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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.
CONDITION: NEW
Actors: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk
Directors: Wim Wenders
Format: Multiple Formats, AC-3, Blu-ray, Color, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: German
Subtitles: English
Dubbed: English, French
Region: Region A/1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated:
PG-13
Parental Guidance Suggested
Studio: Criterion Collection
DVD Release Date: November 3, 2009
Run Time: 127 minutes
Cast & Crew
Bruno Ganz Damiel
Solveig Dommartin Marion
Peter Falk Himself
Otto Sander Cassiel
Curt Bois Homer
Hans-Martin Stier The Dying Man
Beatrice Manowski Young Prostitute
Lajos Kovács Marion's coach
Peter Werner Manager
Paul Busch Circus
Didier Flamand Angel at the library
Olivier Picot Air-raid shelter
Dirk Vogeley On the highway
Mick Harvey Crime & the city solution
Nick Cave Himself
Blixa Bargeld Member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Patrick Kreuzer Actor
Ulrike Schirm Actor
Technical Credits
Wim Wenders Director,Co-producer,Screenwriter
Henri Alékan Cinematographer
Anatole Dauman Co-producer
Claire Denis Asst. Director
Peter Handke Screenwriter
Monika Jacobs Costumes/Costume Designer
Jürgen Knieper Score Composer
Heidi Ludi Production Designer
Joachim von Mengershausen Associate Producer
Peter Przygodda Editor
Ingrid Windisch Executive Producer
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