The 20 best movies about angels

Though Paul Hogan is best known for appearing in the Crocodile Dundee films (in which he played the main character), he also appeared in a number of other movies, including the charming Almost an Angel. In the film, he portrays Terry Dean, a small-time thief who becomes an angel in training after he impulsively sacrifices his life to save that of a boy. It’s not quite as funny as the Crocodile Dundee movies, but it is nevertheless quite sweet in that way of early 1990s family films, and Hogan is as undeniably charming as he was in his earlier ventures. 

Like many other angel movies, Heaven Can Wait is a remake of an earlier film, Here Comes Mr. Jordan. This version stars Warren Beatty as a football player who is accidentally taken to heaven by his guardian angel, wherein complications ensue once it’s revealed that his remains have already been cremated. Even more hijinks ensue once he is put in the body of a wealthy man who his wife almost murdered. Warren Beatty exudes his usual major movie star appeal, and the film neatly captures the ethos of the screwball comedies to which it is definitely an homage.

Steven Spielberg has always had an eye for sentimental stories, and they don’t come much more sentimental than Always, a remake of 1943’s A Guy Named Joe. In this version, an aerial firefighter named Pete Sandich (played by Richard Dreyfuss) dies in a crash, only to become an angel sent back to guide pilots on Earth, one of whom falls in love with his own former girlfriend, Dorinda (played by an always-great Holly Hunter). The movie definitely has its moments where it veers a bit into pure sentiment, but there’s still a genuine heart to it that makes it just as appealing as the earlier version of the story.

A Life Less Ordinary is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to its cast, which includes Ewan McGregor, Cameron Diaz, Holly Hunter, Ian Holm, and Stanley Tucci. And, with Danny Boyle at the helm, one knows the film will be stylish. It’s also a bit of a strange film, focusing on a pair of angels who come to Earth to forge a romance between a kidnapper and his hostage. While its black comedy tone might not be to everyone’s liking, there’s more than enough chemistry between McGregor and Diaz to make it more than worth a watch.

While angels are typically seen as forces for good, they have been known to appear in several horror films, one of the most notable of which is 2016’s A Dark Song. The heart of the story is Catherine Walker’s Sophia Howard, who wishes to connect with her guardian angel so that she can get revenge on the person who killed her son. Though the angelic presence only appears at the very end of the film, it’s still quite a moment, and Sophia’s yearning for vengeance — and the terrible lengths to which she will go to attain it — grounds the movie’s more fantastical elements. 

There are many reasons to watch Fallen,  the 1998 film about a detective who investigates a series of murders only to find himself facing a malevolent fallen angel who can possess human bodies simply through touch. One of the most important is Denzel Washington, who portrays Detective John Hobbes. It was a bit of a misfire with critics but has held up remarkably well. Washington gives a committed performance, and the film skillfully blends its horror and action elements. It’s also quite stacked in the supporting cast department, and John Goodman, Donald Sutherland, and James Gandolfini all make appearances.

Faraway, So Close! is a sequel to Wings of Desire, and it once again focuses on an angel who chooses to become human. In this case, the angel in question is Cassiel, who unexpectedly becomes a human being when he saves a girl from falling to her death. However, unlike his compatriot Damiel (the main character of the previous film), Cassiel’s experience of humanity is much more sinister, exposing the darker and more troubling aspects of human life and existence. It’s far messier and more complicated than the first film, but this is what grants it its unique philosophical charm.

The original Angels in the Outfield, released in 1951, differs greatly from its 1990s remake. In this version, much of the action focuses on the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who begins to change his abusive ways after hearing an angel's voice. Though it lacks some of the emotional weight of its successor, it's still a very funny film from classic Hollywood. Paul Douglas gives an appealing performance as Guffy McGovern, the foul-mouthed manager, while a young Janet Leigh is likewise quite charming and lovely as Jennifer Paige, the newspaper writer who frequently locks horns with him.

The Prophecy is, in many ways, peak 1990s supernatural cinema, focusing on a brewing conflict between angels and demons and the human who gets caught up in the conflict. It features a number of notable performances, particularly from Christopher Walken, who plays the Archangel Gabriel. The story takes some twists and turns, not all of which land quite as effectively as they might, but it’s still a pleasure to watch Walken in all of his scenery-chewing glory, particularly when he’s joined by the likes of Viggo Mortensen, who plays none other than Lucifer himself. It’s a bold and risky film, and it’s easy to see why it eventually became a cult classic. 

The idea of an angel falling in love with a human has excited several generations of artists and filmmakers, and Wings of Desire is one of the best such films. It features a remarkable and emotionally textured performance from the late Bruno Ganz, one of the most talented German actors of his generation. As much as it is about Ganz’s Damiel and his longing for a human woman, it is also about what it means to be human, and how the senses remain key to how people make sense of the world and their place in it.

