Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Angel Heart 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 2, 2019

Alan Parker's "Angel Heart" (1987) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the release include vintage audio commentary by the director; various archival cast and crew interviews; featurettes; promotional materials; and more. The release also arrives with a 48-page illustrated booklet featuring Parker's "The Making of the Film, Beat by Beat" as well as technical credits. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Alan Parker’s Angel Heart is set in the '50s, but it is clearly a product of the '80s. It mixes mystery with neo-noir, boasts a lush soundtrack -- courtesy of Trevor Jones who left his stamp on such genre hits as Curtis Hanson’s Bad Influence and Harold Becker’s Sea of Love -- and has Mickey Rourke in his prime playing a jaded private eye. If all of this does not scream “Product of the '80s and Proud of It” to you, then you clearly were not around when the decade peaked and Angel Heart was released in theaters across America.

Here’s the film’s plot: Private eye Harry Angel (Rourke) is hired by a wealthy gentleman, Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro), to locate Johnny Favorite, a band musician who has disappeared from the face of the earth. Cyphre needs the missing man to settle an old debt. He pays Angel $5,000 and instructs him to contact him as soon as he has anything to report.

Angel begins looking for the musician in New York City, but then quickly ends up in New Orleans. Here he meets a motley crew of characters that knew him well, including a corrupt drug addict with a medical license (Michael Higgins, Wanda), an aging fortuneteller (Charlotte Rampling, Swimming Pool), and blues guitarist with a murky past (Brownie McGhee, Blues Under The Skin). While asking questions, Angel also meets and then begins seeing the daughter (Lisa Bonet) of a woman that Favorite supposedly once had an affair with. When one by one the people he has talked to begin dying, Angel concludes that Favorite is following him and eliminating everyone that could clue him in on his whereabouts.

Based on William Hjortsberg’s novel Falling Angel, Parker’s Angel Heart is one seriously atmospheric film. It is also a somewhat explicit film that years ago earned the dreaded X rating in America. When the film was submitted for classification, a completely unoffensive and actually quite short lovemaking scene with Rourke and Bonet apparently gave American censors a big headache, so to get the more respectable R rating its creators agreed to recut it. (This release contains the original uncensored version of the film, though rather ironically this time there is another silly cut on it that was done to appease the British censors. The cut is only a few seconds and wipes out 'animal violence' involving chickens that someone at the BBFC found unbearably 'disturbing').

The strength of the film comes from its ability to very effectively misdirect and mislead. Indeed, its story is carefully constructed to keep one guessing until the very end. Even then, however, when all of its scattered pieces are properly aligned, a few strategically positioned twists leave the door open for multiple interpretations of the final act.

The sense of paranoia that permeates the film, however, is what shapes up its identity and leaves a lasting impression. Immediately after the opening credits disappear the viewer begins to feel that Angel is on a genuinely creepy mission that is getting even creepier as he peels away the layers of a mystery that overwhelms his mind, and the closer he comes to the truth, the more his anxiety becomes the viewer’s anxiety.

Rourke has received plenty of criticism during the years for his choice of roles. In fact, many film critics 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).

Angel Heart 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Angel Heart arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

The release is sourced from a brand new 4K restoration and our review of it will be broken into two sections. In the first, you will see comments about the Blu-ray/1080p presentation and how it compares to StudioCanal's previous Blu-ray release of Angel Heart. In the second, you will see comments about the native 4K presentation.

BLU-RAY DISC

A direct comparison between this release and the old release that emerged a decade ago immediately makes it very obvious that now there are numerous stable organic qualities that revive the film's native appearance. For example, in areas where on the old release there is noticeable flatness now there is pleasing depth, with plenty of layered nuances that are crucial for its neo-noirish identity. (On the previous release these ares typically reveal big blocks of flat black). Quite predictably, grain appears better exposed, not smeary. Colors are stable and nicely balanced. However, here different segments actually have entirely new primaries and tonalities, which introduce new color temperature as well (screencaptures #1 and 14 demonstrate the changes). In darker areas shadow definition is more convincing. However, this is the one area where I think that there is still some room for better balancing work. Indeed, as it is the case with other recent 4K restorations from StudioCanal, it appears that the grading is just a tad too aggressive, though the cinematography of this film is such that the thicker/fuller blacks that are present on the 4K restoration of The Deer Hunter are quite easy to miss. This is why I think that the overall balance is still really good. Image stability is excellent. There are no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, or other similar age-related anomalies to report. My score is 4.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

