Angels in America (2003)

Playwright Tony Kushner adapts his political epic about the AIDS crisis during the mid-eighties, around a group of separate but connected individuals.

Stars:

Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson

Won 5 Golden Globes. Another 53 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Al Pacino	...	Roy Cohn (2 episodes, 2003)
Meryl Streep	...	Ethel Rosenberg / ... (2 episodes, 2003)
Emma Thompson	...	Nurse Emily / ... (2 episodes, 2003)
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Harper Pitt (2 episodes, 2003)
Jeffrey Wright	...	Belize / ... (2 episodes, 2003)
Justin Kirk	...	Prior Walter / ... (2 episodes, 2003)
Ben Shenkman	...	Louis Ironson (2 episodes, 2003)
Patrick Wilson	...	Joe Pitt (2 episodes, 2003)
James Cromwell	...	Roy's Doctor (2 episodes, 2003)

Storyline

God has abandoned Heaven. It's 1985: the Reagans are in the White House and Death swings the scythe of AIDS. In Manhattan, Prior Walter tells Lou, his lover of four years, he's ill; Lou bolts. As disease and loneliness ravage Prior, guilt invades Lou. Joe Pitt, an attorney who is Mormon and Republican, is pushed by right-wing fixer Roy Cohn toward a job at the Justice Department. Both Pitt and Cohn are in the closet: Pitt out of shame and religious turmoil, Cohn to preserve his power and access. Pitt's wife Harper is strung out on Valium, aching to escape a sexless marriage. An angel invites Prior to be a prophet in death. Pitt's mother and Belize, a close friend, help Prior choose.

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Plot Keywords:

death | aids | loneliness | valium | heaven | 

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Taglines:

The messenger has arrived.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

HBO

Country:

USA Italy

Language:

English Hebrew Aramaic Yiddish French

Release Date:

7 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ameerika inglid

Filming Locations:

Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Avenue Pictures Productions, HBO Films, Panorama Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

352 min (6 parts)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Louis speaks to the Rabbi played by Meryl Streep after his grandmother's funeral, two of the rabbis also sitting on the cemetery bench are played by Tony Kushner (who wrote the play and screenplay) and children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, who collaborated on the book Brundibar with Kushner.

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Goofs

When Hannah is trying to hail a cab for Prior outside the Mormon Visitors' Center, the taxis that drive past them are from the 1980s but the clearly visible cabs in the background are from the 1990s/2000s.

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Quotes

Harper Pitt: I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks, you should die.

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Crazy Credits

Person Generally in Charge of Everything Aaron Geller

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Connections

Featured in 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004)

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Soundtracks

Shall We Gather At The River?
(hymn written in 1864)
Music and Lyrics by Robert Lowry (1826-1899)
Performed by Meryl Streep and choir

User Reviews

Amazing film of amazing play

It saddens me to read some of the negative reviews of this film adaptation of Kushner's brilliant Pulitzer and Tony-winning play. I guess some people simply can't see past their bigotry. (I find it revealing that most of the negative reviews appear to be written by people who clearly have no idea that Roy Cohn was a real person, and I bet they never heard of the Rosenberg's either.)

I was lucky enough to see the Broadway production of Angels with the original cast, and it was without question the highlight of my 25 years of theatre-going. While I prefer the stage version over the film (I usually do), Nichol's film does an outstanding job of capturing the brilliance of Kushner's script.

Personally, I believe that Pacino gives the performance of his career, and Streep is amazing in her three roles. The other performances are quite solid as well.

This film not only won a record 11 Emmys, taking the award for Outstanding Miniseries and all four acting trophies, it also won those same awards at the Golden Globe presentations plus four SAG acting awards. In short, it won practically every award it possibly could.

I often have my Theatre 101 students read this play. I now look forward to being able to show scenes from the film version as well.

Obviously, I recommend this film highly.