David O'ConnellMickey Rourke Revisited
May 7th 2008 05:07
It may be a slightly embarrassing confession to make now, but many years ago as a young man, when the first stages of my obsession with all things cinematic began to take hold, I actually thought Mickey Rourke was a god! In fact he was favourite actor alongside Robert De Niro back then and their union on screen for Alan Parker's Angel Heart was pure bliss!
Rourke basically owned the 80's - well for me anyway, with a series of tremendous films which meant a lot to me at the time, and which I still have a very soft spot for today.
His first very minor appearance in a film was for none other than Steven Spielberg in 1941, and after a few more significant characters bits he was getting seriously noticed, and again by major directors. Two of his best early roles were in seminal early 80's films - Barry Levinson's brilliant ensemble piece Diner, and Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish. These were followed by a virtually unknown, but incredibly underrated film called The Pope of Greenwich Village in 1984.
Soon to follow were the three I regarded as my favourite Mickey Rourke films and still do to this day.
Firstly, Michael Cimino's Year of the Dragon (1985) about a cop, Stanley White, attempting to expose the Chinese ganglords and corruption in New York's Chinatown (who can forget the white streaks in Rourke's hair - which intrigued me - for this commanding and at times, over the top performance?). Cimino's film is stylish and a product of it's time and I loved it every minute of it. I'd still rather watch it than his overblown Deer Hunter any day of the week!!
Then followed Angel Heart in 1986 with that perfect union of Rourke and De Niro (as the Devil himself!) with Rourke as the sleazy P.I, Harry Angel, getting caught up in voodoo and murder in the deepest dark heart of the South. Many images are still engraved in my memory.............among them: the chicken's foot, De Niro's long fingernails, Toots Sweet and what ends up down his throat, and a very naked Lisa Bonet! I thought Alan Parker's film was genius at the time - stylish and mesmerising on every level, and a perfect mesh of the detective and horror genres. I even tracked down the novel by William Hjortsberg that it was based on to compare the accuracy of Parker's translation to film. Sadly, I soon came to know reams of dialogue from this film by heart!
But my fascination, possibly unhealthy, reached its peak with the role I felt Rourke was born to play - that of Charles Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski, in Barbet Schroeder's 1987 masterpiece Barfly. Dark, gritty, and full of the glorious, intoxicating poetry of the gutter that Bukowski is renowned for, I must have seen this film 20 times. Who else could have played Chinaski? No one I was convinced and it only enhanced my estimation of Rourke as the greatest thing to ever happen to cinema. Matt Dillon didn't even come close to filling his shoes as Chinaski in the recent Factotum!
To be truthful, the intervening years haven't always been kind to Rourke, the spiral downwards starting with the ill-conceived remake of Desperate Hours and the loveable but indefensible Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. (Do I even have to mention soft-porn classics 9 and1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid??)
But there have been moments to savor - very funny minor roles in Coppola's The Rainmaker, and as a transvestite in Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory.
Then in a single memorable scene of The Pledge, before finally as the unforgettable Marv in 2005's Sin City, which is easily the best segment of that film for me.
True, Mickey Rourke looks less healthier than Keith Richards these days, suffering from one too many marriages to Carrie Otis, bouts in the ring, and the surgeon's bed, but for a period of time in the 1980's, as my first impressions, as an adult, of film were being shaped and informed, Mickey Rourke was a hero, God help me!
Rourke basically owned the 80's - well for me anyway, with a series of tremendous films which meant a lot to me at the time, and which I still have a very soft spot for today.
His first very minor appearance in a film was for none other than Steven Spielberg in 1941, and after a few more significant characters bits he was getting seriously noticed, and again by major directors. Two of his best early roles were in seminal early 80's films - Barry Levinson's brilliant ensemble piece Diner, and Francis Ford Coppola's Rumble Fish. These were followed by a virtually unknown, but incredibly underrated film called The Pope of Greenwich Village in 1984.
Soon to follow were the three I regarded as my favourite Mickey Rourke films and still do to this day.
Firstly, Michael Cimino's Year of the Dragon (1985) about a cop, Stanley White, attempting to expose the Chinese ganglords and corruption in New York's Chinatown (who can forget the white streaks in Rourke's hair - which intrigued me - for this commanding and at times, over the top performance?). Cimino's film is stylish and a product of it's time and I loved it every minute of it. I'd still rather watch it than his overblown Deer Hunter any day of the week!!
As Stanley White in Year of the Dragon
Then followed Angel Heart in 1986 with that perfect union of Rourke and De Niro (as the Devil himself!) with Rourke as the sleazy P.I, Harry Angel, getting caught up in voodoo and murder in the deepest dark heart of the South. Many images are still engraved in my memory.............among them: the chicken's foot, De Niro's long fingernails, Toots Sweet and what ends up down his throat, and a very naked Lisa Bonet! I thought Alan Parker's film was genius at the time - stylish and mesmerising on every level, and a perfect mesh of the detective and horror genres. I even tracked down the novel by William Hjortsberg that it was based on to compare the accuracy of Parker's translation to film. Sadly, I soon came to know reams of dialogue from this film by heart!
Harry Angel vs. The Devil in Angel Heart
But my fascination, possibly unhealthy, reached its peak with the role I felt Rourke was born to play - that of Charles Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski, in Barbet Schroeder's 1987 masterpiece Barfly. Dark, gritty, and full of the glorious, intoxicating poetry of the gutter that Bukowski is renowned for, I must have seen this film 20 times. Who else could have played Chinaski? No one I was convinced and it only enhanced my estimation of Rourke as the greatest thing to ever happen to cinema. Matt Dillon didn't even come close to filling his shoes as Chinaski in the recent Factotum!
Rourke's greatest role......as Henry Chinaski
To be truthful, the intervening years haven't always been kind to Rourke, the spiral downwards starting with the ill-conceived remake of Desperate Hours and the loveable but indefensible Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man. (Do I even have to mention soft-porn classics 9 and1/2 Weeks and Wild Orchid??)
But there have been moments to savor - very funny minor roles in Coppola's The Rainmaker, and as a transvestite in Steve Buscemi's Animal Factory.
Then in a single memorable scene of The Pledge, before finally as the unforgettable Marv in 2005's Sin City, which is easily the best segment of that film for me.
True, Mickey Rourke looks less healthier than Keith Richards these days, suffering from one too many marriages to Carrie Otis, bouts in the ring, and the surgeon's bed, but for a period of time in the 1980's, as my first impressions, as an adult, of film were being shaped and informed, Mickey Rourke was a hero, God help me!
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I was a huge fan in the 80's and still consider him a tremendous talent... except for the missteps in the 90's of course. Angel Heart, Year of the Dragon and barfly are gold...I still buzz on Diner and Body Heat too.
Did you see Thursday with him, Aaron Eckhart and Thomas Jane?
Comment by Holly Go Lightly
Movie Mage
Comment by David O'Connell
Screen Fanatic
I've never seen Thursday John, in fact I've never even heard of it, you've got me very curious, I'll have to track it down!
Great to know that I wasn't alone and that there was somebody else who thought as highly of him through those great moments of the mostly barren 80's!
Comment by cinemabanana
I've liked him in a lot of stuff but my favourite is Diner.
And your right, DeNiro and the boy Rourke were great in Angel Heart.
I also have a real soft spot for his turn in Rainmaker. He was just the perfect blend of Charisma with a touch of sleaze.