Angels in the Movies

'Heaven Is for Real' is a dramatization of a young boy's near-death experience, which allegedly included interactions with angels. These celestial beings have appeared in loads of Hollywood movies. Here are some of our favorites.

A young Joseph Gordon-Levitt prays for his favorite baseball team, the California Angels, to win the pennant. Years later, he prays to be a successful actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. Prayers answered!

In this forgotten '80s gem, rebellious Bobby (Lewis Smith) dies in a car wreck and comes back as a black leather-wearing guardian angel – because white is so out of season.

Brad Pitt plays a different kind of angel: the Angel of Death. Some say the tanned and blonde Pitt was miscast. We say even the Grim Reaper deserves a makeover once in a while.

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are fallen angels in Kevin Smith's foul-mouthed satire. Alanis Morissette cameos as God, which she pretty much was in the nineties.

Nicolas Cage's angel falls in love with the adorable Meg Ryan. No man was immune to her cuteness in the nineties. This was a remake of the 1987 German art house hit Wings of Desire.

In this apocalyptic supernatural action flick, the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) falls to Earth and cuts off his wings. Wonder if he also ripped off his halo and hurled it aside.

Another story about the Archangel Michael, only this one's a comedy by Nora Ephron, starring John Travolta as perhaps the only angel to ever wear overalls.

A guardian angel (Henry Travers) shows George Bailey (James Stewart) what the world would be like if he never existed – and a Christmas classic is born.

The Archangel Gabriel, played by Christopher Walken, walks the Earth in search of an evil soul. Not spooked yet? There's also demonic possession, an excorcism, and Lucifer himself.

Keanu Reeves goes to hell and back in this thriller, and all he gets is a lousy T-shirt. Based on the Hellblazer comic books.

Whitney Houston is charmed by the heaven-sent Denzel Washington – who, especially at the time, many would indeed consider to be God's Gift to Women.

Jane Fonda stars in this swinging sixties campfest starring John Philip Law as a blind angel in a white loincloth.

We bet you've never heard of this box office bomb, starring comedian Jack Benny as a man who dreams he is an archangel and trumpet player in Heaven’s orchestra.

Okay, so they aren't technically angels, but seriously: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu? You can't get any more heavenly than that.