Year – 1987 Decade – 1980s Cinematographer – Michael Seresin (IMDB link) Director – Alan Parker Aspect Ratio – 1.85 Distributor – Carolco; TriStar Genre – Suspense/Thriller; Horror; Noir; Period (1950s) Lenses – Spherical Format – 35mm Categories – Inserts; Diners; Sidelight; Close-Ups; […]
Year – 1987
Decade – 1980s
Cinematographer – Michael Seresin (IMDB link)
Director – Alan Parker
Aspect Ratio – 1.85
Distributor – Carolco; TriStar
Genre – Suspense/Thriller; Horror; Noir; Period (1950s)
Lenses – Spherical
Format – 35mm
Categories – Inserts; Diners; Sidelight; Close-Ups; Color; Establishing Shots; Two Shots; Mirrors and Reflections; High and Low Angles
The Movie
The search for a missing crooner with a debt to pay takes a rumpled Brooklyn gumshoe (Mickey Rourke) to New Orleans in this singular, genre-straddling Southern Gothic noir. One of nine collaborations between director Alan Parker and cinematographer Michael Seresin.
William Hjortsberg’s 1978 source novel Falling Angel, which was set entirely in New York, was initially set up at Paramount with The Godfather’s Robert Evans to produce and John Frankenheimer slated to direct. After Paramount’s option expired, Robert Redford picked up the rights and Hjortsberg took a pass at adapting his book.
The project eventually ended up with Parker in the mid-80s. The British director envisioned Jack Nicholson as private investigator Harry Angel and Marlon Brando as client Louis Cyphre, but both declined. Parker then offered the role of Angel to Robert De Niro, who instead preferred to play the detective’s malevolent benefactor.
Annotations
Click on the frames below for stories from the making of Angel Heart.
For more Angel Heart…
Alan Parker’s production diary
Alan Parker interview on The Q&A podcast
Michael Seresin interview on the American Cinematographer Podcast
Official site of Falling Angel novelist William Hjortsberg
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