Angel Heart [Special Edition]

Director: Alan Parker Alan Parker

Overview

"Alan Parker's Angel Heart has built a cult following, and this Special Edition DVD of the film from Lion's Gate will easily satisfy that audience. The film itself is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack does a fine job of presenting the original material. The copious supplemental materials include a feature-length commentary recorded by Alan Parker. He comments at great length on the performers and is full of anecdotal information about the making of the film, although he occasionally lapses into silence, saying he has not watched the film for quite some time. A scene-specific commentary by Mickey Rourke reveals that he did almost no research for the part and agreed to do it mostly because he admired Parker's Midnight Express. A handful of featurettes on voodoo, an introduction by Parker, an interview with Rourke in which he discusses his entire career (while holding onto his pet dog), and making-of featurettes created at the time of the original production all add flavor to this solid release."

Product Details

Release Date:	05/18/2004
UPC:	0012236120483
Original Release:	1987
Rating:	R
Source:	LIONSGATE - 600000-AEC LGE
Region Code:	1
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:52:00
Sales rank:	4,987

Special Features

Closed Caption;Newly remastered widescreen feature; 5.1 and 2.0 Dolby Digital Sound; New interview and DVD introduction by director Alan Parker; New interview and selected scene commentary by Mickey Rourke; Vodoun Truths: A collection of new documentaries discussing the facts, history, and beliefs of Voodoo. Includes "New Orleans Voodoo Connection" (history of Voodoo in New Orleans); "Voodoo...the Truth" (a look at Voodoo in the media); "Dance as Worship" (the meaning of dance and music in Voodoo); "Voodoo Macumba Dance Ensemble" (authentic extended dance sequences); "Ashé!" (an informational look at the African Spirit Forces [Orisha] and some Voodoo Loa).; Original production behind-the-scenes footage; Original director commentary; Original production featurettes; Spanish and English subtitles

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mickey Rourke	Actor
Robert De Niro	Actor
Lisa Bonet	Actor
Charlotte Rampling	Actor
Brownie McGhee	Actor
Michael Higgins	Dr. Fowler
Stocker Fontelieu	Actor
Elizabeth Whitcraft	Connie
Eliott Keener	Sterne
Charles Gordone	Spider Simpson
Dann Florek	Winesap
Kathleen Wilhoite	Nurse
George Buck	Izzy
Judith Drake	Izzy's Wife
Gerald L. Orange	Pastor John,Actor
Peggy Severe	Mammy Carter
Pruitt Taylor Vince	Deimos
David Petitjean	Baptism Preacher,Actor
Courtney Peldon	Actor
Rick Washburn	Cajun Heavy
Neil Newlon	2nd Cajun Heavy
Toots Sweet Band	Actor
George Flower	Izzy
Oakley Dalton	Big Jacket
Yvonne Bywaters	Margaret's Maid
Loys T. Bergeron	Mike
Joshua Frank	Toothless
Rick Washburne	Cajun Heavy
Karmen Harris	Harlem Mourner
Nicole Burdette	Ellie
Kendell Lupe	Oyster Cajun,Oyster Cajun #1
Percy Martin	Oyster Cajun
Viola Dunbar	Concierge
Murray Bandel	Bartender
Jarrett Narcisse	Epiphany's Child
Ernest Watson	Oyster Bar Saxophonist
Rickie Monie	Oyster Bar Pianist
Roselyn Lionhart	Voodoo Musician
Sugar Blue	Harmonica
Pinetop Perkins	Piano
Deacon John Moore	Lead Guitar
Richard Payne	Double Bass
W. Alonzo Stewart	Drums
Lillian Boutte	Vocalist, Toots Sweet Band
Lula Elzy	Voodoo Dancer
Francesca J. Ridge	Voodoo Dancer
Hope Clarke	Voodoo Dancer
Sarita Allen	Voodoo Dancer
Noel Jones	Voodoo Dancer,Voodoo Dancer
Valerie Jackson	Voodoo Dancer
Greer Goff	Voodoo Dancer
Arlena Rolant	Voodoo Dancer
Karen Davis	Voodoo Dancer
Mark Taylor	Voodoo Dancer

Technical Credits

Alan Parker

William Hjortsberg

Alan Parker	Director,Screenwriter
J.C. Brotherhood	Special Effects
Mario Kassar	Executive Producer,Producer
Elliott Kastner	Producer
Harry Madsen	Stunts
Alan Marshall	Producer
Andrew Vajna	Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer
William Hjortsberg	Screenwriter
David Smith	Special Effects
Eddy Joseph	Sound Effects
Jean-Pierre Lelong	Sound Effects
Robert J. Litt	Sound Effects
Steve Maslow	Sound Effects
Danny Michael	Sound Effects
Russell Berg	Special Effects
Andy Duppin	Stunts

Editorial Reviews

Always teetering on the edge of perversity, Angel Heart polarized audiences and critics; the squeamish considered it dehumanizing drivel, the unflappable applauded its daring. The truth is somewhere in between. Alan Parker's graphic forays into amorality do often seem to exist primarily for their shock value, including -- but by no means limited to -- the famous sex scene between Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke. But the clever script more than redeems its seedier elements by the close, making Angel Heart more like an extension of Parker's fascination with mental torture (following Midnight Express and Pink Floyd: The Wall) than the kind of sleazy late-night noir that would soon become synonymous with Rourke. At the brief height of his career, Rourke radiates the mounting hysteria of a man caught in purgatory, surrounded and eventually engulfed by sadistic evil. By the time he pieces together the mystery, the audience has walked in his shoes enough to absorb his emotional outpouring. Although the "look what I can do" quality of Parker's envelope-pushing will never agree with everyone, Angel Heart does offer rewards to those viewers willing to penetrate its grisly surface.