``Angel Heart'' Mickey Rourke's sadness, steeped in Alan Parker's worldview

Music, the driving force behind Parker's films

Music is an important element in Alan Parker's films. In an essay included in the film's soundtrack, Parker describes his views on music as follows:

"Music has always been important to my films, and each film has a different background for the songs. For Fame (1980), Michael Gore composed the music, and I I wrote the scenes accordingly.Also, in `` Pink Floyd The Wall '' (1982), Roger Waters' lyrics and music became the narrator for the entire movie. (...) Regarding ``Angel Heart'', Trevor I asked John Jones to do the music because I liked his music for `` Runaway Engine '' (1985)...And then I got the wonderful blues singer Brownie McGee to play the role of Toots.''

Brownie McGee appears in the movie at a club in New Orleans. He sings the blues `` Rainy Day '' with his band. New Orleans is also known as the birthplace of jazz, but the blues sung in the city's bars has a dark charm.

Maggie is one of the key characters in the story, and she shows natural acting in the scenes where she talks to Harry Angel. If you watched him without knowing anything about him, you would think he was a professional actor (even Roger Ebert, America's national film critic, praised Maggie's performance at the time).

"Angel Heart" (C) 1987 StudioCanal. All Rights Reserved.

From 1939, McGee teamed up with blind bluesman Sonny Terry, and the two were said to be one of the most memorable duos in blues history.As a music connoisseur, McGee was impressed by the casual use of such a legendary bluesman. You can feel the commitment of the well-known director Parker. In this club scene, Lillian Bote, a female singer who has released jazz and blues albums, also appears, singing ` `The Right Key But The Long Hole'' with her punchy voice.・Sing the song) .

In the second half of the film, there's a memorable scene where Harry and Epiphany (Lisa Bonet) dance in a leaky cheap hotel, where R&B singer Laverne Baker 's " Soul on Fire " plays. Baker was a singer who had hits in the 1950s and 1960s, but this song was released in 1953.

In addition, the song ``Zoo Zoo Mammon'' by Dr. John , one of the leading New Orleans musicians and who also appeared in the masterpiece concert film `` The Last Waltz '' (1978), is played when Harry drives Toots' car. It plays during the tailgating scene, adding to the seedy southern night atmosphere.

In addition, the gospel music that appears in the New York Harlem scene is an original song for the film, written specifically for the film by Anthony Evans, who also participated in `` Fame .''

From New York's Harlem, where gospel music plays, to New Orleans, where you can hear the muddy blues. This flow of black music plays a role in creating the atmosphere in the movie version of ``Angel Heart.''

On the other hand, sweet and romantic songs also appear. The song `` Girl of My Dreams' ' from 1937 is the motif of Johnny Favorite, the popular singer Harry follows. Director Parker listened to many potential songs and decided on one that was not very famous, but was well-known in its own way. A part of this song is included in Trevor Jones' eerie and dark theme music, and the somber saxophone sound of popular British jazz musician Courtney Pine gradually sinks into the listener's heart ( The mix of scary and sweet songs is exquisite!).

Avoiding the adult rating and later becoming a cult movie