other scenes then comes back. It shows reactions on her face as they are havng sex. Their bare feet touch several times. Finally, she screams because it get to intense and he gets off. Very good Erotic which gets 3 stars.
|
