HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Wings of Desire

Region: A

MSRP: $ 39.95

Review Date: October 27, 2009

 

 

4.5/5

 

Wim Wenders’ haunting, evocative, poignant, and soulful Wings of Desire is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. With a thin thread of a story but image after image of empathetic communication, Wings of Desire is one of those films that stays with you long after you’ve watched its last frame. If the film’s last quarter hour doesn’t quite live up to all that has gone before, it’s still one of cinema’s great life experiences, a movie full of sounds and images that burn themselves into one’s very soul.

 

Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are two angels who have been on Earth for eternity, and they find themselves in Berlin wandering the city, reading thoughts, soothing the distressed wherever possible, easing the dying into the afterlife, and generally observing a mankind that seems oddly melancholy. Damiel becomes particularly fascinated by trapeze artist Marion (Solveig Dommartin); in fact, he’s so enraptured by her high flying act that he longs to become human, not only to join her but also to experience for the first time the sounds, smells, flavors, and sensations of human existence. Such a fall is possible, and he becomes more convinced of its sound logic when he comes across Peter Falk (as himself) shooting a movie in Berlin who admits he himself is a fallen angel who recommends humanity wholeheartedly.

 

The film’s first eighty minutes or so are as poetic and ethereal an examination of the human condition from an objective point of view that just about any film has ever been able to convey. Whether in the bright and bustling city library, the subways and buses traversing the city, the noisy punk nightclubs in the evening, an airplane over the city, or the movie set where a film is being shot about concentration camps during World War II, the script simply lets the angels listen nonjudgmentally as the men, women, and children play out their lives: some thinking serious cosmic thoughts about the nature of good and evil; others thinking about food or work schedules. Some are dying or are contemplating suicide (one of the film’s most crushing images is Cassiel attempting to soothe the troubled mind of a desperate man intent on jumping from a building under construction and his reaction to the man’s decision). But the tone of the film is definitely on the down side; there seem to be problems almost everywhere one turns. With everything from the angels’ point of view being seen in black and white (better to get to the true essence of humanity without the distraction of pretty color), the somber, sober worldview is even more emphasized. After Damiel’s fall from grace, the movie shifts to color (Wenders and director of photography Henri Alekan handle the transitions with awesome grace and fluidity, and it isn’t a problem when we momentarily return to black and white late in the film for a moment or two) as he experiences a bloody injury, rainbows of colors, and taste sensations for the first time. The inevitable reunion with his soul mate is, of course, rather telegraphed and anticlimactic and takes too long to happen, but everything to that point remains spellbinding.

 

With minimal angelic dialog and using more body language and facial expressions than words to evoke an emotional response in the viewer, Bruno Ganz and especially Otto Sander give superb performances. As the ravishing trapeze artist, Solveig Dommartin does all her own stunts and is astoundingly good. She has some trouble traversing the wordy, unnecessarily literal paean to soul mates finding one another that closes the film (Ganz has a counterpoint monologue that’s less problematic), but there’s no denying that she’s entirely worthy of turning many an angel’s head. Peter Falk has a good time playing himself, complaining about a hat he has been given to wear by the costumer, talking to angels he can’t see but senses are present, and generally twinkling in the unique style he’s always possessed. Curt Bois as an elderly man who struggles to survive but doggedly plugs away at living has a memorable couple of scenes.

 

 

4.5/5

 

The film is presented in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.66:1 with 1080p resolution using the AVC codec. The black and white photography that graces much of the film is exquisite for the most part with splendid detail, contrast that seems perfectly realized, and a grayscale that mesmerizes. There is some minor flickering in a couple of places, and the grain structure seems a bit inconsistent, especially in the color sequences which feature rich hues but seem slightly less sharp than the black and white scenes. The color values and flesh tones look wonderful in high definition but seem a bit less impressive when compared to those vivacious black and white images. There is also some inserted war footage in black and white and some home movie-looking color footage that is in very poor shape and matches coarsely with the rest of the imagery. The pale white subtitles are not always easy to read especially when they are placed upon brighter white or light gray backgrounds. The film has been divided into 19 chapters.

 

 

4/5

 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix certainly doesn’t have the spread of a more modern audio design, but the hypnotic music and voices make a very appealing soundtrack for this other-worldly tale. Though the envelopment is surprisingly effective, the sound mix lacks only the spread of other ambient sounds to the rears to offer a richer sound. It’s a very typical sound design of its era, and this lossless encode is likely the best it’s ever going to sound.

 

 

4.5/5

 

The audio commentary has been edited together from over six hours of interviews with director Wim Wenders and co-star Peter Falk, and it’s part running commentary and part conversational interview as the two men discuss all aspects of putting the film together, often flying by the seat of their pants.

 

Two trailers are offered. The German theatrical trailer runs for 2 ¼ minutes and is presented in 1080p. The promotional trailer for a Wenders retrospective (starring comedian Curt Bois) runs for 2 minutes in 1080i.

 

“The Angels Among Us” is a 2003 documentary on the making of the film dealing with everything from casting and the piecemeal script through the photography and the recording of the music. The 43 ¼-minute feature is in 1080i.

 

“Wim Wenders Berlin Jan. ‘87” is an excerpt from a French television series showing Wenders at work on the film before its release. This runs 9 ½ minutes in 1080i.

 

There are nine deleted scenes which feature a commentary by director Wim Wenders which cannot be turned off (the audio portions of some of the clips are missing). Together they run 32 ¼ minutes. Some of the scenes are also wardrobe tests and other behind-the-scenes shots. There is also 7-minutes of outtakes which feature just a music track and no vocals. All are in 1080i.

 

There is an art gallery featuring stills from the movie, sketches of wardrobe and camera angles, text pages describing upcoming photos, and some behind-the-scenes shots.

 

“Alekan ‘85” is a series of interviews with cinematographer Henri Alekan by documentarian André Bonzel which were being shot for a film on the man which was never finished. These clips run 10 ¼ minutes and are in 1080i.

 

“Alekan la lumiere” features director Wim Wenders and cinematographer Henri Alekan discussing the use of lighting to achieve various effects during shooting. This 1080i featurette runs 27 ¼ minutes.

 

“Remembrance” is a 1982 tribute to comedian Curt Bois as the two stars of Wings of Desire Otto Sander and Bruno Ganz ask the veteran actor questions about his career and his method of performing. This runs 29 ¾ minutes in 1080i.

 

The Criterion Blu-rays include a maneuvering tool called “Timeline” which can be pulled up from the menu or by pushing the red button on the remote. It shows you your progress on the disc, the title of the chapter you’re now in, and index markers for the commentaries that go along with the film, all of which can be switched on the fly. Additionally, two other buttons on the remote can place or remove bookmarks if you decide to stop viewing before reaching the end of the film or want to mark specific places for later reference.

 

The enclosed thirty page booklet features cast and crew lists, a generous selection of black and white and color stills, a wonderful essay on the movie by film critic Michael Atkinson, excerpts from the first draft treatment of the story ideas for the film by director/co-writer Wim Wedners, and co-writer Peter Handke’s haunting “Song of Childhood” which opens the film.

 

 

4.5/5 (not an average)

 

Another real classic of world cinema makes an auspicious debut in the Criterion Collection with Wim Wedners’ haunting Wings of Desire. A great high definition audio and video encode and a rich selection of bonus features makes this disc one that rates the highest recommendation.

 

 

 

Matt Hough

Charlotte, NC