Wings of Desire ( Les Ailes du désir ) ( Der Himmel über Berlin )

Wings of Desire (DVD) (*)

~~$29.99~~ $23.97

Original Title: Les Ailes du désir
Alternate Title: Der Himmel über Berlin
Screened, competed or awarded at:
BAFTA Awards
Cannes Film Festival
Ceasar Awards
European Film Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
French ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
German ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 4 )

Running Time:
122 min + 31 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Trailer(s)

Movie filmed in 1987 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )
Germany ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Wim Wenders

Written By:
Peter Handke
Richard Reitinger

Actors:
Bruno Ganz ..... Damiel
Solveig Dommartin ..... Marion
Otto Sander ..... Cassiel
Curt Bois ..... Homer, the aged poet
Peter Falk ..... Der Filmstar
Hans Martin Stier ..... In weiteren Rollen - Der Sterbende
Elmar Wilms ..... In weiteren Rollen - Ein trauriger Mann
Sigurd Rachman ..... In weiteren Rollen - Der Selbstmörder
Beatrice Manowski ..... In weiteren Rollen - Das Strichmädchen
Lajos Kovács ..... Im Zirkus - Marion's Trainer
Bruno Rosaz ..... Im Zirkus - Der Clown
Laurent Petitgand ..... Im Zirkus - Der Kapellmeister
Chick Ortega ..... Im Zirkus - Der Schlagzeuger (as Chico Rojo Ortega)
Otto Kuhnle ..... Im Zirkus - Die Jongleure
Christoph Merg ..... Im Zirkus - Der Jongleure

Synopsis:

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.

This Wim Wenders film centers around the story of two angels wandering in a mixture of post-war and modern Berlin. Invisible to humans, they nevertheless give their help and comfort to all the lonely and depressed souls they meet. Finally, after many centuries, one of the angels becomes unhappy with his immortal state and wishes to become human in order to experience the joys of everyday life. He meets a circus acrobat and finds in her the fulfillment of all his mortal desires. He also discovers that he is not alone in making this cross over, and that a purely spiritual experience is not enough to satisfy anyone.

An angel tires of overseeing human activity and wishes to become human when he falls in love with a mortal.

This product was added to our catalog on Friday 15 August, 2008.

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