Rent Angel Heart (1987)

One of the best ever - Angel Heart review by CS

This is one of may favourite films of all time. Atmospheric, tense (and based on a novel which is well worth reading in its own right) and containing one of Rourke's best performances, a must-see for film fans (other than the very squeamish!).

WHO AM I? - Angel Heart review by Frank Talker™

An overlong thriller with, unfortunately, no red herrings to distract us from the rather obvious twist-ending.

Robert De Niro excels in a small part in which he practically winks knowingly at the audience that he knows full-well that he is asking Mickey Rourke's private detective to find someone that the latter actually knows personally very well, indeed.

This kind of death-fixated mystery (eg, Mr Arkadin [1955], Point Blank [1967] & The Sixth Sense [1999]) with supernatural overtones has been done too often to be fully-engaging. Only the strong sense-of-atmosphere and the high quality of the performances from all involved gets us to the finale in more-or-less one piece. Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet are particularly fine with the good personal chemistry necessary to make their romance convincing.

Fantastic Dark Thriller - Angel Heart review by GI

Here is a superb dark, mystery thriller from British director Alan Parker. A film that has a twist and turn plot, a great cast and a haunting atmospheric feel to it that draws you in. Controversial too, mainly due to a key sex scene that has an important part in the story but ultimately a brilliantly conceived tale that has a surprise ending. Mickey Rourke, at the height of his star potential, plays Harry Angel, a seedy private eye in 1950s New York. He's hired by a sinister, wealthy businessman (Robert De Niro) to find a former jazz singer who has breached his contactual obligations but went missing after being wounded during the Second World War. The search for this man takes Harry to New Orleans where he has discovered the missing man had connections with two women, the strange Margaret Krusemark (Charlotte Rampling) and the beautiful Epiphany (Lisa Bonet - in her first major film role). The trouble for Harry is that all his key witnesses keep turning up murdered. The film creates a dark, damp and cold atmosphere of New York and New Orleans with key themes of the inherent cultural racism of the times and a supernatural feel in the unravelling of the mystery. This is a bold, creepy and original film that really keeps you watching. If you've never seen this then it's well worth seeking out and even if you have and know what is going on it's worth a revisit.