City of Angels (film)
City of Angels is a 1998 American romantic fantasy film directed by Brad Silberling and starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan. Set in Los Angeles, California, the film is a loose remake of Wim Wenders's 1987 film Wings of Desire (Der Himmel über Berlin). As with the original, City of Angels tells the story of an angel (Cage) who falls in love with a mortal woman (Ryan), and wishes to become human to be with her. With the guidance of a man (Dennis Franz) who has already made the transition from immortality, the angel falls and begins the human experience.
Not to be confused with The Crow: City of Angels.
When producer Dawn Steel saw potential to pursue more story ideas in Wenders's original concept, she and her husband Charles Roven acquired the rights for an English-language adaptation. After years of delay, they found support from Warner Bros. and recruited Silberling and screenwriter Dana Stevens to execute the project. Themes were borrowed from Wenders's work, though the ending was altered, to a more tragic effect. City of Angels was filmed around California and dedicated to Steel, who died before the premiere.
The remake was released to financial success, but mixed reviews, with some critics judging it to be a mawkish adaptation. It was also noted for its soundtrack, and nominated for several awards, particularly for its performances and soundtrack.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
Director Brad Silberling praised Wim Wenders' 1987 Franco-German film Wings of Desire, calling it "truly the most incredible cinematic experience of observation of human detail".[12] Silberling, while acknowledging Wenders' film was meant as a tribute to West Berlin, remarked that it became "a larger human discussion".[12] In 1989, at the initiative of producer Dawn Steel,[13] her company reached out to Wenders to purchase the rights for an adaptation.[14] However, production was delayed, as Steel took the project to The Walt Disney Company and Turner Entertainment before finally settling at Warner Bros.[15] Silberling secured the position of director after his success with the 1995 film adaptation of Casper.[16]
While Steel's husband Charles Roven said she "felt that there was another movie in the idea for Wings of Desire", screenplay drafts by various authors dissatisfied her.[15] She subsequently selected Dana Stevens as screenwriter.[17] Stevens professed admiration for Wenders' original and believed she could "capture its essence", while reconsidering its nonlinear narrative. She also defended the California setting, saying "Los Angeles is metaphorically more representative of America than any other city ... It has every personality, and I like the idea of angels being among all these different ethnic cultures".[15]
Release[edit]
In test screenings, Silberling said the film had favorable reactions, though with some confused viewers.[13] City of Angels had its debut at Los Angeles' Mann Theatres on April 8, 1998. The screening was held to benefit the Dawn Steel Putting Girls in the Picture Fund, in honor of Steel, who died in December 1997. Silberling, Roven and the stars were in attendance.[21] The film's wider release in the United States took place during the weekend,[32] distributed by Warner Bros.[33]
Warner Home Video published a special edition DVD in December 1998.[34] In 2014, Warner Home Video released a Blu-ray in Region A, with audio commentary from Silberling, Roven and Stevens.[35]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
The film opened first in the box office, making $16.1 million in its opening weekend.[32] It displaced Lost in Space, which was first in the box office for one week, after overtaking Titanic, first for 15 weeks. Titanic ranked third behind City of Angels and Lost in Space.[36] City of Angels reached the $100 million mark by October 26, 1998.[37]
It finished its run after grossing $78,685,114 in North America and $120 million in other territories, for a total of nearly $200 million.[3] Writer Craig Detweiler concluded the remake drew more viewers than the original.[38]
Critical reception[edit]
Meg Ryan received positive reviews for her performance.
The film has a 58% score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 60 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site's consensus states: "City of Angels may not tug the heartstrings as effortlessly as it aims to, but the end results will still leave more than a few viewers in tears."[39] The film has a rating a 54 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 22 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[40]
Roger Ebert gave City of Angels three stars, saying Meg Ryan was at her best here, but the film was "more of a formula story" than the original Wings of Desire, and that many of its qualities were lifted from there.[41] In Variety, Emanuel Levy positively reviewed Cage as "endlessly resourceful" and Ryan as "terrifically engaging".[42] In The Christian Science Monitor, Jennifer Wolcott compared it to Ghost (1990) and Contact (1997) as a U.S. film that could explore religion and love, highlighting Maggie's realization that her life will continue after the death of her blood cells, and that love is more than "a chemical reaction".[43] Sun-Sentinel reviewer Roger Hurlburt praised the acting, direction and "profound" feelings, and advised readers, "don't forget the Kleenex".[44] Wenders was satisfied with the adaptation of his work, remarking, "It's done with respect, with a sense of discovery all its own".[15]
The New York Times's Stephen Holden wrote the standard romantic clichés were "sumptuously" displayed, Cage resembled a serial killer more than an angel, and he preferred Ryan.[33] David Denby wrote in New York that unlike Berlin, Los Angeles offers "the sunlit paradise" where people do not need convincing as to how nice life can be.[45] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C, with Owen Gleiberman describing it as "a hymn to sappiness".[46] CNN's Paul Clinton dismissed the remake as a "schmaltzy" and "vapid" version of Wings of Desire.[47] The Washington Post's Michael O'Sullivan dismissed it as "a mawkish debasement of its source material", asking "When will Hollywood learn to leave well enough alone?"[48] Michael Wilmington gave it two and a half stars in the Chicago Tribune, enjoying the appearance of the film but concluding it feels "forced and mechanically weepy".[17] Writing for Empire, William Thomas credited Silberling for "a fresh eye", but felt the film fell short in "philosophical claptrap".[49] Andrew Johnston writing in Time Out New York concluded: "In the final reel, what began as a philosophical study of death and longing becomes a blatant tearjerker, but even then the accumulated momentum sweeps you along. Mainstream films are seldom more lyrical."[50]
In 2012, Time included it in its Top ten On-Screen Depictions of Heaven list, for its portrayal of the "go toward the light" afterlife experience.[51] In his 2015 Movie Guide, Leonard Maltin gave it two and a half stars, judging it "still intriguing" though losing much of the atmosphere of the original.[52] That year, Indiewire, in reviewing remakes, called City of Angels "a sickly bastardization" of its source material, though remarking Wenders himself was unable to duplicate its success with his 1993 sequel, Faraway, So Close!.[53] In 2017, MSN included it in its 20 All-Time Worst Movie Remakes list, acknowledging it as a financial hit but "a schmaltzy tearjerker" compared to the poetry of the original.[54]
Accolades[edit]
City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture received nominations at the 41st Grammy Awards,[55] and the film received nominations and awards at ceremonies honoring cinema: