Wings of Desire (1987)
Trivia
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Director Cameo (1)
In the closing titles it says: "Dedicated to all the former angels, but especially to Yasujiro, François and Andrej." This refers to film directors Yasujirô Ozu, François Truffaut, and Andrei Tarkovsky. All were favorites of director Wim Wenders. At the time of filming "Wings of Desire" Truffaut and Tarkovsky had only recently passed away, in 1984 and 1986. Ozu died in 1963.
Filming the actual Berlin Wall was prohibited, so a replica of the wall twice had to be built close to the original. The first fake wall warped in the rain because the contractor cheated the producers and built it from wood.
All of the black & white sequences were shot through a one-of-a-kind filter made from a stocking that belonged to cinematographer Henri Alekan's grandmother.
One day during the production of Wings of Desire (1987), Peter Falk went missing. He had never visited Berlin before and took long walks through the city, taking in the sights and meeting people. The producers finally tracked him down in a small café. Falk was so enchanted with the experience of making this film he stayed in Berlin an extra week after his role was finished, at his own expense, hoping he would get additional scenes to play.
Peter Falk called his role in Wings of Desire (1987) "the craziest thing I was ever offered", but accepted after a phone call from director Wim Wenders. When Wenders told him his part had not been developed yet, Falk responded, "I've worked that way with John Cassavetes. I prefer working without a script".
(at around 1 hr 29 mins) The graffiti behind the food cart (where Peter Falk greets the angel) reads "wer bunker baut wirft bomben" which translates to "those who build bunkers throw bombs"
Circus Alekan is named after cinematographer Henri Alekan.
During the scene in the Berlin Library, Damiel leans over a young man who reads: "Ha'Aretz haita tohu-va-vohu". This is the second verse of the book of Genesis in Biblical Hebrew, and basically means "the land was in chaos".
Wim Wenders originally wanted Peter Handke to collaborate on the script. Handke declined to work on the script as a whole but agreed to write a set number of important scenes which Wenders could then work around.
The scene where Otto Sander is shown riding a bus looking morose, with his head in his hands, was shot that way because the actor had developed a large bald spot on the day of shooting and makeup couldn't hide it.
The song "Hartreim Saga" by Moses P. starts with the second to last words of the character of Homer: "Nennt mir die Männer und Frauen und Kinder, die mich suchen werden, mich, ihren Erzähler, Vorsänger und Tonangeber, weil sie mich brauchen, wie sonst nichts auf der Welt." ("Tell me of the men, women, and children who will look for me - me, their storyteller, their bard, their choirmaster - because they need me more than anything in the world.")
The film is included on Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" list.
The photograph on the cover of the book that the old man opens in the library is "Young farmers" taken by August Sander.
This movie was the basis for the American City of Angels (1998) movie with Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage.
Was #7 on Roger Ebert's list of the Best Films of 1988.
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
