Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month

Wings of Desire
In director Wim Wenders' (Paris, Texas) most metaphysical work, a guardian angel desires nothing more than to be human. Presented in a stunning new restoration.
Director: Wim Wenders
Overview
Every day, Damiel (Bruno Ganz; The American Friend, Downfall) listens to the thoughts of mortals who play their lives out on the streets of West Berlin. He finds himself entranced by a trapeze artist (Solveig Dommartin, Until the End of the World) whose eloquent expression of her doubts and fears makes him yearn for a life where he can feel happiness and love.
As with A Matter of Life and Death, the afterlife here is a world in monochrome. Only the living can see in full colour and it is their lives, with their moments of sorrow and joy, that Wim Wenders captures so eloquently in this singularly poetic film co-written with Peter Handke (The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick, Wrong Move). Winner of the Best Director prize at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, Wings of Desire is both a paean to Germany's capital and a vital rumination on human existence itself. Wenders' masterwork is now presented in a stunning new restoration.
Related

New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.

The Balconettes The Balconettes
Comedy 2024 104 mins Director: Noémie Merlant
Co-written with Céline Sciamma, Noémie Merlant’s bright and bold film follows three friends as they try to dispose of the body of an abuser they’ve accidentally killed.

The Saragossa Manuscript The Saragossa Manuscript
Fantasy 1965 183 mins Director: Wojciech Jerzy Has
During the Napoleonic wars, a soldier discovers a strange manuscript that reveals endless stories-within-stories. Wojciech Has' opus is a major cult film of the 60s, revered by Luis Buñuel, David Lynch and Jerry Garcia.

The Hourglass Sanatorium The Hourglass Sanatorium
Fantasy 1973 119 mins Director: Wojciech Jerzy Has
The first screen adaptation of Bruno Schulz’s novella is an opulently strange trip through a Polish-Jewish looking-glass.

Leonor Will Never Die Leonor Will Never Die
Drama 2022 99 mins Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar
As she lays in a coma, Leonor becomes the hero of her own story in this gleeful celebration of pulpy Filipino action films.

Night Tide Night Tide
Fantasy 1961 85 mins Director: Curtis Harrington
A young Dennis Hopper is on shore leave from the Navy when he falls for a mysterious woman who performs as a mermaid, in this intoxicating cult classic from underground filmmaker Curtis Harrington.

The Machine that Kills Bad People The Machine that Kills Bad People
Comedy 1952 84 mins Director: Roberto Rossellini and Luciano Emmer
Roberto Rossellini's film about a photographer who is given the power to rid the Earth of 'evil-doers'.

The Tempest The Tempest
Drama 1980 96 mins Director: Derek Jarman
Derek Jarman’s brooding and darkly symbolic third feature is considered by some to be the most evocative Shakespeare adaptation ever to reach the screen.

Black Orpheus Black Orpheus
Romance 1959 107 mins Director: Marcel Camus
Academy Award and Palme d'Or-winning adaption of the Orpheus myth, incorporating the music, costume and dance of Brazil’s Rio Festival.

La Ronde La Ronde
Drama 1950 89 mins Director: Max Ophuls
Ophuls’ exquisite, imaginative adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s play about a carousel of erotic encounters involving characters of different social status.

French Cancan French Cancan
Period drama 1955 104 mins Director: Jean Renoir
Based on the story of Moulin Rouge founder Charles Zidler, Jean Renoir’s tale of an impresario’s commitment to his art is a masterpiece of Technicolor brilliance.

Nosferatu the Vampyre Nosferatu the Vampyre
Horror 1979 107 mins Director: Werner Herzog
English language version of Herzog’s stimulating take on the Dracula story starring Klaus Kinski, with echoes of Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu.

Anselm Anselm
Biopic 2023 94 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders' stately and beautifully scored study of Anselm Kiefer.

Paris, Texas Paris, Texas
Drama 1984 145 mins Director: Wim Wenders
The late, great Harry Dean Stanton's finest role came as the near-mute Travis, on a journey across America to reunite his family, in Wim Wenders' moving tale of loss and redemption.

On Falling On Falling
Drama 2025 101 mins Director: Laura Carreira
The importance of human connection lies at the heart of this powerful, nuanced portrait of a young Portuguese warehouse employee in Scotland.

The Balconettes The Balconettes
Comedy 2024 104 mins Director: Noémie Merlant
Co-written with Céline Sciamma, Noémie Merlant’s bright and bold film follows three friends as they try to dispose of the body of an abuser they’ve accidentally killed.

Barking Dogs Never Bite Barking Dogs Never Bite
Comedy 2000 111 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
A professor takes drastic action to silence a barking dog in this superb debut feature from Bong Joon-ho, the Oscar-winning director of Parasite.

Memories of Murder Memories of Murder
Detective drama 2003 131 mins Director: Bong Joon-ho
A pair of detectives clash trying to solve the brutal murder of two women, in Bong Joon-ho’s masterful blend of true crime and dark social satire.

The Saragossa Manuscript The Saragossa Manuscript
Fantasy 1965 183 mins Director: Wojciech Jerzy Has
During the Napoleonic wars, a soldier discovers a strange manuscript that reveals endless stories-within-stories. Wojciech Has' opus is a major cult film of the 60s, revered by Luis Buñuel, David Lynch and Jerry Garcia.

The Noose The Noose
Drama 1958 98 mins Director: Wojciech Jerzy Has
Wojciech Has’ dazzling feature debut, a bleak, mordantly funny, all too human portrait of an alcoholic.