Wings of Fame

1990

Action / Comedy / Drama / Fantasy

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 79%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 79% · 50 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 1140 1.1K

hotel afterlife revenge murder fame writer

Plot summary

A famous movie actor claims that he has written a book. As result, a real author, not a very well known writer, vengefully kills him but then dies as a result of an accident. Next, they both find themselves in after-life, where souls of all famous people are gathered.

Director

Otakar Votocek Photo
Otakar Votocek

Top cast

Colin Firth Photo
Colin Firth as Brian Smith
Walter Gotell Photo
Walter Gotell as Receptionist
Robert Stephens Photo
Robert Stephens as Merrick
Peter O'Toole Photo
Peter O'Toole as Cesar Valentin
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
1002.53 MB
1280*766
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 49 min
Seeds 1
1.82 GB
1792*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 49 min
Seeds ...

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by mikeatdt

Great, rarely seen movie

I was lucky enough to see this film at the Chicago Film Festival in the early 90s, and also to participate in a discussion after the screening with the director. I had not seen it again until today, broken up in 9 parts on YouTube. I remembered it vividly, though some 25 years have passed. A very clever philosophical comedy, beautifully shot with wonderful acting. It's a tragedy that this movie is so hard to find (especially considering Colin Firth's current popularity) and shocking that the director hasn't directed more than just one other feature and a short. I remember him telling us that most of the shots were improvised, not the acting of them, but the set ups and lighting, which is amazing considering how beautiful the movie is. It's really one of those "every shot looks like a painting" type films. The YouTube print actually does it justice, but I would love to get a DVD somehow. Anyway, however you can, see this movie. And someone hire this director again.
Reviewed by clanciai 9 / 10

An interesting allegory of the mortality and vanity of fame and the essence of immortality

The opening of the curtain for this very experimental and speculative film immediately reminds you of the great cinematography of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger and their masterpiece "A Matter of Life and Death". There is no war here, but the issue of death is omnipresent. The story is not quite clear, there is too much fantasy while the realism is not enough, as it gets muddled up in mysteries that never are explained. Whatever happened to doctor Frisch, for example? Bianca is adamant in believing that it is all fake, that death does not exist, and that they are all hospitalized in an asylum, but there is nothing wrong with her, so that aspect must be taken into account. It also reminds somewhat of Alain Resnais in his most enigmatic intricacies, while at least both Peter O'Toole and Colin Firth are quite convincing in their parts. It's an odd film like no other, and the mythological touch is very efficient and intriguing. It's all a kind of experimental fantasy and suggestion of an idea, that actually is more reasonable than it appears, especially when you enter an allegorical scrutiny and analysis. It is fascinating all the way, although you will have to bear with certain incomprehensible anomalies.
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