City of Angels (1998)

Director:

Brad Silberling

Writers (WGA):

Wim Wenders (screenplay) &
Peter Handke (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

10 April 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

She didn't believe in angels until she fell in love with one.

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.

Plot Keywords:

Depressing | Guilt | Heaven | Hospital | Library

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Stadt der Engel (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexuality including language, and some nudity.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Ontario - 2006) | Iceland:L | USA:PG-13 (certificate #35791) | Brazil:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:11 | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Atlas Entertainment

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Michael Mann]in the foreground when Nicolas Cage is drinking and smoking in a bar.

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.

Quotes:

Maggie Rice: I'm not afraid. When they ask me what I liked best, I'll tell them, it was you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Hey! Ba-Ba-Re-Bop

A Nice Romance Story

Overall, this is a nice love story that I enjoyed the first time I saw it but decreasingly so with future viewings. After three, it was enough, but that's two more than I usually watch of Meg Ryan films.

Since it's Hollywood, you know there is going to be misguided theology, in this case the subject is angels and heaven. None of the "sermons" in here are Biblical, believe me. it's really more of a love story than anything else. Plus, it's an interesting story with good visuals.

Nicholas Cage plays a likable guy. There are actually a few good messages about God and angels - mainly that they exist - and another good message being that all of us should appreciate more what we have here on earth, starting with our senses (smell, taste, touch, etc.)

Anyway, if you like a good romance story, you should like this movie.