Barry Lyndon Stanley Kubrick

Box office

Der Himmel über Berlin had 922,718 admissions in Germany.[72] Under the title Les Ailes du désir, it had a further 1,079,432 admissions in France.[73]

The film finished its run in North America on 11 May 1989, having grossed $3.2 million,[4] or possibly nearly $4 million, a beneficial investment for Orion.[65] Critic James Monaco assessed the financial performance as above that of typical art films.[74] In 2000, Variety calculated that it was 48th in the top 50 highest-grossing foreign language films ever released in the U.S., and one of only three in German, along with Das Boot and Run Lola Run.[75]

Critical reception

Wings of Desire received "Two Thumbs Up" from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on Siskel & Ebert & The Movies, where Siskel credited Wenders for a story that "praises life as it is lived yet making sense of life's confusions".[76] In New York, David Denby hailed it as "extraordinary", and possibly "the ultimate German movie".[77] Desson Howe cited it for "a soaring vision that appeals to the senses and the spirit."[78] Janet Maslin, writing for The New York Times, called it "enchanting" in its concept, but "damagingly overloaded" in execution.[66] In Variety, David Stratton embraced the visuals, the performances and Knieper's score, adding the film also showcased Wenders' taste for rock music.[79] The Washington Post's Rita Kempley credited Wenders and Handke for crafting a "whimsical realm of myth and philosophical pretense, dense with imagery and sweetened by Ganz's performance".[80] Dissenting, Pauline Kael remarked, "It's enough to make moviegoers feel impotent".[81] According to online film resource They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?, Wings of Desire is the most acclaimed film of 1987.[82]

By 1990, Wings of Desire was placed in the top 10 best films of the 1980s by critics David Denby (first), the Los Angeles Times's Sheila Benson (fourth), The Orange County Register's Jim Emerson (fifth) and Richard Schickel and Richard Corliss (tenth).[84] Premiere voted it the second greatest film of the 1980s, after Raging Bull.[23] James Monaco awarded it four and a half stars in his 1992 Movie Guide, praising it as "A rich, mystical near-masterpiece".[74] In 1998, Ebert added it to his Great Movies list, championing it for "a mood of reverie, elegy and meditation".[85] Empire critic Ian Nathan gave it five stars in his 2006 review, hailing it for its poetry, themes of loneliness, and Ganz's acting style.[86] In 2004, The New York Times included the film on its list of "the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made".[87] On reflecting on Solveig Dommartin's death in 2007, Der Spiegel recalled the film as a poetic masterpiece.[88] Reviewing the Criterion DVD in 2009, Time Out critic Joshua Rothkopf called it an introduction to the art film, but also a product of its time, mentioning the songs.[89]

John Simon of the National Review had a differing opinion. He described Wings of Desire as both "obnoxious" and as a "130 minute mess".[90]

It was later ranked 64th in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[91] In 2011, The Guardian placed it in the 10 best films ever set in Berlin.[25] The next year, it received 10 votes in the 2012 Sight & Sound polls of the greatest films ever made.[92] Les Inrockuptibles's 2014 review declared it a great film, timeless, and poetic.[93] That year, French critics at aVoir-aLire also praised its poetry, and said Berlin becomes one of the characters, crediting Alekan, Handke, Cave and Knieper for important contributions.[94] German journalist Michael Sontheimer recommended seeing it to understand how radically Berlin has been altered since the 1980s, particularly looking at the somber images when the human Damiel walks through Berlin.[95] In his 2015 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin awarded it three and a half stars, describing it as "Haunting" and "lyrical".[96] Jonathan Rosenbaum declared the bulk of the film before Damiel becomes human as "one of Wenders's most stunning achievements".[97] In 2017, Le Monde rated it four stars out of five, citing the aesthetics of its black-and-white photography, poetry and contemplation of history.[98] The German news publication Der Tagesspiegel recounted the film's memorable imagery in 2016, listing Damiel as an angel and the library scenes.[99] On the 30th anniversary of the Cannes screening, Jessica Ritchey posted on Rogerebert.com that she found it odd to be an atheist and love the film, expressing admiration for the black-and-white photography and the overall message that when the world seems terrible, desire is powerful.[100] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 98% based on 56 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beyond ravishing, Wings of Desire is Wim Wenders' is aching and heartbreaking exploration of how love makes us human."[101] The film ranked 34th in BBC's 2018 list of The 100 greatest foreign language films voted by 209 critics from 43 countries around the world.[102]

Accolades

The film competed for the Palme d'Or and won for Best Director at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.[103] In 1988, it won the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association.[104]

It was submitted by West Germany for consideration for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a bid supported by its distribution company. It was not nominated; the academy seldom recognized West German cinema.[105]