Angels in America 

Playwright Tony Kushner adapts his political epic about the AIDS crisis during the mid-1980s and centers the story around a group of separate but connected individuals.

Stars:

Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson

Won 5 Golden Globes. Another 57 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Al Pacino	...	Roy Cohn 7 episodes, 2003
Mary-Louise Parker	...	Harper Pitt 7 episodes, 2003
Jeffrey Wright	...	Mr. Lies / ... 7 episodes, 2003
Justin Kirk	...	Prior Walter / ... 7 episodes, 2003
Ben Shenkman	...	Louis Ironson 7 episodes, 2003
Meryl Streep	...	Hannah Pitt / ... 7 episodes, 2003
Patrick Wilson	...	Joe Pitt 6 episodes, 2003
Emma Thompson	...	Nurse Emily / ... 6 episodes, 2003
James Cromwell	...	Roy's Doctor 5 episodes, 2003
Brian Markinson	...	Martin Heller 5 episodes, 2003
Robin Weigert	...	Mormon Mother 4 episodes, 2003
Melissa Wilder	...	Louis's Sister 4 episodes, 2003
David Zayas	...	Super 4 episodes, 2003
Fatima Da Silva	...	Cousin Doris 4 episodes, 2003
Kevin 'Flotilla DeBarge' Joseph	...	Singer in Church 4 episodes, 2003
Sterling Brown	...	Orderly 4 episodes, 2003
Florence Kastriner	...	Louis' Mother 4 episodes, 2003
Lisa LeGuillou	...	Nurse 4 episodes, 2003
Howard Pinhasik	...	Louis' Father 4 episodes, 2003
Shawn Bartels	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Brian Dougherty	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Mary Esbjornson	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Barbara Fusco	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Serafina Martino	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Steven Edward Moore	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Christopher Schuman	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Reldalee Wagner	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 episodes, 2003
Matthew Yohn	...	Mennonite Choir Members 4 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 | Romance

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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:

Angels in America

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, 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

The miniseries script is based on two Broadway plays, "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" and "Angels in America: Perestroika" and both won the Tony Award for the Best Plays of 1993 and 1994 respectively. "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches" opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on May 4, 1993 and ran for 367 performances. "Angels in America: Perestroika," opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre on November 23, 1993 and ran for 217 performances. Both plays were written by by Tony Kushner who also wrote the scripts for the miniseries. Jeffrey Wright won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for "Angels in America: Perestroika" and recreated his roles in this TV production.

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Goofs

When Belize pulls Roy away from Joe in the hospital hallway, Roy's hand jumps from Joe's shirt to down at his side between shots.

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Quotes

Harper Pitt: Imagining, just like me. Except the only time I wasn't imagining is when I was with you. You, the one part of the real world that I wasn't allergic to.

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Crazy Credits

Person Generally in Charge of Everything Aaron Geller

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Connections

References I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982)

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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

Absolutely fantastic

I will clarify something from the start. I am a white, straight male who has little time for wishy washy liberal propaganda. But this film is not propaganda. It is an epic of a quality rarely seen on the big or small screen. The film plunges us into a captivating opening scene of a wisened old rabbi giving a funeral oration about a Jewish grandmother he had never met, and takes us on some diverse and often surreal paths throughout the next 6 hours or so. The grand themes of politics, religion and sex have the time to be dealt with in a sometimes serious, sometimes very funny manner, and the acting is a treat. Every scene with Al Pacino is a joy to watch, and in particular his one-on-one dialogues with the gay black nurse played by Jeffrey Wright are superb. People who think this film is gay propaganda or an attack on religion should probably get out more and stop being so paranoid.