Harry Angel is a down on his luck private eye working out of the slums of Harlem. Out of the blue he receives a phone call asking him to locate a missing person. Angel enters a community renown for unusual religious practices where he meets with the very wealthy Mr Cyphre. Cyphre's conversational ... Read review
Set in Harlem and New Orleans in 1955, this supernatural thriller stirred a brief ... more
controversy in the US when released in 1987 because some scenes featuring Lisa Bonet (then a popular cast member ofThe Cosby Show) were considered too sexually explicit t...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Set in Harlem and New Orleans in 1955, this supernatural thriller stirred a brief ... more
controversy in the US when released in 1987 because some scenes featuring Lisa Bonet (then a popular cast member ofThe Cosby Show) were considered too sexually explicit t...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The film packed with stunning images jaw-dropping scenes and superb performances from ... more
Robert De Niro and Mickey Rourke is a fusion of two genres - the classic Chandleresque detective story and the supernatural. Harry Angel is hired for 5 a day to t...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Exquisite Large crystal angel heart with filagtree wings and crystal halo. All our crystal ... more
creations are original designs and hand made from genuine Swarovki and Preciosa Lead Crystals. They are truly stunning and the pictures don't really do them the justice they deserve.
Postage & Packaging:free Super Saver Delivery Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Exquisite Large crystal angel heart with filagtree wings and crystal halo. All our crystal ... more
creations are original designs and hand made from genuine Swarovki and Preciosa Lead Crystals. They are truly stunning and the pictures don't really do them the justice they deserve.
Postage & Packaging:free Super Saver Delivery Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
New York, 1955, Private Detective Harry Angel has a new case on his hands. Washed up ... more
crooner Johnny Favourite has gone missing. Anybody that might be holding clues is being killed. Informants and witnesses are being murdered one by one. The bodies are piling up, time is running out and Harry Angel is being kept awake by satanic visions. From the mean streets of New York to the backwoods of New Orleans, Harry suddenly finds himself being dragged into a world of sex, murder, voodoo and death. This is no ordinary case and Harry is no ordinary detective.
VERY PRETTY MUSICAL ANGEL WATER/SNOW GLOBE BY TWINKLE.COM THESE HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE ... more
GLOBES ARE SUPERB QUALITY AND WILL GIVE YEARS OF LASTING PLEASURE. THE ANGEL KNEELS ENCOMPASSED IN HER GLITTERY WATER FILLED GLOBE AND SHE HOLDS A HEART IN HER HANDS, SHE IS STUNNING. THE GLOBE IS NOT ONLY MUSICAL BUT ROTATES AS THE GLOBE PLAYS "SONG OF LOVE" THIS WOULD MAKE A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTENING GIFT MEASURES 6" TALL X 4" IN DIAMETER AT THE BASE
Postage & Packaging:free Super Saver Delivery Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Advantages: Well thought out thriller Disadvantages: May be confusing for a certain age demagraphic to understand.
Harry Angel is a down on his luck private eye working out of the slums of Harlem. Out of the blue he receives a phone call asking him to locate a missing person. Angel enters a community renown for unusual religious practices where he meets with the very wealthy Mr Cyphre. Cyphre's conversational skills in respect of the case are a little limited, but Angel desperate to earn an honest buck decides to investigate the disappearance of big band swinger ... ...there. Ever the reluctant soul Angel pushes the limits of his enquiry discovering that a retired doctor had falsified the records in order to hide that Favorite had ever resided there.
Angel visits the retired Doctor Fowler at his home; but upon arrival Fowler is nowhere in sight. Angel breaks into Fowler's home to discover that the good doctor has developed a drug addiction. When Fowler returns home a little worse for wear, Angel ... more
Harry Angel is a down on his luck private eye working out of the slums of Harlem. Out of the blue he receives a phone call asking him to locate a missing person. Angel enters a community renown for unusual religious practices where he meets with the very wealthy Mr Cyphre. Cyphre's conversational skills in respect of the case are a little limited, but Angel desperate to earn an honest buck decides to investigate the disappearance of big band swinger Johnny Favorite.
