DARK ANGELS, All Women Are Beautiful

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DARK ANGELS

Strong language and mature subject matter

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Dark Angels, movies, films,independent,religious,inspirational,spiritual,bible,church,abortion,blacks,African Americans,cinema,four horsemen of the apocalypse, rapture, book of revelation

"What David has done with DARK ANGELS is the most difficult path to take

because he's done it all himself from scratch. Not only did he write the script and
develop the characters, he's secured the financing, directed it, produced it, [etc].
To do something like that and pull it off takes tremendous tenacity."

Preston Holmes, Producer

Malcolm X, Hustle and Flow, New Jack City
The Atlanta Tribune, October 15, 1996

What is an art film?

Salt of the Earth

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DARK ANGELS

(1998) Feature-90 minutes
35mm - Color, Black and White
Hollywood Premiere: May 2, 1996
Directors Guild of America, The Executive Screening Room

Writer, Producer and Director: David Wadley
Cinematography: Edwin Myers
Editing: Kevin Lindstrom
Original Music: Damon Stout
Costume Design: Donna O'Neal
Casting: Barbara Clark

Starring: Je Nie Fleming, Aklam, Louis B. Murray, Roberto Gutierrez
Cheryl Reeves-Hayes, Anthony Johnson, Patrick Parker and John Burton, Jr.

DARK ANGELS Cast and Crew on YouTube

Je Nie Fleming (Law and Order), portrays Angela; a woman faced with the decision to have her baby or succumb to the wishes of her physically abusive husband, Demond, and get an abortion. For him, it's the fast track to money, power, drugs and sex, without any family responsibilities getting in his way. Divine intervention steps in as the mean streets of Atlanta become killing streets, where Angela and Demond find themselves on a downward spiral of self-destruction and hopelessness. But the will to survive is strong in Angela. She soon realizes that if she and her unborn child are to survive, she must find herself spiritually and then stand up to fight for what she believes in - no matter what the cost.

Shot entirely in Atlanta, Georgia on a limited budget, DARK ANGELS was completed over a five-year period, thanks to the perseverance of over 150 dedicated crew members and actors who worked for little or no salary.

Numerous Atlanta business owners and managers donated their facilities for set locations, staging areas and post-production services. The stark reality of Atlanta's gritty streets is captured on 35mm black and white film, juxtaposed against the warmer scenes of Angela's dreams photographed on vibrant color stock by veteran cinematographers, Edwin Myers (RoboCop 3, Miss Evers' Boys) and LeRoy Patton (Fame, Rosewood, School Daze). This is an effective storytelling technique inspired by the MGM classic THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). Like THE WIZARD OF OZ; actors play dual roles in the real world (black and white) and dream world (color) segments of the film.

The surreal setting of the film is augmented by the haunting classical orchestral soundtrack created by Emmy Award-winning composer, Damon Stout (Hardcover Mysteries, The Diviners), who conducted a 65-piece orchestra for his original composition, Theme from "Dark Angels." The film also benifited from the editing talents of Kevin Lindstrom (Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, What's Love Got To Do With It, The Five Heartbeats) and the detailed artistry of costume designer, Donna O'Neal (Public Enemies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, Planet of the Apes, L.A. Confidential).

Throughout Angela's dream sequences, character names hint at the story's subtext which was influenced by the Crusades of the Middle Ages. Charlemagne, whose foreign conquests and internal reforms helped define Western Europe between 760-813, has been redeveloped as an African American funeral director, Charles Maine, portrayed by veteran Baltimore stage actor, Louis B. Murray (The Corner, Homicide). Maine operates a family-owned, funeral home in a modern day, inner city neighborhood. His able assistant and sidekick, Rodrigo Bivar, is played by one of Hollywood's top stunt coordinators, Roberto Gutierrez (The Last Airbender, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), in his first screen role. Mr. Gutierrez is a martial artist extraordinaire whose character in the film is named after Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar - El Cid, the military general that altered the course of European military history between 1087-1099. The names of Angela and Demond (angel and demon), and other character's names such as Grace, Pope, Saxon, Lombard, Rahman, Tassilo and Dante add to the film's Crusades related theme.

In the opening of Angela's dream segments, Maine has had enough of the senseless drug related violence which has plagued his neighborhood for far too long. Angela's dreams culminate with the wrath of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, from the Book of Revelation, who provide an ominous climax during the film's final moments. Inside the world of DARK ANGELS, there are no decisive winners in a war waged between arrogant heroes and ambitious villains. The only real superhero is God.

DARK ANGELS was released and distributed in the United States by Maverick Entertainment in 1998. The film's spiritual theme translated well to the international film market, opening DARK ANGELS up to distribution in Russia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and South America.