In 1988, at least 5 people I respected, and who didn't recommend films lightly, told me I had to see Wings of Desire. It turned out to be one of the best evenings I'd ever spent in a theater reading subtitles. It is the kind of picture that any reasonably thoughtful person is immediately going to warm up to. It's a surefire date picture as well.

Wim Wenders film has a contemplative tone that's difficult to describe. The angels that wander the Berlin thoroughfares and loiter in its public places are sometimes glimpsed with wings, but mostly wear only overcoats. They watch over the living with sympathetic eyes, calmly monitoring the thoughts of humans who don't realize they are there. The angels come close when they're needed, putting their undetected hands on the distraught and those who suffer.

We hear these thoughts as the angels hear them, inner voices looking for answers. It's fascinating and uplifting when Damiel's presence seems to bring hope to a discouraged man on a train. These phantoms appear to be God's Lonely Men (and women), constantly hovering about us, the unseen spirituality in our lives. A victim of a traffic accident, dying and perhaps perceiving the afterlife in his agony, is comforted by Damiel. In keeping with the fairy tale roots, innocent children can see the angels, and accept them for what they are.

So here we have the situation of a formerly serene spirit plunked down like a yokel in the world he only thought he knew, running around asking the colors of things and sticking his nose in a cup to smell the coffee. After an hour of learning to appreciate the spiritual, Wings of Desire turns around and shows us we could do little better than to rejoice in the miracles of everyday reality. Damiel soon discovers what being cold is like, and how frustrating it is to have his mobility hindered by things like chain-link fences. You want to clap for Bruno Ganz as he discovers, one after another, the marvels of human living.

This brings Peter Falk into the story. We follow him about as he arrives to shoot a movie in Berlin, and listen to his thoughts as he sketches extras or observes preparations in a bunker being used as a set. He finally connects with Damiel, and tries to guide him a bit in his first experiences being human. But when it comes down to it, the best thing Falk has to tell Damiel is that the fun will be discovering life for himself. For Damiel, this means tracking down the missing Marion. The circus has left town, and he can only hope he'll find her in the street, or in a concert.

Wenders receives excellent creative help from the legendary cinematographer Henri Alekan, who shot the fantasy landmark Beauty and the Beast, and from Jürgen Knieper's mournful music, dominated by violins and cellos. Rock music figures heavily later on, but the real tone is established by the string music. It's like melancholy emotions made audible. Wenders would move on to use similar music and a dozen disparate pop songs brilliantly in the science fiction masterpiece that Wings of Desire made possible, Until the End of the World.

MGM's special edition of Wings of Desire is a beauty. The previous laserdisc was a collector's item (Savant tracked it down in 1994 and paid the seller's hefty asking price for a copy) but it can't hold a candle visually to this DVD. The show is enhanced for widescreen televisions, presenting the compositions at their full width. Even better, video allows the black & white majority of the film to be in real b&w - theatrical prints were on color stock, and always looked a little bluish.

A comprehensive commentary and a docu feature both Wim Wenders and an amused Peter Falk. Clearly proud of his role playing himself, Falk's comments and observations are free of celebrity-speak. He even points up a grating error in his own self-written narration: he talks about his grandmother, but if he originated as an angel, he shouldn't have one!

Wenders' accent makes him a bit more accessible in the docu then on the commentary where we can't see him. He explains how the film came about (other projects were too expensive) and how his little group slowly figured out how their angels should look and act. It will fascinate fans of the film.

There's an L.A. Confidential-style interactive map of locations in Berlin that isn't as rewarding as it wants to be, but the ad archive and trailers are good, as are a selection of deleted scenes. They go on for almost a half hour, and include a lot of Otto Sander mugging, and the entire raw takes of an ending where Cassiel becomes human as well. The footage ends with a Dr. Strangelove-like pie fight, that is so counter to the spirit of the film, it had to be an end-of-shoot gag deal, not a serious effort. Wenders also is front and center in some kind of short promotional film in German.

The audio is in the original German and English with English, French, and Spanish subtitles. As the film has some brief and unexploitative nudity, I was pleased to see the MPAA showing some sense by rating the film PG-13 instead of R.

The handsomely illustrated DVD package has copy that makes the mistake of calling Damiel, Cassiel and co. angels of divine origin. We're shown a universe of mortals and angels, but no evidence of God or any particular church - Earthly churches play no role at all - the angels never go to a temple or a chapel to find troubled souls. Wings of Desire thusly avoids the pitfall of most other Films Blanc, of imposing a limited moral structure on its cosmic fairy tale.

This is a wonderful picture.

On a scale of Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor, Wings of Desire rates:
Movie: Excellent
Video: Excellent
Sound: Excellent
Supplements: commentary, docu Angels Among Us, deleted scenes, ads, 'interactive map'
Packaging: Keep case
Reviewed: June 26, 2003