It transpires that Favorite's last known location was a old military hospital out in the middle of nowhere; however upon arrival he is told that Favorite never resided there. Ever the reluctant soul Angel pushes the limits of his enquiry discovering that a retired doctor had falsified the records in order to hide that Favorite had ever resided there.
Angel visits the retired Doctor Fowler at his home; but upon arrival Fowler is nowhere in sight. Angel breaks into Fowler's home to discover that the good doctor has developed a drug addiction. When Fowler returns home a little worse for wear, Angel locks him in a room telling him that a bit of cold turkey time (cold turkey is a term referred to the detoxification of addicts) will allow Fowler to answer his questions better.
But when Angel returns he finds that Fowler has been horrifically murdered, and this is not about to become a one off occurrence.
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, Bandleader Dann Florek .... Herman Winesap
If ever a movie can be compared to a wine then Angel Heart is that movie. Rather like wine it improves with age and needs sampling on numerous occasions. My original thought on Angel Heart was that although the story was excellent it was far too slow and drawn out. However on my second viewing I found that it was not quite as slow as I had assumed, and that I had missed massive portions out pertinent to the overall performance of the story. Now nearly 20 years on from my first viewing I still find Angel Heart a fascinating and compelling movie that continues to change and entertain.
If I have one criticism of Angel Heart it's that the character of Cyphre's true identity is hardly well hidden. It's so obvious that a child can point it out; that being said its rather amusing to see the metamorphosis of the character with each and every meeting he has with Angel. But other than that as each portion of the film is revealed the rest is a total surprise to most that view it. If of course your familiar to watching this style of movie then it may be a little less surprising.
What is important to point out is that the movie is set during the 1950's and in order to give it that 50's feel director Alan Parker applied a sepia finish to the print; this some people find a touch disturbing. I have also found in that keeping its timely accuracy that certain terms of phase and wordings may remain a little unclear to viewers below a certain age. I personally feel that someone born before 1980 may need to seek clarification on terminology used.
From a performance point of view the two leads Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro really put a considerable amount of time into their performances. Rourke is in the best acting quality I have seen him since 9 ½ weeks, while he is quite an offensive character as a whole he does make himself likeable to the viewer. Rather like 9 ½ weeks he stays just a portion on the good side of being bad. As for De Niro he actually spends less than 10 minutes in the entire film, but for the 10 minutes he is there he totally rules the film. Unlike Rourke his character is pure evil, and De Niro does nothing better than be bad. Additional acting support includes Lisa Bonet, she had made a name for herself with the hit Cosby Show; and while this was her first big screen outing it was also a role that ruined her career. Her performance was slated as being unfeeling and wooden, but I think a point missed by that reviewer is that the character she played had experienced extreme hardship and grief furthermore she was deeply involved in Voodoo and often "possessed" so with this in mind would her character not be unfeeling and a little wooden? Charlotte Rampling does the usual thing which is play a character with extreme darkness and completely devoid of personality. I'd really love her to accept a part where she comes out of herself.
The movie is likely to offend a large amount of viewers; it at times mocks religious belief and ventures into the world of voodoo and Satanism. It continuously shows graphic scenes or uses graphic wording to define a specific incident. Without being patronising I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of 21, despite its 15 certificate rating. The reason I say this is that with the odd exception few people under this age will either understand fully the concept of the film, or have the attention span to appreciate it for its true worth. Angel Heart is by far one of the darkest movies to ever come out of Hollywood, but without a doubt one of the best movies of this particular genre.
Special Features
An introduction by Alan Parker allows the viewer to move into the correct mindset required for the movie; it's a very brief and not particularly inspiring addition to the DVD but it gives the viewer the opportunity to detach themselves from everyday things.
There are several making of documentaries, these address the concept of the movie, the choice of cast, on set pieces showing how certain effects were achieved and how the crew managed to make an area now becoming very modern look like 1950's Harlem.
