Wings of Desire 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Wings of Desire 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 15, 2023

Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" (1987) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio commentary by Wim Wenders and Peter Falk; excerpts from the film "Alekan la lumière"; archival interview with director of photography Henri Alekan; deleted scenes and outtakes; and more. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire tells two very different stories. The first is about a group of angels roaming the streets of Berlin. They observe, follow, and occasionally prevent humans from committing terrible mistakes. Kids can see and feel them, adults cannot.

Most of the angels gather in a giant library in the heart of Berlin where they share their stories and learn from each other. Some also dream of experiencing the gifts of life. They have been doing it for thousands of years, too.

One of the angels, Damiel (Bruno Ganz, Der Untergang), finds the humans intriguing. There is one in particular, an American movie star (Peter Falk, Columbo), who claims that he could feel his presence, which has captivated his imagination. When he is not around him, Damiel spends long hours reading the minds of strangers. There are times when Damiel feels that he understands what goes on in them, but most of the time they frustrate him.

Cassiel (Otto Sander, Faraway, So Close!), Damiel’s best friend, spends long hours observing the humans, too. But he does not find them to be as fascinating as Damiel does and rarely goes out of his way to help them. Cassiel prefers to have Life follow its natural course.

While wandering around the streets of Berlin, Damiel encounters Marion (Solveig Dommartin, S'en fout la mort), a stunningly beautiful trapeze dancer, who has just been told that the circus she is performing with would have to stage its last show because there is no more money to cover its bills. As Marion begins to question the value of her talent and then the purpose of Life, Damiel begins to fall in love with her without fully understanding what love is. Not too long after that, Damiel confesses to Cassiel that plans to "make the plunge" to find out.

The second story is told primarily through still images. It is about a city divided by an ugly wall but pretending to be normal. This story is also about the people who remember the undivided city and are struggling to live in its current reincarnation.

Wenders shot the bulk of Wings of Desire in black-and-white. Only a couple of sequences -- like the ones where Damiel feels like a human and later begins searching for Marion -- utilize color. All of the black-and-white footage was done with the use of a unique camera filter.

The hugely atmospheric soundtrack blends original music by the likes of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds ("From Her to Eternity", "The Carny"), Tuxedomoons ("Some Guys"), Crime and The City Solution ("Six Bells Chime"), Laurie Anderson, and Laurent Petitgand.

In 1987, Wings of Desire won the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Two years later, the film won the Best Cinematography Award (Henri Alekan) granted by the National Society of Film Critics in the U.S.

Wings of Desire 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Criterion's release of Wings of Desire is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

The following text appears inside the booklet that is provided with this release:

"The restoration on the 4K Blu-ray disc was created and graded under the supervision of director Wim Wenders. The source material was Wim Wenders Stiftung's theatrical 4K restoration, undertaken in 2017 from the color and black-and-white 35mm original camera negatives, using an ARRISCAN film scanner, at ARRI Media. The newly mixed 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm original magnetic tracks and supervised by Wenders at BASIS BERLIN Postproduktion. Digital restoration was carried out with the support of the CNC.

The restoration on the Blu-ray disc -- also supervised by Wenders -- was undertaken by the Criterion Collection in 2009 from a 35mm interpositive and a 35mm internegative scanned on a Spirit DataCine. The 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm original magnetic track."

All screencaptures that are included with this review were taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray. The native presentation does not have an HDR/Dolby Vision grade.

I spent quite a bit of time comparing the new 4K makeover with the old 1080p presentation of Wings of Desire from this release, which Criterion produced in 2009. The 4K makeover produces improvements that are easy to appreciate in three key areas. First, the density levels of the visuals are quite a bit better, so on a bigger screen the strength of the native 4K presentation is simply undeniable. Second, in native 4K, the visuals convey various superior nuances. Sometimes it is because of better delineation. Sometimes it is because there are more convincing layers of background information (shadow nuances, superior ranges of grays/blacks, etc.). Third, the entire 4K makeover is just healthier. I am not referring to the immaculate surface of the visuals, but the fresher appearance of these visuals which has an effect on everything from grain exposure to the perception of depth. The color sequences are graded differently, and while I do not find them problematic, I cannot write that they are convincing either. For example, blues are either overwhelmed or replaced by cyan/turquoise, and in a few spots browns and grays are altered as well. While the current range of colors is still quite good, it is not the original theatrical range of colors. Image stability is outstanding.

Wings of Desire 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with portions of English). Optional English subtitles are provided.

While viewing the film, I did not encounter any technical anomalies to report in our review. The 5.1 track is supposed to be redone, but to be honest, I could not spot any notable discrepancies to point out in our review. I still think that the 5.1 track from the previous Blu-ray release is excellent. (The 4K restoration of Wings of Desire was completed in 2017).

Wings of Desire 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - the commentary features director Wim Wenders and star Peter Falk. It was edited in 2009 by independent DVD producer Mark Rance from over six hours of interviews he conducted in August and September 1996 and March 1997.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - the commentary features director Wim Wenders and star Peter Falk. It was edited in 2009 by independent DVD producer Mark Rance from over six hours of interviews he conducted in August and September 1996 and March 1997.

• The Angels Among Us - a documentary from 2003 featuring interviews with director Wim Wenders; writer Peter Handke; actors Peter Falk, Bruno Ganz, and Otto Sander; Brad Silberling, director of City of Angels; and composer Jurgen Knieper. (44 min).

• Cinema Cinemas - "Wim Wenders Berlin Jan. 87" is from an episode of the French television program Cinema Cinemas. It was directed by Claude Ventura and first broadcast on February 17, 1987. (10 min).

• Alekan la lumiere - excerpts from the 1985 documentary Alekan la lumiere, in which legendary cinematographer Henri Alekan discusses his techniques with director Wim Wenders. The documentary first aired on French television on August 4, 1988, and was directed by Michel Dumoulin. (28 min).

• Alekan '85 - excerpted conversations with cinematographer Henri Alekan -- shot by filmmaker Andre Bonzel in November 1985, when he was a student at the Belgian film school INSAS -- taken from an unfinished documentary about the legendary cinematographer. (11 min).

• Deleted Scenes and Outtakes - nine deleted scenes accompanied by an audi documentary by director Wim Wenders. The outtakes are presented only with music.

• Trailers - presented here are the German theatrical trailer for the film and "Wen Wunderts" promo trailer.

• Stills - Notes and photos by art directors Heidi and Toni Lüdi.

• Booklet - a 30-page illustrated booklet featuring "Song of Childhood" by Peter Handke, "Watch the Skies" by Michael Atkinson, "An Attempted Description of an Indescribable Film" by Wim Wenders, and technical credits.

Wings of Desire 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

After the 4K restoration of Wings of Desire was completed, the black-and-white footage, which is more than two-thirds of the film, looks incredible. The color footage looks good too, but there are some upgrades there that I would have preferred to see dropped. Still, while imperfect, I think that the 4K makeover is quite strong. If you have the previous Blu-ray release of Wings of Desire in your collection, I suggest that you keep it. It appears that there is one quite good bonus feature on it that did not make it on the 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.