Wings of Desire
“There are angels on the streets of Berlin.”
Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds — with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk — that it might be possible for him to take human form.
Where to watch
HBO Max
Stream
Amazon Video
Rent · Buy
Apple TV Store
Rent · Buy
Google Play Movies
Rent · Buy
YouTube
Rent · Buy
Fandango At Home
Rent · Buy
Your rating
Your review
Part of Damiel and Cassiel Collection
2 films
Cast
95 people
Bruno Ganz
Damiel
Known for
Downfall
The House That Jack Built
Solveig Dommartin
Marion
Known for
Until the End of the World
Otto Sander
Cassiel
Known for
Das Boot
Les Misérables
Curt Bois
Homer
Known for
Casablanca
Caught
Peter Falk
The Filmstar
Known for
Columbo
The Princess Bride
Hans Martin Stier
The Dying Man
Known for
Babylon Berlin
Enemy at the Gates
Elmar Wilms
A Sad Man
No other roles listed
Sigurd Rachman
The Suicide
Also in
Westler: East of the Wall
Reichshauptstadt privat
Beatrice Manowski
Young Prostitute
Known for
Nekromantik
Manta, Manta
Bruno Rosaz
The Clown
No other roles listed
Laurent Petitgand
The Bandleader
Also in
Naturally
Copy Film
Chick Ortega
The Drummer
Known for
Delicatessen
The Three Brothers
Wim Wenders Director · Peter Handke Screenplay Richard Reitinger Screenplay
Worldwide gross $3.5M · Budget $2.5M · United States release April 29, 1988
Box office
Budget
$2,500,000
Worldwide gross
$3,548,590
Gross vs. budget
1.4×
Production
Road Movies
Production
Argos films
Production
WDR
Production
Wim Wenders Stiftung
Production
Road Movies Filmproduktion
Production
Westdeutscher Rundfunk
Production
Germany · France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Der Himmel über Berlin
Original language
German
Spoken on screen
English · French · German · Hebrew · Japanese · Spanish · Turkish
Release dates
France · May 17, 1987
Premiere · Cannes Film Festival
Germany · October 29, 1987
Theatrical
United States · April 29, 1988
Limited theatrical · New York City, New York
Australia
March 31, 1988 · Theatrical
Austria
October 1, 1987 · Theatrical
Brazil
May 20, 1988 · Theatrical
Czechia
January 16, 2002 · Limited theatrical · Projekt 100
Denmark
September 23, 1987 · Theatrical
Finland
September 23, 1987 · Theatrical
France
September 23, 1987 · Theatrical
December 14, 2001 · Physical · DVD
September 22, 2010 · Physical · Blu-Ray
October 17, 2023 · Physical · 4K UHD
Greece
November 17, 2006 · Premiere · Thessaloniki International Film Festival
India
April 19, 2024 · Digital · MUBI
February 5, 2025 · Premiere · The India Tour
Italy
December 11, 1987 · Theatrical
Japan
April 23, 1988 · Theatrical
Netherlands
March 3, 1988 · Theatrical
May 15, 2011 · TV · Nederland 2
September 1, 2011 · Physical · Bluray
Portugal
January 1, 1988 · Theatrical
January 26, 2017 · Theatrical · re-release, restored version.
South Korea
May 15, 1993 · Theatrical
Sweden
September 23, 1987 · Physical
Switzerland
August 1, 1987 · Premiere · Locarno International Film Festival
Thailand
October 9, 2025 · Premiere · Bangkok International Film Festival
United Kingdom
June 24, 2022 · Limited theatrical · Re-Release
XC
May 1, 1991 · Theatrical
More from Wim Wenders
Other films they directed, best known first.
If you liked Wings of Desire
Picks that share its genres, themes, cast and crew.
Some details come from TheTVDB.