Photo Gallery; like all of them to me is a pointless inclusion simply padding to make the DVD seem like it contains more.
There are a series of Biographies of the cast and crew which give a background of there work and brief references to personal circumstances.
In a series of interviews lasting over an hour the cast discuss there thoughts on the movie and for some a different much bigger picture that some may not have considered.
The final addition to the DVD is a series of featurettes the most useful of which discusses the acclaim and criticism's associated with the film. It also addresses the public disapproval of the movie and a threatening encounter for one of the main cast in respect of their performance.
This DVD is available shortly from Play.com priced £14.99 which may seem like a lot, but the film itself is worth it. The addition of more than 8 hours of additional "padding" makes it more inviting still.
Advantages: dark brooding masterpiece Disadvantages: a bit too dark and violent for some tastes.
Harry Angel (Mickey Rouke) is that cliche down at heal private detective who is offered a large rate of pay to look for a missing big band singer, Johnny Favorite. His client is the mysterious Louis Cyphre (Robert DeNiro) an elegant and sinister benefactor whose motives dont become apparent until the end of the film. Angel follows up various leads but some other force is at work, all of the people he needs to interview, or who he comes involved with ... ...As each murder takes place Angel slowly realises the truth of what is going on and the nightmare that he is caught up in, and the reasons for Cyphres interest in a has been singer. Its difficult to give more of the plot away with out spoiling the whole movie as its one of those sixth sense type thrillers, and the last thing you want me to give away is Angel Hearts equivilant of "he was dead all along", sorry to those who havent seen sixth sense.
...
steerpyke 14.10.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Angel Heart (DVD)
Advantages: Good actors, interesting story, good ending Disadvantages: May seem a little slow to begin with
...~The Story~
~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry Angel is a private detective who is contracted by Mr Cyphre to track down a singer called Johnny Favourite who owes him money. He needs to find out if this guy is still alive or not. So Angel sets off on the trail to find him. He manages to find a few people who knew him or worked with people who knew him, but after Angel meets with these people - they become victim to a gruesome murder. It seems as though someone ... ...these people he has been talking to. Angel, himself, becomes a suspect in two of the murders and as he delves deeper into his quest to find this missing singer he realises that there's a lot more going on than he could ever have imagined. That is all I shall tell you about the story of the film. I was lucky in that no one had told me anything about this film - all I knew was what I read on the back of the video cover! And believe me if that is all ...
Deenie 22.07.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Angel Heart (DVD)
Advantages: Grim atmosphere adds to the plot Disadvantages: Stays with you for ages
...title, I would give Angel Heart a miss and I did, so I didn't even bother to read anything about it.
Many years later whilst in the middle of a media course at our local college, most of the group of students opted to watch Angel Heart out of a list of a dozen or so movies. I groaned and eagerly anticipated the drive home. Now I know what I missed the first time around.
Angel Heart is a dark tale of mystery, suspense, voodoo, murder and a trail ... ...plays the part of Harry Angel a private eye who is hired by the mysterious Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to find a singer who has mysteriously disappeared. As Harry weaves his way through the plot, one by one his leads seem to end up dead which doesn't help his case.
I won't lay bare the plot as this would spoil a new viewer's enjoyment of what is a very good film which invites you to work at it with Harry Angel whilst at the same time leading the ...
jimbuck 16.12.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Angel Heart (DVD)
Advantages: Atmospheric and well-acted Disadvantages: The ending is a bit of cliché
...by Robert de Niro. Angel is set to find a missing person, a singer involved in black magic. His excursions into the world of the occult very quickly lead to ritual murder, for which Angel becomes a suspect.
There's not much else I can say without giving away the ending, which is the whole point of the film. Angel discovers the culprit, and Cyphre's real identity. I have a few problems with this: although at first it seemed shocking, I now can't ... ...fairly daft idea that somewhat punctures the atmosphere set up by the rest of the film.
