| Angel Heart | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Alan Parker |
| Produced by | Elliott Kastner Alan Marshall |
| Written by | Novel: William Hjortsberg Screenplay: Alan Parker |
| Starring | Mickey Rourke Robert De Niro Lisa Bonet Charlotte Rampling |
| Music by | Trevor Jones |
| Cinematography | Michael Seresin |
| Editing by | Gerry Hambling |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 6, 1987 |
| Running time | 113 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $17,000,000 (estimated) |
| IMDb profile | |
Angel Heart is a 1987 movie written and directed by Alan Parker, starring Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro and Lisa Bonet. Sir Alan William Parker, CBE (born 14th February, 1944) is a British Film director, producer, Writer, and William Hjortsberg is a novelist and screenwriter best known for writing the screenplays of the movies Legend and Angel Heart. Sir Alan William Parker, CBE (born 14th February, 1944) is a British Film director, producer, Writer, and Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr (born September 16, 1952 in Schenectady New York) is an American Actor, who has appeared Robert Mario De Niro Jr (born August 17 1943 is a two-time Academy Award -winning American Film Actor, director and producer Lisa Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an Emmy Award -nominated American actress. Charlotte Rampling, OBE (born February 5, 1946) is a highly acclaimed European Film Award and Honorary Cesar Award winning English Trevor Alfred Charles Jones (born March 23, 1949 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a South African Orchestral Film score Michael Seresin (born July 17, 1942) is a New Zealand Cinematographer, best known for several collaborations with the British director Alan Gerry Hambling (b 1926 is a British Film editor whose work is credited on 49 films he has also worked as a sound editor and a television editor TriStar Pictures Inc (spelled Tri-Star until 1991 is a film subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, itself a subdivision of the Columbia TriStar Motion Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago Illinois, to Sir Alan William Parker, CBE (born 14th February, 1944) is a British Film director, producer, Writer, and Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr (born September 16, 1952 in Schenectady New York) is an American Actor, who has appeared Robert Mario De Niro Jr (born August 17 1943 is a two-time Academy Award -winning American Film Actor, director and producer Lisa Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an Emmy Award -nominated American actress. The film is adapted from the novel Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg, and is generally faithful to the novel with the exceptions being the introduction of a child of Epiphany Proudfoot conceived at a voodoo ceremony by "a devil", and that the novel never leaves New York City, whereas the film opts for a New Orleans ending, and has a more somber tone. Falling Angel is a fantasy/horror/thriller hybrid novel with occult overtones by William Hjortsberg. William Hjortsberg is a novelist and screenwriter best known for writing the screenplays of the movies Legend and Angel Heart.
A highly atmospheric film, Angel Heart combines elements of film noir, hard-boiled detective stories and horror. Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation Hardboiled Crime fiction is a literary style pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the Horror films are Movies that strive to elicit Fear, Horror and terror responses from viewers
Contents |
Plot
The movie opens in January 1955. Mickey Rourke plays Harry Angel, a seedy private investigator in New York City. A private investigator or private detective (often shortened to PI or private eye) is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake The City of New York Louis Cyphre (De Niro) hires Angel to locate Johnny Favorite, a popular big band crooner who was severely injured in World War II and hospitalized with profound neurological trauma. A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Cyphre discovers that the hospital may have falsified Favorite's records and wants Angel to find out what happened, as Favorite owed a debt to Cyphre.
But there's more to the case than initially appears, as the debt in question is Favorite's soul, and Cyphre is not human – his very name, Louis Cyphre, is a play on words, sounding like Lucifer when said out loud. Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief His true objective is strongly hinted at by a scene in which Cyphre carefully shells and salts a hard-boiled egg before slowly biting down into it with obvious relish – after remarking that in many cultures it represents the soul.
