8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
An angel wandering unseen through West Berlin falls in love with a beautiful circus performer and decides to become human.
Starring: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Peter Falk, Otto Sander, Curt BoisDrama | 100% |
Foreign | 75% |
Romance | 20% |
Imaginary | 7% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
German: LPCM 2.0
Portion of English and French
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 3.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Wim Wenders' "Der Himmel über Berlin" a.k.a. "Wings of Desire" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Axiom Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Wim Wenders and actor Peter Falk; "Conversations on Wings of Desire"; outtakes and deleted scenes with commentary by director Wim Wenders; and trailer. Axiom Films have also provided a 24-page illustrated booklet containing "Songs of Childhood" by Peter Handke; short notes on Wim Wenders by fellow directors Atom Egoyan and Walter Salles; "An Attempted Description of an Indescribable Film" by Wim Wenders; and "Angels, History and Poetic Fantasy", an interview with Wim Wenders by Coco Fusco. With optional English subtitles. Region-Free.
One of them
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Axiom Films.
This is a very strong high-definition transfer, likely sourced from the same element Criterion used for their North American Blu-ray release of Wim Wenders' award-winning film. There are, however, some minor differences between the two releases, which I would like to quickly address.
Both releases look very strong when blown through a digital projector and certainly represent enormous upgrades over previous DVD releases of the film. Fine object detail is pleasing, clarity very good and contrast levels convincing on both. Similar to the Criterion release, the Axiom release is also free of large flecks, debris, cuts, or splices. Here, edge-enhancement and macroblocking are again not a serious issue of concern.
There are certain scenes, however, that look slightly more convincing on the Criterion release. For example, at 1h.10min., where we see the dancer contemplating life, contrast is just a tiny bit better on the Criterion release. On the UK release, the right upper corner is darker, even softer looking. Another good example is at 1h.20min. - at the night club (see capture #4) - where the face of the man standing next to the dancer is almost impossible to see. On the Criterion release, you could clearly see his face. With other words, even though both distributors obviously had access to the same element, it appears that Criterion actually did some very careful fine-tuning, which as far as I am concerned gives their release an edge over Axiom's release. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).
There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0. For the record, Axiom have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
There are no serious technical flaws with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The dialog is clean and easy to follow and the lovely soundtrack very effective. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings. Additionally, the Criterion Blu-ray release of Wings of Desire did not include a second audio track. This one does, but I don't think that it actually adds anything of substance when compared to the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Finally, I actually found the white English subtitles to be a tad too big, particularly when viewing the film projected on a large screen.
Note: All of the supplemental features on this disc are in PAL. Therefore, if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC, or a TV set capable of receiving native PAL data, in order to view them.
Commentary - the Criterion Blu-ray release of Wings of Desire contains an audio commentary 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 audio commentary found on this Blu-ray disc is actually the same commentary with director Wim Wenders and actor Peter Falk that appeared on Anchor Bay's old SDVD release of the film. It is very informative, offering a terrific analysis of the film and its complex themes. In English.
Conversations on Wings of Desire - director Wim Wenders, Hof Film Festival director Heinz Badewitz, editor Peter Pryzgodda, and actor Bruno Ganz discuss their involvement with Wings of Desire, how the city of Berlin is treated in it, the production history of the film, etc. In German, with imposed English subtitles. (19 min).
Outtakes and deleted scenes - with optional commentary by director Wim Wenders. In English. (31 min).
Trailer - the original German theatrical trailer for Wings of Desire. (2 min).
Booklet - a 24-page illustrated booklet containing "Songs of Childhood" by Peter Handke; short notes on Wim Wenders by fellow directors Atom Egoyan and Walter Salles; "An Attempted Description of an Indescribable Film" by Wim Wenders; and "Angels, History and Poetic Fantasy", an interview with Wim Wenders by Coco Fusco.
Next to Criterion's Blu-ray release of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire Axiom's Blu-ray release may look slightly less impressive, but it is still very easy to recommend. If you cannot play Region-A "locked" Blu-ray discs, there is absolutely no reason why you should not think about ordering a copy of this Region-Free Blu-ray disc as soon as possible. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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