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Wings of Desire (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

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Average of 2 Reviews
Overall 5 star rating
Video Quality 4.5 star rating
The Film/Movie 5 star rating
Audio Quality 4.5 star rating
Special Features 4.5 star rating

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Featured Review

Video Quality 4.5 star rating
The Film/Movie 4.5 star rating
Audio Quality 4 star rating
Special Features 4.5 star rating
Overall 4.5 star rating
Pros: haunting humanistic fantasy; superb on all counts

Cons: ethereal tale may not be for all tastes
Purchase Date:November 2009 Purchase Price:$39.95
HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: Wings of Desire
MattH. reviewed October 27, 2009 at 6:57 pm
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.
 
 
Video Quality
 
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.
 
 
Audio Quality
 
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.
 
 
Special Features
 
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.
 
 
In Conclusion
 
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
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Video Quality 4.5 star rating
The Film/Movie 5 star rating
Audio Quality 4.5 star rating
Special Features 4 star rating
Overall 5 star rating
Pros: A complete and fantastic rework of the terrible MGM release.

Cons: May be a challenge for those not familiar with the work
Purchase Date:February 2010 Purchase Price:$24.00
A stunning effort to replace prior editions
mattCR reviewed February 20, 2010 at 11:37 pm
The Complexity of a Story...

"Wings of Desire" is, along with "Paris, Texas" often listed as the two masterworks of Wim Wenders.  While I'm partial to other words, watching "Wings of Desire" again reminds me of the incredible effort and workmanship of this film.

In the early days of film, as stories were told visually only - before talkies - actors were required with faces, body language and other means to express to the audience how they felt, what was going on in their head, and how the audience should react.  Wings of Desire takes this to an entirely other level.

The first 80 minutes or so of this film exist to me as one of the most effective poetic efforts to express complex emotions and feelings that would only be shortchanged by tons of dialog.  Daniel and Cassiel have been on earth for all of eternity, and find themselves in Berlin, wandering the streets, only able to interact on the most bare level with others around them, who only can feel their prescence.

The actors manage to get across such quiet, deeply held desperation that it to me is one of the finest acting performances of the 80s.. and that says a great deal.   Wenders uses metaphor and emortional ques to dredge up loss, love, hope, faith.  As Daniel finds Solveig Dommartin as an acrobat, he watches her move, her actions.. and he falls in love.  Willing to trade the existance of eternity for her.  

This is something played clumsily as a love story in the american remake of this film (City of Angels) but in the Wender's original, this is about far more then simply an angel falling in love.  The Wender's version deals not just with the love of a woman, but directly takes on the desire to take a chance on the unknown.  The desire for risk, love, and loss.

 

Wings of Desire has always been one of my top films, and the bluray finally does this justice.

VIDEO: 4.5/5

There will be a lot said of the video, especially considering the Bluray is at 1.66:1 whereas the MGM DVD, released years ago is 1.78.  Most of us who are fans of the film recognized early on that the 1.78 was never the aspect ratio that this film was set for, and it was simply issued that way out of ease and clumsy transfer.  As the notes that come with the BD come out, the transfer here was supervised by Wenders himself.

One of the greatest complaints about the MGM DVD is that Edge Enhancement was at it's worst.  There seemed to be a "buzz" around many of the characters, halo effects etched around many of the actors, which is a strange situation given the content.  The original MGM DVD release also had problems that it had what I would be describe as leakage, the appearance of color where there should be none.  This is not abnormal for a newer Black and White film, as they are shot on color stock and normally changed in post production.  But the MGM DVD release simply looked terrible.

The video transfer isn't perfect, but it manages to capture a lot of the grain and subtitle grayscale effects that really marred the original MGM release.

If you can't tell, as someone who had the MGM release because I loved the film, this transfer finally does it justice, complying with the director's aspect ratio, a nice clean look, no noticable edge enhancement, and it maintains the film grain that gives Wender's films the feel as though you were watching it for the first time.

The Audio Mix: 4/5

I had forgot exactly how bad the MGM release was until I went back to compare these two tonight.  The MGM release quite simply, sucks.   When Wings of Desire originally ran in theaters, it was issued in two formats: Dolby Stereo or Mono.  There was no real intent for more then that.  The MGM release had offered this film in a 5.1 mix that was flat out terrible.  Whatever method MGM used, the center channel was almost quiet, causing you to need to strain to get dialog, and many moments were washed aside with a fairly poor mix.

Presented here in DTS-HD 5.1, the film feels right.  I do regret that there is no option for the original cinematic soundtrack of Dolby Stereo, but the new 5.1 mix is more then adequate.  It's oriented toward the front, but that's no surprise considering the original content.  As is noted in the pamphlet with the disc, Wim Wenders looked over the creation of this soundtrack.  The dialog is crisp and clean, and while all of your activity is centered in the front, I focused more on the fact that it was clear and clean and that the volume in relation to the rest of the soundtrack was dead on. 

 

MGM had previously tried to over indulge in a 5.1 mix that did too much.  Here, Criterion puts out a mix that should be a dead ringer for the theater experience.. if that theater was the best one you could find.

Extras: 4.5/5

If you've read the other reviews, the extras on this disc are as they were on the DVD, etc.  There are no HD extras that are Bluray only.  I have found no easter eggs.

The extras include 9 deleted scenes, an audio commentary, previously seen documentaries and promotional clips.  The director's commentary here is different then the one issued on the MGM disc, so it's worth noting.

Most notable for me is the ability to see cast stills, photos and art direction notes.  The pamphlet material that comes with the BD is an absolute must have for a fan of Wenders.

Conclusion\

If you own the MGM DVD, and you've debated, let me say something: throw that disc out, abandon it entirely, and grab this immediately.  In almost every area, this release trump cards the former DVD release, with significantly improved video and audio.  Sometimes we take for granted that a format is "good" just because it exists.  Wings of Desire on DVD was always a shameful release that never did the film justice.  Hard to listen to with too much edge enhancement and a bad look.

If you've never seen Wings of Desire, you deserve to see it the right way the first time.    Criterion's "Wings of Desire" BD is must own material for any Wenders fan.  And if you haven't seen Wings of Desire, this BD is the way to do it.

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