Wings of Desire

(Note: This review refers to the Blu-ray version of the DVD.)

"There are angels over the streets of Berlin." Wim Wenders struck a chord with audiences all over the world in this lyrical 1987 fantasy. As seen by the angels in black-and-white, Berlin is a city of yearning souls whose musings play over the silvery beauty of cinematographer Henri Alekan's images. But one angel (Bruno Ganz) wants touch, communication, the emotional rapture of love and the colors of humanity. Wenders delivers all with a film attuned to the transient moments of being alive and fragile moments of human joy. The Blu-ray edition is astounding, with black-and-white footage that looks both ethereal and crisp, and the color is cool and clear and tactile.

The commentary for this edition by prepared by Mark Rance from interviews he conducted with Wenders (alone and with Peter Falk) between 1996 and 1997. The 43-minute documentary "Angels Among Us," a loving, elegantly simple production directed by JM Kenny in 2003, was featured on MGM's earlier DVD releases, as was the gorgeous collection of deleted footage. But there's a wealth of previously unseen archival discoveries, including interviews with director of photography Henri Alekan, footage of Wenders on the set and outtakes, plus a booklet.