Angel Heart Blu-ray

Angel Heart

 (1987)

Angel Heart Blu-ray offers decent video and solid audio in this overall recommended Blu-ray release
A gumshoe private investigator is hired by a mysterious and malevolent client to find a missing crooner who owes him on a debt, but when the PI starts his investigation he is thwarted by the murders of his possible witnesses and haunted by unexplainable demonic nightmares. As he nears and nears his catch, the identity of the missing person is closer to him than he thinks.

For more about Angel Heart and the Angel Heart Blu-ray release, see the Angel Heart Blu-ray Review

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling, Pruitt Taylor Vince
Director: Alan Parker

Angel Heart Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, August 25, 2009

Alan Parker's unsettling "Angel Heart" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment. Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on the disc. The film is presented uncut. Not subtitled in English. Region-B "locked".

Dark dreams?

The story of British director Alan Parker's Angel Heart is set in the 50s, but this is clearly an 80s film. It mixes mystery with noir, it boasts a terrific soundtrack - courtesy of Trevor Jones, who contributed to such hits as Curtis Hanson's Bad Influence and Harold Becker's Sea of Love - and, of course, it has Mickey Rourke playing a jaded private eye. If all of this does not scream 80s to you, then you clearly were not around when Angel Heart was released in theaters across America.

Here's the film's plot: Private eye Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke, Year of the Dragon) is hired by a wealthy gentleman, Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro, Heat), to locate Johnny Favorite, a band musician who has disappeared from the face of the Earth. Louis Cyphre needs Johnny Favorite to settle a debt of some sort with him. He pays Harry 5000$ and tells him to contact him as soon as he has something to report.

Harry begins looking for his man in New York City, but ends up in New Orleans. He meets a number of people who once knew Johnny Favorite - Dr. Albert Fowler (Michael Higgins, Wanda), a drug-addict, Margaret Krusemark (Charlotte Rampling, Swimming Pool), a fortuneteller, and Toots Sweet (Brownie McGhee, Blues Under The Skin) a jazz musician. He also meets Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet, Enemy of the State), the daughter of a woman Johnny Favorite had an affair with. All of them tell Harry different stories about his man. Then, they die. Harry begins to suspect that Johnny Favorite is following him and eliminating those who could clue him in about his whereabouts.

Based on William Hjortsberg's novel Falling Angel, director Parker's Angel Heart is a notably atmospheric film. It is also a graphic film that censors in America had a serious problem with (without giving up the plot of the film, I wish to quickly note that Lisa Bonet and Mickey Rourke's prolonged sex scene was right in the middle of all the drama). As a result, Angel Heart ended up with an "X" rating. Shortly after, the creators of the film agreed to cut it in order to get the more respectable "R" rating. (For the record, this Blu-ray disc contains the original, uncut, version of Angel Heart).

The film's strength is clearly its ability to mislead. Its story is notably well constructed, forcing one to keep guessing until the very end. Even then, however, when all of the missing pieces in this atmospheric puzzle are aligned, a few twists remain that could be interpreted differently.

There is also a nagging sense of paranoia in Angel Heart that is very effective. As soon as one begins watching the film, one realizes that there is something very bad going on in it. And like its main protagonist, Harry Angel, one cannot wait to figure out who's behind it.

Mickey Rourke has gotten plenty of criticism during the years for his choice of roles. In fact, there are many film critics who still dislike him because of his antics off the camera rather than his acting in front of it. In Angel Heart, however, he is the heart and soul of the film (no pun intended).

An impressive group of supporting actors also contributed to the film's convincing tone. Robert De Niro and British actress Charlotte Rampling appear briefly but are of crucial importance to the story. Lisa Bonet, who many had previously seen on the "Cosby Show", shocked a lot of people with her character.

Director Parker's eye for detail is also second to none. It serves the story of the film incredibly well. This is important to note as a lot of contemporary directors tend to struggle when they attempt to blend style with substance. Director Parker does not, and Angel Heart has both.

Angel Heart Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Alan Parker's Angel Heart arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment.

The British distributors must have used an old master for their Blu-ray release of Angel Heart. I detected a few tiny flecks popping up here and there, mild contrast fluctuations and, occasionally, mild edge-enhancement. Generally speaking, the color-scheme is convincing. Blues, reds, browns, grays, blacks and whites are natural looking. Detail and clarity seem a bit inconsistent. This being said, when blown through a digital projector, Angel Heart remains pleasingly stable around the edges – there are no frame shifting issues to report either. Macroblocking is also not a serious issue of concern. To sum it all up, I believe that without a serious restoration, this is probably the best director Parker's Angel Heart could look. For the record, the Blu-ray disc contains the uncut 113 minute version of the film. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" disc. Therefore, unless you have a native Region-B or Region-Free player, you won't be able to access its content).

Angel Heart Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English LPCM 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track certainly won't test the muscles of your audio system. A quick comparison between the SDVD and this Blu-ray release, however, should reveal plenty of notable improvements in the audio department. The wailing sax, for example, is notably crisper. The famous ritual scene also sounds a lot better on the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. This being said, there is very little activity in the surround channels. The bass is also not too energetic.

The dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow. Furthermore, there are no disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings that I detected. There are not balance issues either. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The English LPCM 2.0 track is actually rather good. During specific scenes – a good example is the scene at the end of the film where Harry Angel takes the elevator – the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track sounds richer, but, dynamically, the two tracks are quite similar. The dialog on the English LPCM 2.0 track is as crisp and easy to follow as it is on the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track.

Angel Heart Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc.

Angel Heart Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

During the years, I have gone through a number of different VHS and DVD releases of Alan Parker's atmospheric Angel Heart. I can assure you that each and everyone of them had its fair share of problems. This Blu-ray disc may not be the definitive release of the film, but it certainly is the only one I would recommend that you consider. Furthermore, I don't believe Angel Heart would be fully restored any time soon; it would be awhile before the film is given the treatment it deserves. With that in mind, fans of Angel Heart should consider Optimum Home Entertainment's disc.

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