10 More Obscure Films You Must See
6. Angel Heart (dir. Alan Parker, 1987) 
The first of two Faustian entries on our list concerns Alan Parker, a director who can best be described as a journeyman auteur. Hes applied his outstanding eye and careful craft to musicals, horror movies, offbeat comedies, rock films, romantic dramas and war stories. And while not all of his films are either cohesive or agreeable (The Life of David Gale being neither), when hes on form he achieves that rare, sought-after balance between distinctive directorial vision and respectful treatment of a given story. Loosely based on the William Hjortsberg novel Falling Angel, Angel Heart stars Mickey Rourke in his prime as 1950s private eye Harry Angel. He is hired by the enigmatic Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) to track down a client of his called Johnny Favourite, who had a contract with Cyphre before World War II but has since vanished without trace. During his investigation, which takes him through New York and New Orleans, Angel uncovers a terrifying world of conspiracy, desperation and voodoo a world which he may know more about than he is letting on Positioned somewhere between Raymond Chandler and The Wicker Man, Angel Heart is a powerful retelling of Faust which is deeply rooted in the pulp and hardboiled genres. It uses the well-worn conventions of film noir to take audiences on a hellish ride through Christian symbolism, flesh-ripping violence and sets which could have escaped from a Francis Bacon painting. Its a breath-taking balance of art, faith and fear, worth seeing if nothing else for a long-haired De Niro slowly peeling a hard-boiled egg with inch-long fingernails (and trust me, its even creepier than it sounds). Three Men on a Blog review The Movie Hour podcast: #20