If we sold our souls to Reagan in the eighties, we are now in the late-nineties God-fearing wimps scrambling to take them back through weekly viewings of "Touched By An Angel" and bedtime fiction along the lines of The Celestine Prophecy. Ironically, the latest generation of children may grow up pious as hoped, but they'll likely walk around thinking Roma Downey more historically significant than, say, Mother Theresa, and that's not necessarily better than becoming a captalistic pig. Blessedly, City of Angels is less steeped in religious philosophies or even simplified spirituality than it is old-fashioned fuzzy-wuzziness; angels, according to this movie, make the greatest lovers. As a coda to the angel craze, it's an easy pill to swallow.

Nicolas Cage stars as Seth, an angel obsessed with healing the tormented Maggie Rice (Ryan), an L.A. cardiologist who recently lost a patient in the OR. She can see him and feel his touches, and she's almost instantly seduced by his dewy-eyed, hang-dog expression and poetic curiosity. (A typical exchange: Seth: "What does [a pear] taste like?" Maggie: "You don't know what a pear tastes like?" Seth: "I don't know what a pear tastes like to you.") He prods her for answers to such difficult questions as What is love? (If Haddaway didn't know, why would a blonde kewpie doctor?) She slowly comes to terms with his holiness, and he grapples with the same dilemma faced by Superman some seventeen years before: whether or not to give up his immortality so that he may experience her in a more human sense.

If Enya ever directed a movie, it might turn out a lot like City of Angels. Yet its New Age pop mysticism is often genuinely affecting. Thanks are due in part to Cage, delivering his frequently obvious dialogue with utmost sincerity. This subdued role couldn't have been a walk in the park for him, the Mad Hatter of modern actors. Australian John Seale's cinematography is equally compelling; at this writing, two days after my first viewing of City of Angels, there are dozens of images I can't get out of my head. So beautifully photographed is the ending scene (and the final shot, in particular) that the film, despite its innumerable weaknesses, leaves one haunted. Rarely does a Hollywood production looks this pretty. The level of pessimism found in City of Angels is also uncommon--I found the film's cleverly ironic climactic twist cruel and callous, if an artistic corner from which there is no escape.

Director Brad Silberling is not yet a great moviemaker. As he explains in his DVD commentary, the producers were not thrilled with the prospect of the Casper helmer wresting the reins of their Wings of Desire rehash. A just concern, say I. Silberling knows how to string shots together, but he shows no restraint when it comes to the music. Though he has stated his love of wordless scenes, he douses every last one of them here in a drippy score by Gabriel Yared. Many a sequence in City of Angels would have benefited from a soundtrack as quiet as the people on screen--Yared's music needlessly dictates our emotions. (I would've also appreciated a few more moments with powerhouse Andre Braugher, late of TV's "Homicide".)

The DVD Special Edition from Warner highlights the movie's best trait in a pristine 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that showcases Seale's breathtaking cinematography. Shot on high-speed stock, grain is surprisingly absent from the image. Contrast is perfect. Shimmering effects are minimal. I found myself freeze-framing this disc more than once; and how anyone could bear a pan-and-scan version is beyond me. (Warners opted not to include one on this disc.) The 5.1 soundtrack is fine, with few surround effects, save Yared's music and some impressive audio collages of people's spoken thoughts, which bombard you from every direction. Dialogue is a bit low--people speak softly in this movie.

Now, for the extras: this is one stacked disc. To start with, two feature-length commentaries. The first, by Silberling, is quite informative about the process, and he doles out credit to his collaborators at regular intervals. The second features screenwriter Dana Stevens and producer Charles Roven. There is much discussion between these two regarding Roven's late wife--and former Hollywood bigwig--Dawn Steel, who died of a brain tumor before City of Angels came out in theatres. The film was apparently Steel's pet project for years; Silberling, Stevens, and Rosen agree that Steel's spirit guided them through post-production. (The first tail-credit of the film is "For Dawn.")

On side two of the disc, Warners has included the rest of the special features:

-Select scenes with commentary by Seale or production designer Lilly Kilvert. Seale's discussion of the psychological differences between 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 is quite interesting.

-Deleted scenes that can be viewed with or without Silberling and editor Lynzee Klingman's commentary.

-A making-of featurette of poor video quality. (In this "doc," Cage, during his interviews, wears a "Tide Detergent" hat.)

-Quick clips from a VH-1 special; a shorn Peter Gabriel and toothy Alanis Morrissette (very) briefly discuss their respective contributions to the City of Angels soundtrack.

-U2 and Goo-Goo Dolls rock videos; these terrible songs are presented in 5.1, at least.

-a 5.1, 1.85:1 City of Angels trailer of poor video quality.

-another (more informative) featurette on City of Angels' subtle, elegant special effects work.

-Reel recommendation trailers; among them, Addicted to Love and The Bodyguard.

Finally, all of these goodies and not-so-goodies can be accessed via a delightful menu (clouds whiz by us, with stills from the film double-exposed over the sky; each sub-menu is set to a passage from Yared's score and similarly animated).

City of Angels is almost devoid of humour and hardly sublime, but aspects of it resonate. As someone who hasn't seen Wings of Desire, I brought no baggage to this remake. What I saw was a Hollywood film trying too hard, but that's not to say this angel tale should be dismissed without a glance. However much I'm loath to admit it, City of Angels inspired me to search for beauty, and it advises truthfully on our ultimate miserable fate as human beings.-Bill Chambers