Angel travels to New Orleans as he digs deeper into the case, delving into a world of voodoo and Satanism and growing increasingly worried for his own safety and sanity. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana For other uses of the word see Satanism (disambiguation. Satanism can refer to a number of belief systems depending on the user and context As each witness or informant he speaks to turns up dead, Angel becomes a suspect in their murders. And as Harry Angel discovers more and more of the truth behind Favorite's fate, he experiences eerie flashbacks of Satanic rituals, a Black Mass and a string of murders. LaVeyan He meets Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet), daughter of a voodoo practitioner who knew Favorite. Lisa Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an Emmy Award -nominated American actress. Notable is the film's disturbing twist ending, in which Angel must finally face the fact that he is Johnny Favorite himself, having abducted and, through a Satanic ritual, taken the place and identity of the original Harry Angel, a soldier returning from the war whom he (Favorite) randomly picked off the street. A twist ending or surprise ending is an unexpected conclusion or climax to a work of Fiction, and which often contains Irony or causes the The revelation of an alter ego reverses his role in the film from protagonist to antagonist, as he is the one, acting under the "guidance" of Mr. Cyphre, who has been responsible for the mysterious murders throughout the film. He discovers, after having sex with Epiphany Proudfoot and then killing her during one of his Luciferian blackouts, that she was his half-caste daughter. Favorite had promised his soul to the Devil in exchange for worldly success but then tried to renege by taking the place of another. It is only after Favorite realizes his true identity that Cyphre can claim what is his: Favorite's very soul. Over the end credits, there is a lengthy sequence of a silhouetted Angel descending down and down and ever downward in an ancient iron Otis elevator cage, apparently on his way to Hell. Hell, according to many Religious beliefs, is a location in the Afterlife, which may be described as a place of suffering
Response
Angel Heart gained attention and controversy even before its release. Bonet was previously known for her role on the family-oriented The Cosby Show, and her extended, graphic and blood-drenched love scene with Rourke required being trimmed of several seconds to secure the film an 'R' rating on initial release. The Cosby Show is an American television Situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, first airing on September 20, 1984 The Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U
Some blamed the controversy for Bonet's departure from The Cosby Show, even though she starred in another Cosby-produced program, A Different World which premiered in the Fall of 1987. A Different World is an American Television Sitcom which aired for six seasons on NBC (from September 24, 1987 Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar)
Angel Heart received mixed reviews, and wasn't especially successful financially, just about breaking even. [1]
After being released on home video, however, Angel Heart became something of a cult film, known for its spooky tone, excellent cinematography (by Michael Seresin), a sad and spooky score (by Trevor Jones), and an unusual but effective blend of genres. A cult film is a Film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. Trevor Alfred Charles Jones (born March 23, 1949 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a South African Orchestral Film score
Themes
There are repeated motifs in the film:
- The Girl of My Dreams: Harry is haunted by this tune during the entire film, and the film score recycles it numerous times during the film. He later learns from Epiphany, who was singing the lyrics in a bathtub, that it was Johnny Favourite's best-known tune. Cyphre later plays a phonograph of it when forcing Harry to remember his life as Favorite. The actual song was written by Sunny Clapp in 1927, recorded by Glen Gray and the Casa Loma Orchestra featuring the vocal by Kenny Sargent. Glen Gray Knoblauch, better known as Glen Gray, ( June 7, 1900 &ndash August 23, 1963, Plymouth Massachusetts) was a The vocal in the film is speeded up from the original 78 rpm to 83 rpm to gain a higher, more warbling effect.
- Nightmares: Harry has numerous nightmare sequences throughout the movie, where he would see a figure wearing black clothes all over its body, not revealing who the person is until the end of the story, when we find out it was Louis Cyphre, who is seen wearing the black clothing outside Harry's apartment when he finally admits his fate at the end of the film. We are led to believe that Harry was being possessed by the Devil (Louis Cyphre) during these moments, since at the precise time when Harry is having these hallucinative dreams, the murders are taking place and Harry has no knowledge of the murders taking place until Louis 'restores' his memory at the end of the movie, once he reveals who did the deed.
