IMDb > City of Angels (1998)
City of Angels
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City of Angels (1998) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   36,733 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 14% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Wim Wenders (screenplay) &
Peter Handke (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for City of Angels on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 April 1998 (USA) more
Tagline:
She didn't believe in angels until she fell in love with one. more
Plot:
Inspired by the modern classic, Wings of Desire, City involves an angel (Cage) who is spotted by a doctor in an operating room. Franz plays Cage's buddy who somehow knows a lot about angels. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 9 wins & 11 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(49 articles)
User Comments:
Are You in Despair? more (275 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Nicolas Cage ... Seth

Meg Ryan ... Dr. Maggie Rice

Andre Braugher ... Cassiel

Dennis Franz ... Nathaniel Messinger

Colm Feore ... Jordan Ferris
Robin Bartlett ... Anne
Joanna Merlin ... Teresa Messinger

Sarah Dampf ... Susan
Rhonda Dotson ... Susan's Mother

Nigel Gibbs ... Doctor

John Putch ... Man in Car

Lauri Johnson ... Woman in Car
Christian Aubert ... Foreign Visitor in Car

Jay Patterson ... Air Traffic Controller

Shishir Kurup ... Jimmy, Anesthesiologist
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
Stadt der Engel (Germany)
more
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for sexuality including language, and some nudity.
Runtime:
114 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The book that Seth gives to Maggie is "A Moveable Feast", a set of memoirs by Ernest Hemingway. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Maggie is in the bath-tub, Seth can clearly be seen in the corner of the mirror when Maggie runs her hand through her hair. Then in the next shot (the famous 'no-reflection' scene), he has no reflection. more
Quotes:
Maggie Rice: I don't understand a God who would let us meet, if there's no way we could ever be together. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Game K N B: (2007-03-03)" (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Mama You Got A Daughter more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
20 out of 34 people found the following comment useful.
Are You in Despair?, 17 January 2000
Author: Petunia-2

A very different look at the world of angels and their interaction with human beings. If this were a story about the devil, IMDB would have plenty of comments so I am not surprised to read so many negative ones.

I don't believe that angels wear black, but I do believe in the premise of this movie: "sometimes things are true whether you believe in them or not."

Meg Ryan, a very unlikely choice, was thoroughly believable as an obsessive-compulsive doctor who never sleeps. When she loses a patient for the first time, she cries bitterly and cannot understand how it could have happened--all witnessed by Nicolas Cage as Seth, an angel who was sent to escort her patient to heaven. Cage allows himself to be seen by Ryan in a hospital corridor and sweetly asks, "Are you in despair?" This entire conversation sweeps the women in the audience into their evolving relationship. Yes, I guess this is definitely a woman's movie.

Others in lesser roles were quite good. Dennis Franz nails the part of a former angel who has "fallen to earth." (I do not watch his television show so this was the first time I have seen him act--I was impressed.) Andre Braugher, formerly of Homicide (a show I did watch), was terrific as Seth's closest angel friend, although he had very few lines, as usual Braugher was effective. His smile at the end of the movie stays with you.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for City of Angels (1998)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Why does the angels gather in library? aylina-m
I've asked this before...maybe I'm just dense Foxsrus1
Good 'cry' films jussayin
This movie would have been so kewl. . . Balok-2
City of Angels (2011) Thorpe89
'For Dawn' - Who's Dawn? MsD430
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