Review of City of Angels

Introduction

I went into a supermarket last week and spied a DVD player selling for £18. That`s less than the price of a new release DVD. We have reached that point where it is conceivable that a studio will give away free players with their movies. It`s a total reversal from where the industry was back in 2000, when I was a relative latecomer to this new fangled medium. I had waited until it was inevitable that VHS was on the way out before buying my first player, it was an entry level Sony machine that cost me £370 (I paid £50 extra to get it chipped). Back then studios were pushing the new format hard, and it was a rare player that didn`t have a promotional DVD with it. My player had three, and it`s only now that I am getting around to writing about the last of the freebies, City Of Angels. Seven years to review a movie, that`s got to be some kind of record. I guess the fact that it comes in a snapper case, and is on a DVD 10, with the film on one side and the extras on the other, is hardly relevant now, but the content hasn`t changed.

Angels walk among us unseen, bringing comfort to the needy, and vicariously revelling in human existence. Seth wants more though, especially when he encounters heart surgeon Maggie Rice. Normally only the very young, or those close to death can see angels, but Seth is shocked when Maggie looks right at him while fighting for a patient`s life. Consequently he becomes fascinated with her. They are complete opposites; she`s a doctor who fights for life, while he`s an angel who shepherds those who are passing to the other side. It looks like a relationship doomed by their differences, until one day Seth encounters a heart patient of Maggie`s who is also aware of his existence. The difference is that Nathan Messinger was also once an angel, but he found a way to choose a mortal life.

Video

City Of Angels has a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that isn`t looking too bad for the years. The only concessions to fitting a two-hour film onto a single layer area degree of softness and a lack of clarity in the fine detail. Otherwise the ethereal cinematography and appropriate mood comes across well in the transfer.

Audio

Here you get a choice of DD 5.1 English, French and Italian with plenty of subtitles. The dialogue is clear throughout, and there is a nice bit of surround presence to the film. The music is also effective in contributing to the mood of the piece.

Features

You get 4 pages of filmographies and 2 pages of production notes repeated on both sides of the disc. Side B sees the Making Angels documentary, which lasts 30 minutes and is a satisfying look behind the scenes of the film, featuring interviews with the cast and crew. There are 12 minutes of Additional Scenes, with or without a commentary, and an Interview Gallery offering one minute with Peter Gabriel, and two minutes with Alanis Morissette.

Conclusion

I haven`t seen the original Wim Wenders film, Wings Of Desire, but in my experience, mainstream Hollywood remakes usually have only a fraction of the charm of the originals, and lose a fair bit in their pass through the wheels of mediocrity that comprise script doctors, studio executives and test audiences. City Of Angels seems to have that designed by committee feel, is ridden with clichés and stereotypes, not least the driven insomniac heart-surgeon, arrogant in her skills, who has a crisis of conscience when she loses her first patient. It`s fortunate that a creepy looking guy in a long dark coat appears to whom she can unburden herself. And judging by Nicolas Cage, one of the hallmarks of your average divine spirit, is a vague constipated look.

It`s a movie about angels, so a certain degree of unreality is to be expected. This is a nice shiny world that really only shows the good side of people. You don`t expect these angels to be stalking any battlefields or crime scenes for lost souls. And to a degree the plot drives the characters, you see them making decisions that make little sense, especially Maggie`s extensive credulity. There were moments when I thought that I saw the actors actually considering the ridiculousness of the premise, or I could have been assigning my own reactions to them.

But despite this, there are positives to take from this film. The cinematography is gorgeous, the way that the angels (apparent escapees from the Matrix) congregate, look down from up on high, and appear to exist with the world oblivious to them is all splendidly, and effectively brought to life on the screen. There is an underlying message to the film, to savour every sensation, to revel in the minutiae of one`s existence, and to live every day to its fullest that is hard to fault. Finally, the script doctors really know their stuff when it comes to schmaltz, as regardless of the film`s shortcomings, I`d defy anyone to leave this film without a lump in their throat by the end of it.

City Of Angels is an old disc that has lasted the test of time. The film is by equal parts entertaining and annoying, and it`s worth every penny I paid for it.