Rating: 
Summary: The one film I watch once every year
Review: I'm not going to say that Wings of Desire is the best film ever. I'm not even going to say it's in the Top 10 of all time. I will say that it may be the film that most touched me inside; to this day, it is the ONLY film that I choose to watch at least once every year.... There is no middle ground with this movie, and that's one mark of a classic. To me, the movie is one of the most humane and warmly existential movies I've ever seen; probably the most. ... It asks big questions. It is not obvious. It allows the audience to participate in the thoughts and desires of its characters. It is a sublimely patient film. And, it looks fabulous to boot, with great performances.
I love this movie. ...
Rating:
Summary: Heavenly!
Review: I saw this movie in the theatres a good 15 years ago and it's haunted me ever since. Every time I watch it I get something new from it. The acting is subtle and fascinating. The sub-titles might distract some, but it is worth wading through them (or learning German and French!) to have the opportunity to enjoy this movie!
Rating: 
Summary: Wrap your wings around this
Review: A very good story about Angels that are all around us - but we can't see them. Some of them wish to be human. One of them tries to be (Bruno Ganz). Filmed in Germany, much of it in b/w. A surprising small role is given to Peter Falk, and look out for the rock band - Nick Cave & the Badseeds an Australian band (not Austrian!). The only negative is it's a bit long winded. Unfortunately the numb-nuts in Hollywood tried to make a version of this & produced the syrupy "City of Angels"
Rating:
Summary: We NEED This on DVD! Now!!
Review: It's such a crime that whatever studio owns this film has not seen fit to make a DVD (and hopefully they will do it right and not just slap down the crummy VHS print). I'm not going to describe the plot of this film, as 1) I really can't, 2) others have already done so, and 3) it's not important anyway ... you just need to experience this film with an open mind. It really is one of very few movies that I come away feeling changed from having watched. One of very few that touches me so deeply emotionally that I want to cry, or sing (things which I'm not at all given to doing, normally). When I watch this movie, afterwards I feel that the world is both more full and more empty, that everyday life is both more important and not important at all. I know it makes no sense, but it has that effect. Wings of Desire is not ABOUT something so much that is IS something itself. By reading about it, it would be easy to think it is just another pretentious, emotionally-void German brain exercise, but it's not. It's such a shame that they have huge teams of people working on utterly worthless DVDs such as Pearl Harbor and Jason Takes Manhattan, when films like this, that enrich your life, feed your soul, engage your brain, and most importantly stay with you the rest of your life, sit collecting dust in a warehouse somewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Love and Desire to Live
Review: I believe that love and the desire to live is brilliantly presented in Wim Wender's "Wings of Desire." The characterization and choices of cinematic techniques leave
the viewer to fill in some of the underlying messages and concepts that he wants to emphasize and takes you from one time frame to another. Wender's use of black and white to lead the viewer that the events are being viewed at present time but are actually past events. He uses voice-overs to narrate the
whole composition. He combines sound and the sequences of establishing shots to create the illusion of confusion in the world. By having two angels observe the world as it was and as it is today, he's giving them a chance to get an overview of what it's like to truly live. For example, scenes
showing people in the subway, narrating their daily experiences and the hum drum details (use of voice-overs). A father was complaining about his hope to be rock
star son, a man on the brink of committing suicide, children running around, a circus group facing financial difficulties, a man (Peter Falk) appreciating a cup of coffee
on a cold day, people reading silently in the library, a teenage girl resorting to prostitution in order to survive, old women who seem to have given up on life.
Additionally, a woman was trying to decide what she wants to be when she grows up versus what she always wanted to be as a little girl. Wender's written material utilizes repetition of the phrase: "When the child was a child" to establish the concept that we all exist and our past helps defines who we
are and what we want to be and how we want to be in this world. The main characters were established as credible and believable by the use of long takes, shallow focusing, and the constant switching of their point of view.
