Search - Angel's Dance on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Nudity, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1999 DVD Release: 01/25/2000 Format: DVD Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 40 mins Studio: York Home Video Members Wishing: 8 Genres: Comedy Drama, Black Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Crime Comedy

Love blooms for a would-be hired killer in Angel's Dance, which blends elements of a crime thriller with black comedy. Tony (Kyle Chandler) is offered a job with a powerful Mafia family after he saves the life of the capo's nephew, even though Tony isn't sure he's really interested in a life of crime. To give him a crash course in his new line of work, Tony is sent to L.A. to study with Rosellini (James Belushi), a hired killer of no small reputation. After assigning him Nietzsche as required reading and staging a few practice sessions with water pistols, Rosellini gives Tony his final homework project -- pick a name at random from the phone book, find the person, and kill him or her. The name Tony comes up with is Angelica Chase (Sheryl Lee), "Angel" to her friends. Tony finds Angel just in time to interrupt her latest suicide attempt; Angel is beautiful and charming, but an emotional wreck with eccentric tastes, a caffeinated personality, and a job at a mortuary (she even lives next door). Tony is immediately infatuated and can't bring himself to kill her, so Rosellini decides he has to take over the job, but to the surprise of everyone, Angel knows how to handle herself in a time of crisis. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

James Belushi - Steven Rosellini
Sheryl Lee - Angelica Chaste
Kyle Chandler - Tony
Frank John Hughes - Nick
Ned Bellamy - Police Detective

When it comes to straight-to-video movies from smaller companies like York, one often can't expect a whole lot. That is certainly the case with Angel's Dance. Video quality is good, but far from outstanding. There is a fair amount of grain and the picture lacks good definition, often seeming soft. Another problem is that the film is presented full frame, which leaves out the possibility of an anamorphic transfer that might have improved the overall image quality. Sound is a little better than average, with a 5.1 Dolby Digital track. This is actually better than one would expect from a movie of this type, but while it does sound good, with dialogue squarely up front, it never takes advantage of the surround speakers. As with all York titles, this one has Spanish subtitles. Extras, as usual with this company, are slim -- a trailer and incomplete filmographies for the three main leads under the heading "Behind the Scenes." ~ Trent Fordham, All Movie Guide