Alright, the other night I rediscovered an old favorite: Angel Heart. Not only does it hold up after fifteen years, but I think it might even be better with age.
Alan Parker's direction, all the performances, musical nuances (and Trevor Jones' terrific score), the script, the atmosphere ... shit, even the extras in this movie are great (great faces / characteristics). A trend-setter and creep-out "noir-horror film," made in the days when Mickey Rourke was a movie-star, De Niro could be scary and Lisa Bonet obviously wanted off the Cosby show.
I just wanted to mention for the record that the DVD is in fact the un-rated cut and not the R as the packaging suggests. The DVD was initially released by "Live Home Video" who was then bought by Artisan. Artisan re-did the packaging to include their logos on it, but the disc is the same (they didn't bother to "re-do" the program on the disc: it actually still has all of Live's onscreen logos and stuff). Both claim to be the R cut (with no "both versions" option on the disc or alternate disc available for purchase) but aren't.
As the difference is only about 10 seconds (in the blood-drenched "sex montage" towards the end) it'd take someone with a keen eye to notice anyway. Someone like me who, for years, had a VHS dub of the R cut as my only copy of the film. That particular scene is way more intense with what's been put back in. To my knowledge (and observation) there never was any other part of the film affected or changed.
If I was properly informed, the disc has recently been price reduced to $9.99 list (I think) so run out and buy it. IF you're like me and hadn't seen the film in years, run out and buy it. If you're a big fan of the film and held out for some future "unrated" disc, run out and buy it, your prayers have been answered. If you haven't seen the film and this is the first you've ever heard about it, run out and buy it. Who knows when or if some anamorphic special edition version will ever come out?
Alan Parker's direction, all the performances, musical nuances (and Trevor Jones' terrific score), the script, the atmosphere ... shit, even the extras in this movie are great (great faces / characteristics). A trend-setter and creep-out "noir-horror film," made in the days when Mickey Rourke was a movie-star, De Niro could be scary and Lisa Bonet obviously wanted off the Cosby show.
I just wanted to mention for the record that the DVD is in fact the un-rated cut and not the R as the packaging suggests. The DVD was initially released by "Live Home Video" who was then bought by Artisan. Artisan re-did the packaging to include their logos on it, but the disc is the same (they didn't bother to "re-do" the program on the disc: it actually still has all of Live's onscreen logos and stuff). Both claim to be the R cut (with no "both versions" option on the disc or alternate disc available for purchase) but aren't.
As the difference is only about 10 seconds (in the blood-drenched "sex montage" towards the end) it'd take someone with a keen eye to notice anyway. Someone like me who, for years, had a VHS dub of the R cut as my only copy of the film. That particular scene is way more intense with what's been put back in. To my knowledge (and observation) there never was any other part of the film affected or changed.
If I was properly informed, the disc has recently been price reduced to $9.99 list (I think) so run out and buy it. IF you're like me and hadn't seen the film in years, run out and buy it. If you're a big fan of the film and held out for some future "unrated" disc, run out and buy it, your prayers have been answered. If you haven't seen the film and this is the first you've ever heard about it, run out and buy it. Who knows when or if some anamorphic special edition version will ever come out?