4K BLU-RAY DISC

The native 4K presentation excels in all of the areas that I thought it would. For example, it has superior fluidity, which makes a lot of the panoramic shots look even more impressive. You can compare the sequences that screencaptures #3, 27, 28, and 29 from from to see the difference. In 4K the entire film also has a predictably 'tighter' grain scheme, and on a larger screen the difference becomes rather substantial. (For what it's worth, if you only upscale to 4K, you will get a very similar result). Depth is excellent, but I also thought that the 1080p presentation looked great. Discrepancies emerge in some of the darkest areas where nuances are superior, but I think that better color balance contributes a lot. This is just a reoccurring theme on 4K restorations from StudioCanal, and on my system I can very easily see and appreciate the difference. Bottom line is this: I think that the new restoration is excellent. Some minor adjustments could have been done to achieve better balance in the darker areas, but the end product is enormously satisfying. My score is 4.75/5.00.

Angel Heart 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are four standard audio tracks on this release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit), German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) and French: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit). Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I still have the previous Blu-ray release of the film and was able to run some direct comparisons. I noticed that the 2.0 tracks, for instance, have pretty different dynamic fields and in some areas the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track is quite a bit louder. However, I am uncertain if it was redone or simply encoded differently. On the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track the difference is practically gone. The great music score sounds great on both.

Angel Heart 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction - director Alan Parker recorded this archival introduction for the old DVD release of Angel Heart. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Commentary - Alan Parker recorded this commentary a few decades ago. However, I had this DVD release from Artisan and it was not included on it. The director shares a great deal of factual information about the shooting locations of various sequences -- someone apparently told him that it would be very difficult to do anything in Harlem -- and the specific changes that he made to the original story from William Hjortsberg's novel to give it the period look he desired. Also, there are very interesting observations about Mickey Rourke and Robert De Niro's improvisations, and egos, and how challenging was at times to have the two work together before the camera.

• Alan Parker Interview - presented here is an excerpt from an recent interview with Alan Parker that was conducted for Le franc-toreir. Cineastes des annees 80. The director discusses the great influence that American cinema had on him and consequently his work, the evolution of his career and what he learned along the way, the conception of Angel Heart and the casting choices that were made, etc. In English, not subtitled. (27 min).

• News Features - presented here are a couple of archival EPKs that feature clips from cast and crew interviews as well as raw footage from the shooting of Angel Park. In English, not subtitled. (7 min).

• Personality Profiles - three actor profiles that were created for studio EPKs. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Mickey Rourke. (4 min).
  2. Lisa Bonet. (4 min).
  3. Alan Parker. (4 min).

• Additional Interviews - presented here are two archival interviews. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Alan Parker - the director talks about the changes he introduced to the original story, researching Harlem and working in New Orleans, as well as the type of noirish appearance he envisioned and gave his film. (9 min).
  2. Lisa Bonet - the actress discusses the audio process and her part. (2 min).

• Behind the Scenes Footage - Alan Parker and his crew are seen shooting various sequences from Angel Heart. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Teaser Trailer - a vintage U.S. teaser trailer for Angel Heart. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• A Background in Voodoo - six vintage featurettes that focus on various popular myths about voodoo and the people that practice it as well as those that have exploited it. In English, not subtitled.
  
  1. Voodoo... the Truth. (2 min).
  2. New Orleans Voodoo Connection - History of Voodoo. (21 min).
  3. Dance as Worship: Meaning of Dance & Music. (7 min).
  4. Ashe. (10 min).
  5. Voodoo Macumba Dance Ensemble. (9 min).

• Gallery - a collection of behind the scenes stills.

• Booklet - 48-page illustrated booklet featuring Alan Parker's "The Making of the Film, Beat by Beat" as well as technical credits.

Angel Heart 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Angel Heart is one of the quintessential '80s films. Of course, there are much bigger films that can be used to highlight a lot of what made the decade special, but Angel Heart is one of those genuine class acts that sticks out for all the right reasons -- Mickey Rourke was at his prime when Alan Parker made it, its style and tone were as good as the decade could deliver, Trevor Jones produced a killer soundtrack with some unforgettable sax solos, it spooked the censors and earned the dreaded X rating, etc. I've always had a spot for it in my library, and still own multiple home video releases of it from different territories. This 4K Blu-ray release will almost certainly be the last that I add to the library because it is another definitive catalog winner for StudioCanal. It is sourced from a very solid new 4K restoration, so if you like the film, place your order now. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.