

A down-and-out Brooklyn detective is hired to track down a singer on an odyssey that will take him through the desperate streets of Harlem, the smoke-filled jazz clubs of New Orleans, and the swamps of Louisiana and its seedy underworld of voodoo.
Acting
Rourke's physical decay mirrors his character's unraveling—method before it was cool.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like it smells: cigarettes, blood, and bayou rot.
Score
Trevor Jones's sax-heavy nightmare soundtrack that never lets you relax.

Director
Alan Parker
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lisa Bonet's explicit scene caused Cosby Show producers to fire her; she called it 'artistic freedom,' they called it 'morality clause.'
The 'Louis Cyphre' anagram is obvious in retrospect, but Parker claimed test audiences still missed it.
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