Wings Of Desire
1987
Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who watch over the city of Berlin. They don't have harps or wings (well, they usually don't have wings) and they prefer overcoats to gossamer gowns. But they can travel unseen through the city, listening to people's thoughts, watching their actions and studying their .. Read more
| Starring | Bruno Ganz, Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin, Curt Bois |
|---|---|
| Director | Wim Wenders |
| Genres | Documentary, Drama |
loading...
Wings Of Desire
Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who watch over the city of Berlin. They don't have harps or wings (well, they usually don't have wings) and they prefer overcoats to gossamer gowns. But they can travel unseen through the city, listening to people's thoughts, watching their actions and studying their lives. While they can make their presence felt in small ways, only children and other angels can see them. They spend their days serenely observing, unable to interact with people, and they feel neither pain nor joy. One day, Damiel finds his way into a circus and sees Marion (Solveig Dommartin), a high-wire artist, practicing her act; he is immediately smitten. After the owners of the circus tell the company that the show is out of money and must disband, Marion sinks into a funk, shuffling back to her trailer to ponder what to do next. As he watches her, Damiel makes a decision: he wants to be human, and he wants to be with Marion, to lift her spirits and, if need be, to share her pain. Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire is a remarkable modern fairy tale about the nature of being alive. The angels witness the gamut of human emotions, and they experience the luxury of simple pleasures (even a cup of coffee and a cigarette) as ones who've never known them. From the angels' viewpoint, Berlin is seen in gorgeous black-and-white -- strikingly beautiful but unreal; when they join the humans, the image shifts to rough but natural-looking color, and the waltz-like grace of the angels' drift through the city changes to a harsher rhythm. Peter Falk appears as himself, revealing a secret that we may not have known about the man who played Columbo, and there's also a brief but powerful appearance by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Wings of Desire hinges on the intangible and elusive, and it builds something beautiful from those qualities.~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
| Starring | Bruno Ganz, Peter Falk, Solveig Dommartin, Curt Bois, Otto Sander, Nastassja Kiniski, Harry Dean Stanton, Dennis Hopper, Udo Kier, Ronee Blakley, Lisa Kreuzer, Dean Stockwell, Rudiger Vogler, Hans Christian Blech |
|---|---|
| Director | Wim Wenders |
| Studio | ANCHOR BAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 2 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 2 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Documentary, Drama |
| Language | DVD: German Blu-ray: German |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 14 Jul 2008 Blu-ray: 22 Feb 2010 Production year: 1987 |
| Format | DVD |
-
Critics' reviews (5)
View all -
Mystic style matters more than emotional substance in a fable from German director Wim Wenders about two angels visiting present-day Berlin and encountering the past — and love. One angel (Bruno Ganz) decides he wants to be human because he's fallen for a circus performer (Solvieg Dommartin) but passing through from the other side is more difficult than it seems. TV actor Peter Falk wanders into the action as aimlessly as the progress of the plot which, even though it's magnificently photographed, never gets airborne as an idea about ongoing reality.
-
"...[WINGS OF DESIRE] has a loveliness of conception that, for a time, keeps it as feathery as an angel's wings....Wender's mpst ambitous effort yet, and [it] certainly radiates immense promise..."
-
Most helpful member's review
View all -
27 out of 31 people found this review helpful
pretentious, moi ?
I love Wim Wenders, and Paris Texas still stands as a classic European view of American society's interesting underbelly.
I watched Wings of Desire last in 1987 when it first came out and thought it was a work of genius - deep, philosophical, meaningful, well photographed, etc etc.
I watched it again last night and found it still interesting - but for other reasons. The Berlin Wall features a lot in the movie, representing a physical barrier not unlike the barrier between the spiritual and material worlds represented by the angels and humans. I never really noticed that before.
Also there's a strong sense of the mid 80's German Zeitgeist - lots of existential angst, guilt about the war, confusion as to their identity as a nation split in half by the wall.
The musical interludes which were avant garde at the time look and sound frankly loopy now (what were we thinking back then ?)
There are some lovely, subtle ideas in this movie, but it's about 40 minutes too long - there's so much ethereal deep and meaningless monologue you just feel like saying ok,ok now get on with it.
Peter Falk brings a sense of reality and much needed humour to an effort which without him was in serious danger of disappearing up itself.
What I used to think was profound in this now looks dated and somewhat pretentious (like most of Peter Greenaway's work). This movie is hard work - however a definite German art house classic. -
Most recent members' review
View all -
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
A truly beautiful study of human conciousness. Not for lovers of standard Hollywood film but definitely for lovers of Berlin.
-
News and features
View all
My Summer Of Love up for top European prizes
- 08 Nov 2005
The British independent film My Summer Of Love has been nominated for four prestigious European Film Awards. The film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, who also made Last Resort, tells the tale of a lesbian relationship between two girls played by Nathalie Press, who is up for the best actress award, and Emily Blunt in rural Yorkshire. The film also features British actor Paddy Considine who as well as appearing in 24 Hour Party People was in Ron Howard's Cinderella Man alongside Russell Crowe and Read more
-
More like this
View allShowing 1 to 4 of 20
Related user collection
They Shoot Pictures, Don't They Greatest 1000 Films... (321)
79.2% from 13 members
by:
Tolis
from Kent
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
-
-
-
Wings Of Desire - BLU-RAY Version
The sky over Wenders' war-scarred Berlin is full of gentle, trenchcoated angels who listen to the tortured thoughts of mortals and try to comfort them. One of the angels wishes to become mortal after falling in love with a beautiful trapeze artist. Peter Falk, as himself, assists in the ...
-
-
-
-
Wings Of Desire
Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who watch over the city of Berlin. They don't have harps or wings (well, they usually don't have wings) and they prefer overcoats to gossamer gowns. But they can travel unseen through the city, listening to people's thoughts, watching their ...
-