ANGEL HEART (1997): opinions? (1 Viewer)

[Aaron D]

I just bought this based on a few reviews I've read/heard, but I want to know if it's really a good "cult" flick (since it's been likened to 6th Sense- not really cult but I guess both have twist endings, Evil Dead(?), etc.). Any insight is appreciated.

A

 

[Matt Pelham]

I've never heard of an Angel Heart from 97. There is definitely one from 87. Remember it being very controversial at the time and it actually caused Lisa Bonet to be fired from the Cosby Show because of her "scenes." Is this the movie you're talking about?

 

[Paul_D]

I remember being absolutely blown away by this movie. The ending, though arguably quite easy to see coming, ties everything together so brilliantly, and it features such a powerhouse final reel. Awesome, awesome film. Its got a gritty, hard edge, but retains a slick coolness. Mickey Rourke's best performance IMO. The imagery scattered throughout the films is haunting - truly the stuff of nightmares, and the final elevator scene is perfect. Highly recommended. The DVD isn't great, but the movie more than makes up for it. You should be able to find it for less than $10, which certainly isn't a bad thing.

 

[Aaron D]

Yeah, I meant 1987 (I'm a moron most times )
It's $6.60 at DDD.
A

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Haven't seen it in ages, but I remember loving it for its atmosphere, and (like Paul), the last twenty minutes or so as everything unravels.

Yeah, some of it is obvious, but it's great fun.

 

[Will K]

IMHO, this is one of the scariest films of the last twenty years. It's much darker and has a deeper sense of dread than the supernatural thrillers they're making today. I saw this one during its theatrical run and it hasn't left me since. Hope we get a remastered director's cut DVD soon.

 

[Mike St.Louis]

Very atmospheric and frightening film. The last scene always disturbs me.
I have the soundtrack too which is excellent.

 

[Matthew_Millheiser]

A great little flick, although it tends to fall apart if you analyze it too carefully. It still sends shivers down my spine when I think about it, though. A moody, terrifying movie.
Plus Lisa Bonet... *droooool*....

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Paul Dalmaine wrote:

The ending is brilliant (the elevator imagery being especially effective), but I would argue that it all added up at the end and wasn't "obvious" at all. ("Hindsight is 20/20 vision.") And that is what a good detective film is supposed to do, no?

I never did understand all the controversy. Did they cut all the nudity in the release print? I don't remember seeing anything that, frankly, one couldn't find on television as well.

 

[DonMac]

A good double feature is to watch Angel Heart and then David Lynch's Lost Highway because they both have the same general plot, IMO. (Although the former is rather straight-forward, while the latter is a puzzle missing some of its pieces.)

 

[Paul_D]

I don't remember seeing anything that, frankly, one couldn't find on television as well.

I think you must've seen the cut version. The European version is uncut I believe, and it features some rather disturbingly violent sex between Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke in which they are splashed with blood, and which is intercut with a bizarre and unsavory orgy scene. Not pleasant.

 

[DaveBB]

Very good film to pick up if you're looking for a rental and never seen it before.

BTW: rumor has it that Bonet and Rourke were doing it for realintercourse
on film.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Paul Dalmain wrote:

.

I believe the U.S. theatrical version was indeed cut. Although the "voodoo" ceremony scenes were intercut with the sex scenes, the latter were to my remembrance no more "violent" or kinky than what gets on U.S. television (or used to). The blood at the end of it, consequently, is very hard to understand. (That's what happens when you cut things out. [Pun intended.])

I have not viewed the DVD version, so I don't know what's there.

 

[Aaron D]

Wow, this seems like a great accidental find! I can't wait to get this and see it.

DonMac, thanks for the Lynch recommendation, I was just going to ask what else I need to see if I like this movie. Any other suggestions?

As for the cut vs. uncut, I was under the impression the DVD had the cut scenes restored to the film, but that's just heresay.

Thanks for all of your opinions, thus far!

A

 

[DaveBB]

I thought the cuts didn't have to do with the violent images or blood, but more concerned Mickey Rourke's thrusting movements and Lisa Bonet's leg placement.

 

[DaveBB]

According to IMDB.com

A scene featuring Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet having sex was slightly cut before release in order to avoid a X rating. The European theatrical version and US video version restore the missing footage.
The American tv version, presumably in order to make up for time lost in editing the controversial sex scene, added footage that was not included in either the R or Unrated versions. The added footage was mostly made up of flashbacks to the war and other various oddities, and actually helped explain some of the more vague points of the movie.
Curiously, the sex and violence did not offend the British Board of Film Classification, but a scene of a cockfight did, and it was removed from both cinema and video versions. This cockfight has been seen in a heavily edited US TV version screened in the UK on ITV.

 

[Paul_D]

As for the cut vs. uncut, I was under the impression the DVD had the cut scenes restored to the film, but that's just heresay.

The DVD's rated R. Go figure. :rolleyes
I have an a prerecorded UK video copy, and the US Region 1 DVD. I've never done a direct comparison, but this thread has reminded me, so I'll do one, and report back here with my findings.
Oops, missed the Dave's IMDB post. I'll still do a comparison, just to satisfy my own curiosity.

 

[Robert Floto]

The ending is brilliant (the elevator imagery being especially effective), but I would argue that it all added up at the end and wasn't "obvious" at all. ("Hindsight is 20/20 vision.") And that is what a good detective film is supposed to do, no?

...and my other friend said, "What the hell are you talking about?" At the end he just said, "...Oh."

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Actually the biggest surprise of Angel Heart isn't
Harry Angel's true identity.
That's certainly hinted at, but not given away, in my opinion, during the course of the film.
What surprised me more was the revelation that Harry himself had committed all these murders during the course of the current invesigation.
It's the masterful montage at the end that clues us in on the revelations that, for me, makes the movie. It's otherwise only a mildly good movie. (Also I've never liked Mickey Rourke.)

 

[Scott Weinberg]

Just wanted to throw my vote in. I love this movie. I haven't seen it in a few years, so I'll skip the specifics but I recall Alan Parker painting a gorgeous (and dark) portrait. Rourke's at his best, De Niro is creepy as hell, and Bonet is beautiful as well as underrated as an actress.
Damn, now you guys have me itching to buy this DVD. Stop it!