In weiter Ferne, so nah! (1993)

 

 

 

A group of angels in the German capital look longingly upon the life of humans.

A typical Wenders product, one step down from Der Himmel über Berlin: beautiful cinematography and a few brilliant moments, but the tale is full of pretensions and indigestive sentimentality and the performances are variable (although Otto Sanders is excellent).

Halliwell*: "A bungled and often sentimental sequel to Wings of Desire which suddenly switches into a confused thriller about arms dealing; it does have some superlative moments, but not enough."

 Maltin**1/2: "The perfect Wenders cast (if not the perfect Wenders movie)...Lighter going than its predecessor, but also more lightweight; it's still a borderline ordeal in the beginning and final segments..."

 

 

One, Two, Three (1961)

In West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.

Wild and keen Cold War spoof is fast-paced, and its humor is keen, cynical and - accurate; the cast seems to be enjoying the madness.

Halliwell**: "Back to Ninotchka territory, but this time the tone is that of a wild farce which achieves fine momentum in stretches but also flags a lot in between, teetering the while on the edge of taste."

Maltin****: "Hilarious Wilder comedy...Cagney is a marvel to watch in this machine-gun-paced comedy..."

La fabuleuse aventure de Marco Polo (1965)

Young Marco Polo travels to China to help Kublai Khan fight against rebels, headed by his own son, with a new invention: gunpowder.

Entertaining and colorful, but wildy unhistorical Hollywood adevnture tale.

Halliwell (no star): "Curious mixture of melodrama and pantomime, with a star cast half playing for laughs."

Maltin**1/2: "Laighable mini-epic, extremely choppy, with episodic sequences pretending to recount events in life of medieval adventurer."

Die Halbstarken (1956)

The leader of criminal teenage gang finds himself torn between his own brother and his girlfriend.

Early (and influential) German movie about juvenile delinquents as forlorn rebels, amazingly realistic with a great cast of young actors, shot in original Berlin settings; it sill manages to compel even today.