Angel Heart was a great representation of neo-noir, however it’s also a film that weds both horror and mystery together in a way that is both unique and very entertaining. Showcasing Mickey Rourke’s young talent and having one of De Niro’s more eclectic performances, does Angel Heart rise above the abundant horror thrillers of its time or does it go over the top? Lets see…
Film
Lionsgate’s 1987 mystery-horror Angel Heart, starring Mickey Rourke is one of those films that tries very hard to be serious, but just ends up being silly. With Special Guest Appearance by Robert De Niro I want to make special note of the fact that he isn’t a main character, even though the cover seems to highlight him.
Mickey Rourke plays Harry Angel, a Private Investigator, hired by De Niro’s character Louis Cyphre (clever right?) to track down a missing man that Cyphre urgently wants to find. Angel’s journey through New Orleans definitely has a great atmosphere and mood, that is enhanced by the interesting cinematography and of course the Blu-ray transfer. However, the predictability of the story cuts down on my rating for this movie overall. The film noir look to the film is recreated well, with great lightning and attention to small details (hint: watch the fans).
Angel Heart does however have some very interesting performances, Mickey Rourke stands out amongst the rest giving a very authentic performance with good range and De Niro, albeit short, gives a very eccentric performance coming dangerously to the point where it’s laughable, but still entertaining.
The score of the film is very reminiscent of the 80’s, saxophone enthusiasts rejoice, however when the score is replaced with the blues bands in the bars and the music on the radios, everything begins to adhere to the Louisiana theme.
Overall the film is well thought out, it’s efforts make it one of the more enjoyable mysteries from the 80’s, however at times the film is predictable and over-the-top.
Video
Lionsgate has surprised me in the past with its high quality Blu-ray transfers and Angel Heart is no exception. In 16:9 and utilizing MPEG-4 AVC codec the video quality is very good. There’s little to no grain and the blacks are a dark and true.
The colour palette is very fitting with the atmosphere and only in the rainy shots does it seem washed out.
There isn’t much else to say, the film looks very good. Lionsgate knocks another out of the park.
Audio
Angel Heart’s audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD and French 2.0 Dolby Digital, there’s also English and Spanish subtitles for the hearing impaired.
Most of the time the movie has a decent mix, there are times when I found the score to be a little jarring due to the fact it was so loud… I kept adjusting the volume going from loud saxophone music and piano clanging to almost whisper quiet dialogue. As the movie went on the mix seemed to get better, or I just got used to it.
Special Features
In detail the Special Features are:
- Introduction & Audio Commentary with Director Alan Parker
- Interview & Selected Scene Commentary with Mickey Rourke (they couldn’t get him to do a full commentary?)
- Theatrical Trailer
- Featuette on Voodoo
To start things off, Lionsgate has, at times, given the bare minimum of special features which really reduces the blu-ray’s appeal to own over renting. For example a commentary with Director Alan Parker, it was one of the better and more insightful commentaries I’ve listen to… it captured my attention and was funny at times, especially when you find out Parker was afraid of De Niro’s performance.
On its own the commentary is a good listen, but when it’s paired with some pretty sparse company such as a featurette on voodoo, which really felt out of place, then the blu-ray goes back into the rental category. As for the featurette, there are voodoo elements in the film but they’re more off to the side whereas satanic ritual is almost in the forefront… it felt like filler and didn’t seem worth the time.
Then comes Mickey Rourke’s selected commentary, which I was pumped for… however as it was a selected commentary, I almost felt like they couldn’t hire him to do a full commentary.
Final Thoughts
With all things considered, the film isn’t a bad watch. For those who like neo-noir films, then you’ll be impressed with the atmosphere and cinematography, but for the mystery lovers, you’ll probably figure out what’s going on 15 minutes in.
Although the film has a great transfer and looks really good on a projector the limited amount of special features and plot predictability makes Angel Heart a good contender for a week-end rental.