Rourke and De Niro are excellent in this film, which succeeds in evoking a creepy and malevolent atmosphere. But I can't help feeling that it simply reveals an ignorance of the occult, and a certain lack of imagination, which is largely made up for by the performances and direction. ...
NeilHudson 23.09.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Angel Heart (DVD)
Advantages: Atmospheric, powerful Disadvantages: A bit too dark and disturbing my tastes.
...sympathy, especially Robert De Niro's satan character - only he could make eating a boiled egg full of sinister connotations! Yet again Angel Heart shows the remarkable versatility and intriguing choice of a director who is quite happy, like Lynch, to make films most other directors would shirk at. ...
JSpencer 10.09.2000
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Angel Heart (DVD)
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
How does it compare to ...
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "Angel Heart (DVD)"
Advantages: Fun, easy moves, great for fitness, excellent bums and tums section Disadvantages: Not one for the boys unless they want to watch the dancers
turns into a dancing robot).
This section is very easy to do as its based on lots of stretching and moving from side to side.
This is approx 10 minutes.
Pump it Up!: This is the hi dance energy section and features the following wicked Ibiza tracks.
Studio B- I see girls (Here there and everywhere)
Cabin Crew-Star to Fall (that's where you belong, in my arms baby yehhhhhh)
Max Graham Vs Yes- Owner of a Lonely Heart (Check out the video for this on the DVD. Its very funny).
Axwell- Feel the Vibe
Eric Prydz- Call on me (Fetch your thong and wiggle that butt).
Danzel- Pump it up (Hey, pump it up, you gotta pump it up).
DJ Sammy-Why (Annie Lennox, eat your heart out).
Angel City- Sunrise (Video also featured on the DVD. Its the video where all the girls play fight on the bed in their knickers. Sorry boys but this doesn't happen in ...
Advantages: Funny, excellent cast and throughout very entertaining Disadvantages: none as such
discover shes the sole savoir of humanity.
At a glance the movie may appear to have a religious theme, with angels, demons, apostles and prophets, however this is all light-hearted.
The DVD features cast and crew inteviews, teaser trailer, main trailer and TV spots.
Overall i found this movie entertaining and would certainly recommend anyone into purchasing it, as it can mostly be found for a very reasonable price. ...
sweetdreams133 28.08.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Dogma (DVD)
Harry Angel is a tough New York detective pitted against the most fearsome adversary possible. A provocative and chilling story entwined in the world of the occult and set in backwoods New Orleans. Based on the novel 'Falling Angel' written by William Hjortsberg.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MOMENTUM PICTURES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES, OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT; ELEVATION SALES; TECHNICOLOR DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital
Dubbing Sound
Dolby Digital Surround English French German Spanish
Professional reviews
Review
"...A mightily absorbing mystery that also represents the best sustained filmmaking of director Alan Parker..." (Variety, 04/03/1987)
DVD Description
In Alan Parker's ANGEL HEART, based on the novel FALLING ANGEL by William Hjortsberg, a New York City gumshoe is hired to find an aging blues singer. Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke) follows clues from the ominous ghettos of Harlem to the witchy backwoods of Louisiana, where he takes up with Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet), the beautiful young daughter of a voodoo priestess, whom he believes will be able to shed light on the growing mystery surrounding the missing musician. As Angel closes in on the truth of the case, his contacts start turning up dead. He begins to suspect he might be next. Parker (MISSISSIPPI BURNING) threads a commentary on the limitations of modern Western society into his sensual, suspenseful thriller. As the story unfolds, Angel relies less and less on his failing, overwhelmed rational mind (and handgun) and more on Epiphany's ancient mojo. Rourke captures the unraveling protagonist perfectly, and Bonet adds an erotic and mysterious edge with her performance. Robert De Niro is both funny and malevolent as Angel's mysterious client, Louis Cyphre. Shimmering with a beguiling mist of the macabre, ANGEL HEART provides an unexpectedly haunting dose of gothic noir.
Compare Angel Heart (DVD) to other similar Drama »