ANGEL HEART

Director: Alan Parker

Starring: Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, Charlotte Rampling

A low-rent private detective is hired by a mysterious client to locate a missing singer.

Parker’s atmospheric 1987 gothic detective story blends hard-boiled gumshoe noir (the film is set in Harlem and New Orleans, in 1955) and voodoo-themed supernatural elements, resulting in one of the best genre movies of the 80s. Parker also had the good luck to capture two electrifying performances from two great actors at the height of their game: Mickey Rourke as the gumshoe, and De Niro as his client.

Momentum’s Region 2 disc, the first of their mouth-watering Director’s Chair Collection, (which includes Lynch’s The Elephant Man and Michael Mann’s Manhunter), more than does the film justice. The new transfer, presented in 1.85:1 letterbox format, and enhanced for 16:9 presentation, is surprisingly good, although there are distracting signs of excessive video noise reduction. The 2.0 sound (at 192kbps) is the film’s original surround mix: nothing particularly elaborate, but nicely detailed, and free of distortion.

Momentum haven’t stinted on the extras, either. Parker has contributed a new commentary track, which sounds like he came to the microphone well prepared. Other extras include several short contemporary promotional pieces, (including behind-the-scenes footage, and on-set interviews), a photo’ gallery and cast and crew profiles (these contain additional interview clips). A 64-page paperback, containing Parker’s diary of the production, accompanied initial copies of  the disc.

2006 Update - Momentum's Special Edition DVD

Disc one features the film, in anamorphic 1.80:1 format with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio (at 192kbps) and optional English subtitles. The film's average bit-rate is 7.28Mb/sec.

The film is accompanied by a commentary track by Parker, which was carried over from the previous Director's Chair Collection. Other bonus features on disc one are an introduction by director Alan Parker (1m); three short Making of... snippets (The Reality of Voodoo (3m), Creating The Look (2m) and Choreographing a Voodoo Ritual (2m)); an on-set Interview With Alan Parker (5m); and three contemporaneous Personality Profiles (Mickey Rourke (4m), Lisa Bonet (4m) and Alan Parker (3m)).

The new extras on the second disc are bountiful, but few of them relate directly to the film (they're about voodoo and it's role in New Orleans culture) and so are likely to disappoint anyone who wants more information about the movie. They are: New Orleans Voodoo Connection (20m); Voodoo - The Truth (12m); Dance As Worship (6m); Guided Tour (10m); Voodoo Macumba Dance Ensemble (3m); Voodoo Macumba Dance Ensemble 'Damballah' (6m); and an Interview With Alan Parker (8m).

Menu screens from the Special Edition DVD set can be found here.