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Wings Of Desire (1987)

Used Price: £1.25
Collectible Price: £4.95

Audience Rating: Parental Guidance
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 5020301010039
Theatrical Release Date: September 23, 1987
Sales Rank: 6172

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Editorial Review:

Amazon.co.uk Review:
"There are angels over the streets of Berlin," quotes the movie poster, but these are like no angels you've ever seen. Bundled in dark overcoats, they watch over the city with ears open to the heartbeat of the human soul, listening to the internal musings and yearnings of earthbound humans like existential detectives. In these delicate, astounding scenes we float through the thoughts of dozens of Berlin citizens, from the weary and worn to the hopeful and young, as the angels record the magic moments for some heavenly record. When Damiel (the empathic and sensitive Bruno Ganz) falls in love with an angel of another sort, the lonely trapeze artist Marion (willowy, sad-eyed Solveig Dommartin), he gives up the contemplation and observation of life to experience it himself.

Wim Wenders' most purely romantic film is like poetry on celluloid, a celebration of the transient and fragile moments of being human: the warmth of a cup of coffee on a cold day, the embrace of a friend, the touch of a lover, the rapture of love. Opening with an angel's-eye view of Berlin in silvery black and white (delicately captured by the great cinematographer Henri Alekan, who photographed Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast 40 years earlier), it transforms into a gauzy colour world when Damiel "crosses over" by sheer will. Peter Falk plays himself as a fallen angel with a special sensitivity for celestial visitors ("I can't see you, but I know you're there," he proclaims), and Otto Sander, whose smiling eyes brighten a face etched by eons of waiting and watching, is Damiel's partner. Wenders made a sequel in 1993, Faraway, So Close, and Hollywood remade the film as City of Angels with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A REFLECTION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
Wim Wenders exposes the human frailty in all of us. Through an Angelic perspective of Berlin he paints a beautifully profound, poetic and intimate picture of the human psyche. It leaves images in the mind that will have a memorable and positive effect. It is beautifully filmed and ranks as one of the most profound films of the 20th Century. One to be cherished and enjoyed.

Rating:

- Hypnotically beautiful
This is one of the most stunningly effective films to explore the afterlife and the reasons why we return I have ever seen. Furthermore it is beautiful, engrossing and thought provoking

The film is set in a war scarred Berlin. It shows the world of the spirits - souls - who are shown as trenchcoated pigtailed angels. Their world is eternal, without colour, without emotion, without time. They talk of the events of history in no order, just scenes they have recorded in notebooks. They can be everywhere and nowhere. Their job is to listen to the thoughts of human beings and try to comfort them, and to encourage the efforts humans make to learn and grow [many scenes are shot in a public library where there are large numbers ... Read More:

Rating:

- There must be an angel
"Wenders never would have dared pull that stunt with the angels had Fassbinder been alive" - but I'm so glad he did.

Rating:

- I saw this film in -88 and havent forgotten it
For maybe twenty years I've been rethinking scenes from the film over and over. I just recently realized it can be bought, and am about to order it. Then I shall rewatch it. I might be a disappointment, as it has been integrated somehow in my brain. I hope the english subtitles will not confuse me... I might have my friends discover it...
What made this movie so special was the idea of angels actually interfering with our thoughts, making us think differently. Beautiful in a disturbing way. What if this were true, and are they really getting fewer? And the way litterature seemed to play an important role ( I guess that's why they had headquarters in the great library?) And the shock of discovering colour and gravity, all at the same time.. ... Read More:

Rating:

- Watched it after reading reviews...
I rented this film after reading the reviews already posted. I have seen the updated version 'City of Angels' so thought I would give it a go. Maybe after reading the rave reviews I expected a bit more but I found it a bit hard going. I'm a Bruno Ganz fan so it was great to see him probably in his best role. I'm glad I watched it but found it a bit dated, typical 80's film. If you're a Nick Cave fan you will probably love it! Maybe I need to watch it again and I would recommend it .. I went to Berlin recently so it was interesting to see the backdrops of how it used to be. I'm not knocking this film at all... I just expected something else.

VHS : Wings Of Desire (1987)