Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Wings of Desire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 18, 2009

Winner of the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987, Wim Wenders' "Der Himmel über Berlin" a.k.a. "Wings of Desire" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The disc contains a new, restored high-definition transfer, supervised and approved by director Wim Wenders. Amongst the supplemental features on the disc are: "The Angles Among Us", a documentary from 2003 containing 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; excerpted conversations with cinematographer Henri Alekan; "Remembrance" - excerpts from a 1982 film directed by Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander about actor Curt Bois; an audio commentary with director Wim Wenders and star Peter Falk; deleted scenes and outtakes; and more. Criterion have also included a 30-page illustrated booklet. Region-A "locked".

Watching over Berlin

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in the director's preferred aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

Director Wim Wenders supervised and approved this new high-definition digital transfer, which was created from a 35mm interpositive and a 35mm internegative scanned in 4:4:4 24P resolution on a Spirit Datacine.

This Blu-ray release of Wings of Desire is leaps and bounds better than the Special Edition R1 SDVD MGM released a couple of years ago. Detail is fantastic, clarity great and contrast excellent throughout the entire film. The B&W sequences, in particular, look outstanding. The grain structure of the film is also fully intact. Additionally, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking are an issue of concern. There are no stability issues to report either - when blown through a digital projector, Wings of Desire looks great.

Criterion's Blu-ray release of Wings of Desire also looks notably healthier than the SDVD R1 release. Indeed, there are absolutely no disturbing scratches, debris, dirt, or stains to report. This being said, there are two scenes where a noticed a tiny but of chroma popping up, which is the only reason I am not giving Wings of Desire our highest score.

Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content.

Wings of Desire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: German (with portions of English and French): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The soundtrack for Wings of Desire was originally created on an LTRT stereo format. The soundtrack for this Blu-ray release is presented in a multichannel format. Supervised and approved by director Wim Wenders, it has been remastered and remixed at 24-bit from the original 35mm stems.

I have absolutely no reservations with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track whatsoever. The dialog is crisp, clear and very easy to follow. Additionally, there are no disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report. The music - and especially Nick Cave's performances - sounds terrific. The bass, in particular, is rich and surprisingly potent. There are no balance issues to report either.

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

The Angels Among Us - a documentary from 2003 containing 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, 1080i/60).

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, 1080i/60).

Deleted Scenes and Outtakes - nine deleted scenes accompanied by an audi documentary by director Wim Wenders. The outtakes are presented only with music. (1080i/60).

Gallery - a gallery of stills with information addressing their origin.

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, 1080i/60).

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, 1080i/60)

Remembrance - excerpts from a 1982 film directed by Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander about actor Curt Bois, who plays Homer in Wings of Desire. (30 min, 1080i/60).

Trailers - the German theatrical trailer (2 min, 1080p) and "Wen Wunderts" promo trailer (2 min, 1080i/60).

Audio 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.

Booklet - a 30-page illustrated booklet containing "Song of Childhood" by Peter Handke, "Watch the Skies" by Michael Atkinson, "An Attempted Description of an Indescribable Film" by Wim Wenders, and notes about the transfer.

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

I love everything about this release - Wings of Desire looks and sounds great and there is a wealth of supplemental features on the disc to explore. I cannot wait to see what Criterion would do with Paris, Texas. Is it January yet? VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.