ANGEL HEART - The Devil dwells in the hearts of evil men...
U.S. Release Date: MARCH 6, 1987
“When the Devil comes collectin’, you gonna pay with your soul every time…,” said somebody once, probably. It certainly goes some ways to splainin’ away all the twists and turns in director Alan Parker’s blood- and sweat-drenched deep south detective noir thriller, Angel Heart.
Everyone working on the adaptation of William Hjortsberg’s 1978 novel FALLING ANGEL seemed determined to play against type. ALAN PARKER had never done a supernatural story; Cosby kid LISA BONET was baring all as voodoo priestess ‘Epiphany Proudfoot’; ROBERT DE NIRO was leaning into the campiness of his devilish dandy ‘Louis Cyphre’ (Spoiler? Come on, look at that name!); and, star MICKEY ROURKE (who’d done his hardened cop shtick in Michael Cimino’s Year of the Dragon in ‘85)…well, he hadn’t carried a hit movie yet. Check out the trailer…
On the late director’s official website, Parker provides an extraordinarily detailed account of the film’s life cycle, including how he was able to secure the usually elusive Oscar winner for the key role (“I have a crumpled scrap of paper stapled into my shooting script. It says, ‘8:00 a.m. De Niro phoned to say he’s “of a mind to do the film.”’)
Despite a checkered box office path (it underperformed stateside, but played well internationally, including Australia), ANGEL HEART holds a unique place in ‘80s cinema lore and has carved out a devoted cult following amongst fans of the period.
The Podcast
Positively dripping in southern state sweat, muskrat skinner Dan Barrett and furniture fall guy Simon Foster point the chicken bone at Angel Heart in this week’s BEST MOVIE YEAR podcast:
Simon and Dan have undertaken to watch 100 movies from January through December of 1987 to answer mankind’s most pressing question: Was it the best movie year ever?
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The video version of our show is available on both Spotify and YouTube.
Email us: podcast@bestmovieyear.com
Start your journey through this wonderful film year with past episodes…
Withnail & I | The Kindred | The Stepfather | Outrageous Fortune | Radio Days |
Light of Day | Mannequin | Over the Top | A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
Lethal Weapon | Some Kind of Wonderful
Coming Soon, on BEST MOVIE YEAR: 1987