Close-ups, dissolves, and overhead shots were also employed. Cinematically, the camera was constantly mobile. He uses the camera to travel through time -- forward and backwards, eluding to the premise that there is another
world that governs and dictates how we live and it is the spiritual world -- the unknown and seldom explored. The use of sound, mixing of different languages, overlapping of voice-overs and the constant changing from one composition to another leads the viewer the
impression that Wender is referring to the whole universe, not just a simple and crowded city. Helicopter sounds and babies crying were also introduced. The use of color from black and white is meticulously incorporated into each scene to allow the viewer to see the image being presented from his/her point of view,
at present time. The choreography of the trapeze artist and her coach and precise blocking is well matched and timed to correspond with the camera movements. The majority of the
film is chaotic in the sense that he uses the camera at high speed to project to the viewer that he wants you into the scene and experience the uncertainty and
unpredictability of life on an everyday basis. For example, the railway scene with the old women, railroad tracks and busy streets. Wender also introduces the concept that angels or not, we all have a choice to live or not. He projects this by having one of the angels wishing to become mortal in
order to truly experience life as he sees it, and more importantly, to love and be loved back. In this case, Peter Falk's character adds a genuinely uplifting twist to the
story. He'd been an angel once too and he chooses to live his own way. The introduction of the female character is well edited and flows smoothly with the idea that there are people out there wanting the same thing. Towards the end of the film, continuity editing is employed to present the viewer with the rest of the story -- completing the picture. Deliberate staging of the events
(for example, empty lot left by the circus, shopping mall, disco place, etc.) tells the viewer that the angel, now human will meet his chosen mate and will allow each
other to be exactly the way they want to be.Wender is telling the world, in my opinion, love is a universal force which can be utilized to promote unity, peace and
harmony. It's not limited to an individual or a couple -- it's for everyone who wish it and willing to experience the feelings that it profess. The old man character leaves me to believe that love existed long ago and will last through time. Love is a gift that must be reciprocated to be empowering. My question is: Is Love easier to give or to receive?
Rating:
Summary: My Favorite Film of All Time
Review: Simply put, WINGS OF DESIRE is the most beautiful and spiritual film ever made. My first discovery of the film was in Atlanta. My first lover left me after a 3-year relationship and I was alone in the city. My family and friends were at least a thousand miles away. On a cold rainy afternoon, I stumbled into a cinema and WINGS OF DESIRE was playing. It was the most magical afternoon and I walked out of the cinema as a totally new person. It made me to look at the world and life in a different but more beautiful light. This very film inspired me to catch the next Greyhound bus to return to home in upstate New York and cared for my cancer-stricken grandfather til he passed away 2 years later. If I had never seen WINGS OF DESIRE, I would have missed out all the most wonderful memories and lessons I had with my grandfather. I'm not religious but WINGS OF DESIRE is the film I return to again and again whenever I need to feel spiritually refreshed. You may be puzzled why I didn't get into the details about the film ... this is the film you need to see without knowing anything about it or otherwise the magic will be gone. I couldn't understand why WINGS OF DESIRE is not available on DVD.. more than enough of people praise the film as one of the greatest modern films ever made. And what's more puzzling is that FAR AWAY SO CLOSE! the companion piece to WINGS OF DESIRE is currently available on DVD. That doesn't make any sense to me. Today with all the tragedies and wars going on in this world, this could not be a better time to release WINGS OF DESIRE on DVD. Once again, it is my favorite film of all time - yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Rating:
Summary: The Best!
Review: Wim Wenders is definitely one of the best film directors of our times. He's the Fritz Lang of our ages...
Rating:
Summary: Wings of desire
Review: Simply one of my five top movies of all time! The mowie has so many interesting parts. First, the fantastic story of an angel deciding to come down to earth and search for love. Then the speed of the film, slow and thoughtful. And the filming, from black and white to colour. I had one of my greatest experience in 1988, when it first came to Sweden where I lived at the time. A real MUST for all cineasts around the world!
Rating: 
Summary: OVERESTIMATED!!
Review: This is one of the most overestimated films I have ever seen. It is so slow and uncertain that directors such as Tarkovskij and Bergman feels almost obvious in their filmmaking. Avoid this unless you have a hard time time sleeping.
Rating:
Summary: Wim Wenders/Bruno Ganz perfection
Review: Really just a wonderful movie. The actors are perfectly cast and believeable as angels or individuals living their lives in modern day (pre-unification) Berlin. The random thoughts chosen to be heard from mortal people, with the Angels reactions and recounting of ancient history really present a the spectrum of the 'human condition'. I love this film, it may be my favorite.
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