The film was written and directed by Alan Parker, and stars Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, Lisa Bonet, and Charlotte Rampling.

[1] Harry Angel (Rourke), a New York City private investigator, is hired to solve the disappearance of a man known as Johnny Favorite.

He also met with Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna, who agreed to finance the $18 million production through their independent film studio Carolco Pictures.

Weeks before its theatrical release, Angel Heart faced censorship issues from the Motion Picture Association of America for one scene of sexual content.

Angel Heart received a mixed reaction from reviewers, who praised the performances of Rourke and Bonet, as well as the production design, score, and cinematography, but criticized Parker's screenwriting.

The film underperformed at the North American box office, grossing $17.2 million during its theatrical run, but has since been regarded as underappreciated and influential.

In 1955, New York City private investigator Harry Angel is contacted by a man named Louis Cyphre to track down John Liebling, a crooner known professionally as Johnny Favorite who suffered neurological trauma, resulting from injuries received in World War II.

Cyphre believes that a private hospital where Favorite was receiving radical psychiatric treatment for shell shock has falsified records.

To do so, he kidnapped a young soldier from Times Square, who was of his exact same age and strongly resembled him, and performed a Satanic ritual on the boy, murdering him and eating his still-beating heart to steal his soul.

Harry sees the child's eyes glow, just as Cyphre's had at their last meeting, implying that Satan is the mysterious entity that impregnated Epiphany.

[4][8] After completing the first draft in September 1985, Parker traveled to Rome, Italy, where he brought the script to Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna.

[9] Pre-production work on Angel Heart began in January 1986 in New York, where Parker selected the creative team, reuniting with several of his past collaborators, including producer Alan Marshall, director of photography Michael Seresin, camera operator Michael Roberts, production designer Brian Morris and editor Gerry Hambling.

[8] While Falling Angel is set entirely in New York City, Parker had the second half of his script take place in New Orleans, based on the novel's perpetual allusions to voodoo and the occult.

1955 for me still belonged to the 1940s—and, because of the historical pause button of World War II, conceivably the 1930s—so quite simply, setting it in this year allowed me to give an older look to the film.

He said, "In the tradition of the down-at-heel gumshoe, his phlegmatic surface disguised an intelligence capable of unraveling a complicated, larger-than-life story with a degree of belief and conciseness.

[4] Parker originally wanted Robert De Niro to play the role of Harry Angel, but the actor expressed interest in making a cameo appearance as mysterious benefactor Louis Cyphre.

The director reflected, "I had been courting [De Niro] to play [Cyphre] in Angel Heart for some months and we had met a few times—and he had continued to bombard me with questions examining every dot and comma of my script.

Parker said, "I did my pitch and he was most gracious, although, to be honest, he was quite distracted at the time... my movie and the possibility of him taking part seemed to slip from his immediate area of concentration and interest.

[8] Actress Elizabeth Whitcraft, who had a small role in Parker's previous film Birdy was cast as Connie, a journalist who aids Angel in his investigation.

[8] On April 17, 1986, the production team moved to Staten Island to film exterior and interior scenes involving the character Dr. Fowler (Michael Higgins).

Parker said of the set, "As in New York, we had dressed and clad every single storefront as far as the eye could see in order to be authentic to the period, and drained everything of all primary colours for our monochromatic look.

The site's consensus reads: "Angel Heart lures viewers into its disturbing, brutal mystery with authentic noir flair and a palpably hypnotic mood".

"[6] Although initially supportive of Bonet's decision to appear in the film, Bill Cosby dismissed Angel Heart as "a movie made by white America that cast a black girl, gave her voodoo things to do and have sex".

[7] Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised the cinematography and production design, but criticized Rourke's performance as being "suitably intense, but to such little effect".

[25] Rita Kempley of The Washington Post wrote that Angel Heart "is over-stylized, and we're over-stimulated when the soundtrack goes berserk, from a few thumpity-thumps to a visceral, ventricles a-pumping score".

[45] The releases included the R-rated theatrical cut and an uncut version which restored the ten seconds of sexual content that was removed to satisfy the MPAA.

[46] Ralph King, senior vice president of IVE, said, "The scene cut from Angel Heart is both provocative and shocking, but it is by no means pornographic.

[47] Special features on the DVD included a theatrical trailer, production notes, a making-of featurette, and information on the cast and crew.

In particular the sex scene between Mickey Rourke and Lisa Bonet was completely re-edited and featured additional footage that was not included in either the R or Unrated versions.

The additional footage features flashbacks of a drunken party with several scantily clad women at the barracks where Johnny Favorite was stationed just prior to it being hit by a series of explosions.