Years before the MCU would make superhero films an annual occurrence and Keanu Reeves would enter into a renaissance of his career, Reeves starred in a superhero film called Constantine. He, of course, plays the title character, who gets steadily drawn into a conflict between various forces, both angelic and demonic. This is Reeves at his very best, and he is channeling some of the same energy that made his Neo (of The Matrix) such a compelling hero. What’s more, the film makes skilled use of a noir sensibility to bring this remarkable comic book character to life on the screen.

The late Nora Ephron was one of the undisrupted masters of Hollywood romance. In Michael,  she turned her attention to the figure of one of heaven’s most famous and powerful residents. In this case, Michael is played by the one and only John Travolta, who brings his usual charm and charisma to the role, an angel whose job is to essentially bring humans together in love. The plot is undeniably quite contrived, and there are several points that really strain even the most credulous viewer. Still, there’s something undeniably pleasant about his piece of silly 1990s filmmaking.

The Bishop’s Wife got a late 20th-century update with 1996’s The Preacher’s Wife, with Denzel Washington stepping into the role of the angel Dudley and Whitney Houston taking on the role of  Julia Coleman Biggs, the wife of clergyman Reverend Henry Biggs (portrayed by Courtney B. Vance). As with the earlier version of the film, the chemistry between the angel and the title character sometimes tends to disrupt the supposed purpose of the film, which is the reconciliation of the husband and wife. Nevertheless, the film is still an unalloyed pleasure, and as a bonus, it includes some of Houston’s top-notch vocals.

The Archangel Michael, played by Paul Bettany, is the centerpiece of Legion, in which the powerful archangel goes rogue to save humanity from a God determined to bring about their extinction. While the film might not have gotten much critical love during its initial run, it’s still a fascinating relic of that period when Hollywood was seemingly obsessed with creating movies that depicted the angelic end of the world. The plot can sometimes be a bit convoluted, but Bettany gives such a committed performance of a rough-around-the-edges angel that one can’t help but get caught up in the apocalyptic action.

The 1990s was a fascinating decade for Disney, which not only produced giant animated productions but also continued its tradition of feel-good family entertainment. Angels in the Outfield  produced a perfect piece of ‘90s sentimentality, in which a group of angels intervene to help the California Angels win so that a young boy’s family can be complete again. It’s a cute and fun film that never takes itself too seriously. In addition to being funny and touching, it also features a number of great performances from the likes of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Danny Glover, Christopher Lloyd, and Tony Danza.

If there were one director of old Hollywood who seemed to have his fingers on the pulse of small-town American life, it would be Frank Capra. In It’s a Wonderful Life, he drew attention to the fictional town of Bedford Falls and the key role James Stewart’s George Bailey plays in its survival. While George is the emotional heart of the story, his voyage out of depression and into redemption wouldn’t be possible without the timely intervention of the kind angel Clarence, who helps him realize just how important he has been to his family and the town.

It’s hard to imagine a more perfectly matched cast than the central trio of The Bishop’s Wife, which starred Cary Grant, David Niven, and Loretta Young. Grant is his usual dapper and charming self as the angel Dudley, who comes to Earth to show David Niven’s Bishop Henry Brougham how much he has been neglecting his wife, Loretta Young’s Julia. Though it is the perfect movie for the Christmas season — as most of the action takes place during the holiday season — it also makes for fun viewing throughout the year, particularly for those who love a good old-fashioned Hollywood love story.

The neo-noir experienced one of its periodic moments of resurgence in the 1980s, and this revival produced several notable and adventurous films, one of which was Angel Heart.  In the film, Mickey Rourke stars as Harry Angel, a private investigator who, in typical noir fashion, soon finds himself in over his head as his efforts to locate a singer become ever more complicated, particularly since Satan himself is involved. Though the plot can, at times, be a bit difficult to keep straight, the film still captures the sinister and pulpy atmosphere of noir, and the inclusion of the devil — arguably the most famous angel of all — gives it that little extra something that helps it to stand out from the crowd. 

Kevin James has repeatedly shown himself to be one of those directors with a unique sense of humor. In Dogma,  which he wrote and directed, he tells the story of two angels, their efforts to return to Heaven (endangering creation in the process), and the group of humans and angels who band together to thwart their plans. It’s a satire of much of received religion, but it’s also a fascinating rumination on the nature of both human and divine existence. What’s more, it boasts an extraordinary cast that includes the likes of Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Alan Rickman, and, of course, Alanis Morissette as God.

It would have been very easy for a film like City of Angels, which focuses on an angel who gives up his immortality because of his love of a human, to veer into schmaltz and trite melodrama. However, thanks to committed performances from Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, it becomes something quite touching and tragically romantic. Also worth noting is the presence of the Goo Goo Dolls song Iris on the soundtrack, which perfectly captured the film’s themes of romantic longing from a distance. City of Angels is the type of film that could only have been made in the 1990s, and it is as heartfelt as it is emotionally devastating.