- Weapons: Harry can be seen finding the exact murder weapon, every time that he visits a character, before their death, which foreshadows the act that Harry carries out on all of the characters that end up being dead. For example, while searching the Doctor's home for any pharmaceuticals, Harry comes across a handgun hidden in a draw, with a 'Holy Bible' which contains the handgun's rounds. Harry would later go onto kill the Doctor after interrogating him, but forgetting he even committed the act.
- Backwards rotating fan: The theme of a backwards rotating fan is present during every episode in which Harry commits a murder offscreen, which Harry forgets about, thinking Favorite committed the murder (which turns out to be true, in a way. ) It is a reference to the fan that was present at the demonic sacrifice of the original Harry Angel. The act of fanning in classic middle eastern ritual also represents the act of separating the wheat from the chaffe, the good souls from the bad.
- The mirrors: Every time Harry looks into a mirror, he has flashbacks to the sacrifice on New Year's Eve, though presented only as obscure visual cues, accompanied by the sound of a heart beating. New Year's Eve is on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year and the day before New Year's Day. Cyphre taunts, "That's it, Johnny. Take a good look. No matter how cleverly you sneak up on a mirror, your reflection always looks you straight in the eye. "
- Names: The character's have special meanings in the film:
- Harry Angel: derived from an angel, though its meaning is more clear when considering the novel on which the film is based, Falling Angel, which is synonymous with Lucifer and losing faith with God. An angel is a Spiritual Supernatural being found in many Religions Although the nature of angels and the tasks given to them vary from tradition to tradition Lucifer is a name frequently given to Satan in Christian belief
- Johnny Favorite: Lucifer was known as God's favorite angel.
- Louis Cyphre: While obviously a pun on "Lucifer", the last name also can be taken to mean cipher, a mystery. In Cryptography, a cipher (or cypher) is an Algorithm for performing Encryption and Decryption &mdash a series of well-defined steps
- Evangeline Proudfoot: In the film, it is told that Evangeline is named after the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Evangeline, about a woman who searches for her true love. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27 1807 &ndash March 24 1882 was an American educator and Poet whose works include " Paul Revere's Ride " Evangeline A Tale of Acadie is a Poem published in 1847 by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. (The film's characters incorrectly say that the woman fruitlessly waited for her love to return. )
- Epiphany Proudfoot: Implies epiphany, or revelation of mysteries, as she is the key to Harry realizing his true nature. An epiphany is the sudden realization or comprehension of the (larger essence or meaning of something
- Winesap and MacIntosh: Louis Cyphre's lawyers. Apples symbolize temptation (Adam and Eve). They tempt Harry Angel with money.
- Dogs: Any time that Harry encounters dogs throughout the film, their reaction to him is of a violent nature. It is popular superstition that dogs possess a sixth sense, and their reactions indicate that Harry's soul is damaged.
Cast
- Mickey Rourke as Harry Angel
- Robert De Niro as Louis Cyphre
- Lisa Bonet as Epiphany Proudfoot
- Charlotte Rampling as Margaret Krusemark
- Stocker Fontelieu as Ethan Krusemark
- Brownie McGhee as Toots Sweet
- Michael Higgins as Dr. Philip Andre "Mickey" Rourke Jr (born September 16, 1952 in Schenectady New York) is an American Actor, who has appeared Robert Mario De Niro Jr (born August 17 1943 is a two-time Academy Award -winning American Film Actor, director and producer Lisa Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an Emmy Award -nominated American actress. Charlotte Rampling, OBE (born February 5, 1946) is a highly acclaimed European Film Award and Honorary Cesar Award winning English Walter Brown ("Brownie" McGhee ( November 30 1915 - February 16 1996) was a folk - Blues Singer Albert Fowler
- Elizabeth Whitcraft as Connie
- Eliott Keener as Det. Elizabeth Whitcraft is an American Actress who played small parts in some notable American films in the 1980s and 1990s Sterne
- Charles Gordone as Spider Simpson, Bandleader
- Dann Florek as Herman Winesap
- Kathleen Wilhoite as Nurse
- George Buck as Izzy
References
External links
- Angel Heart at the Internet Movie Database
- Falling Angel, Millipede Press 2006
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