Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin) is one of cinema’s loveliest city symphonies. Bruno Ganz is Damiel, an angel perched atop buildings high over Berlin who can hear the thoughts—fears, hopes, and dreams—of all the people living below. But when he falls in love with a beautiful trapeze artist, he is willing to give up his immortality to come back to earth to be with her. Made not long before the fall of the Berlin Wall, this stunning tapestry of sounds and images, shot in black and white and color by the legendary Henri Alekan, is movie poetry. And it forever made the name Wim Wenders synonymous with film art.

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Part romance, part comedy, part meditation on matters political and philosophical, Wenders' remarkable movie posits a world haunted by invisible angels listening in to our thoughts. Such plot as there is concerns two kindly spirits (Ganz and Sander), posted to contemporary Berlin, who encounter a myriad of mortals, including an ageing writer blighted by memories of a devastated Germany; actor Peter Falk, on location shooting a film about the Nazi era; and a lonely trapeze artist, with whom Ganz falls in love, thus prompting his desire to become mortal at last. A film about the Fall and the Wall, it's full of astonishingly hypnotic images (courtesy veteran Henri Alékan), and manages effortlessly to turn Wenders' and Peter Handke's poetic, literary script into pure cinematic expression. Masterpiece? Maybe not, but few films are so rich, so intriguing, or so ambitious.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

1) MGM - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT
2) Anchor Bay NEW - Region 0 - PAL - MIDDLE

ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' Blu-ray - October09: The Criterion is advertised as a 'New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Wim Wenders' and I don't think I need to say more beyond the screen captures below. The 1080P rendering is a gigantic leap beyond the existing DVDs - especially in contrast and detail. The DVDs looks greenish and sepia while the Criterion is more pure black + white. Like the Criterion DVD HERE, it s the only on in the correct 166:1 aspect ratio. It has a beautifully consistent sheen of fine grain texturizing the image canvas.

Criterion offers a solid DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 1911 kbps 5.1 in German with some English and French dialogue. It is stated in the booklet included with the package that the audio was originally created on an LTRT stereo format but for this Blu-ray release is presented in a multichannel format - remastered and remixed at 24-bit, with director approval, from the original 35mm stems. It sounds flawless and the mix is, expectantly, not the most aggressive but subtle separation exists - which seems to suit the film perfectly. There are optional English subtitles and my Momitsu verifies this is region 'A'-locked.

The extras are extensive with an audio commentary with Wenders and actor Peter Falk. It amounts to an edited set of 6 hours of interviews conducted by Mark Rance in August, September 1996 and March 1997. This will differ from the past DVDs as it is claimed to have been edited in 2009. The Angels Among Us (2003), is a documentary featuring interviews with Wenders, Falk, actors Bruno Ganz and Otto Sander, writer Peter Handke, and composer Jürgen Knieper. It runs 43 minutes and like all featurettes on this disc it is in HD. We get “Wim Wenders Berlin Jan. 87,” an episode of the French television program Cinéma cinémas, including on-set footage for just shy of 10minutes with English subtitles. There is an interview with director of photography Henri Alekan for about 10-minutes, 9 deleted scenes and outtakes for about 1/2 an hour and some excerpts from the films Alekan la lumière (1985) - 27:11 - and Remembrance: Film for Curt Bois (1982) - 29:42. Criterion have included a 'Timeline' feature and some notes and photos by art directors Heidi Lüdi and Toni Lüdi, a German theatrical trailer and 'Wen Wunderts' promotional trailer as well as a 30-page liner notes booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Atkinson and writings by Handke and Wenders.

Goodness this is a good set. It's the perfect Art Film with a totally flawless package. I can't see any fan being disappointed with what this has to offer. Criterion continue to immeasurably impress with their Blu-ray line. This is another that has our highest regard and strongest recommendation.

- Gary W. Tooze

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ON THE DVDs: These editions are very nice, but the Anchor Bay Region 2 has a shade of contrast boosting and the general image is slightly hazy in comparison to the sharp MGM Region 1. Contrast appears to be minutely better in the MGM disc. The Extras are as good as equal with both supporting the same Wenders commentary (with Peter Falk) and few other tidbits. I might lean towards the MGM for the "Angels Among Us" documentary inclusion. Colors seem slightly saturated in the Anchor Bay with a tad more red in the skin tones. The MGM is minimally cropped on all 4 edges. Overall I'd say the differences are negligible for most except the many die-hard fans of this film. If you are buying new, then go with the MGM. This comparison may not be enough evidence for those owners of the Region 2 to switch over... but then again they might. MGM wins this comparison.

- Gary W. Tooze

NOTE: There were some problems with Anchor Bay 5.1 track on the initial release of their DVD. The sound started cutting out at around 1:40:00, going mute for approximately 10 minutes and returning sporadically in the last 5 minutes of the film. The soundtrack can be switched to the original Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack on the fly. This track does not have the associated problem. Anchor Bay are aware of this glitch and will be re-issuing the DVD. Anyone who has this problem disc can get it replaced, but it is a hassle.