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I recall watching a South Bank Show documentary on Alan Parker in 1990, and was astonished that, while they discussed his entire repertoire, Angel Heart, which he directed, was skipped over entirely.

Although I am well aware that the final cut of the film was tinkered with by the studio, I can find no online evidence that would explain why Parker would not talk about the film, or why it was omitted.

Does anyone have a lead?

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  • Did he disown it? He seems to talk favourable about it now.
    – matt_black
    Commented Jun 14, 2017 at 16:07

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The best theory I could come up with is that it was 'disowned' because of the films disturbing nature and content. Particularly from this scene, as explained by wikipedia:

Angel Heart gained attention and controversy even before its release. Bonet was previously known for her role on the family-oriented sitcom The Cosby Show, and several seconds of her extended, graphic and blood-drenched sex scene with Rourke had to be trimmed in order to secure the film an 'R' rating on initial release, though later an uncut X rated version was released.

This coupled with the rest of the film's dark tone and religious themes might have made it a rough film to talk about in a general show like that, though I won't pretend to know what the show did and did not cover. Unfortunately, this is the best I could dig up.

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    It would think that it would be very rare case for a director to disown his film due to it graphic nature, assuming of course it was his choice to put it in. But perhaps the fact that it had to be cut to get the R rating -- Directors don't like others "directing" how the film should look.
    – Peter Grill
    Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 17:24
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    Yeah, it is a bit of a stretch but the only thing I could find, and the references themselves are few and far between. It may be a case of we'll never know which would be unfortunate.
    – Tablemaker
    Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 17:26
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    Thanks, TylerShads. I very much doubt it was because of the content, but perhaps, as Peter points out, directors certainly don't like to have their work messed with - and Angel Heart was severly chopped by the studio - so maybe that's why Parker has disowned it. Can't accept the answer, but give you a hearty +1 for your effort - cheers ;
    – Nobby
    Commented Feb 1, 2012 at 21:43
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He did talk about the film in this 35-minute interview from the time for Directors Series. There is also apparently a new interview with him on the 2004 DVD release where he "discusses the original novel from which the film was derived (entitled Fallen Angel). He points out the changes he made, with the author's approval, to the original story. He discusses his love affair with the American south and wonders what all the fuss was about regarding the censorship of the movie's sole sex scene. Toward the end, he seems lost in his own movie and the narrative becomes sparse and obvious. But overall, he does provide great insight into this esoteric movie."

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