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Angels in America
Actors: Brian Markinson, James Cromwell, Melissa Wilder, Fatima Da Silva, and Florence Kastriner
Rated: Unrated
Retail Price (not our price): $19.98
Release Date: 2004-09-14
Theatrical Release Date: 2003-12-07
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Run Time: 352 minutes
Format: Array
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Discs: 2


Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
Tony Kushner's prize-winning play Angels in America became the defining theatrical event of the 1990s, an astonishing mix of philosophy, politics, and vibrant gay soap opera that summed up the Reagan era for an entire generation of theater-goers. Post-9/11 would seem to be too late for a film version--philosophy and politics don't always age well--but this 2003 HBO adaptation, ably directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate), provides a time capsule of the '80s and reveals the deep emotional subcurrents that will give the play lasting power. The story centers around Prior Walter (Justin Kirk) and Louis Ironson (Ben Shenkman), a gay couple that falls apart when Prior grows ill as a result of AIDS. But cancer is not the only thing invading Prior's life: He begins to have religious visions of an angel (Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility) announcing that he is a prophet. Louis, who doesn't cope well with disease and suggestions of mortality, leaves and starts a relationship with Joe Pitt (Patrick Wilson), a closeted Mormon who works for Roy Cohn (Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon)--the real-life right-wing lawyer, notorious for his ruthless behind-the-scenes machinations. Add in Joe's depressed and hallucinating wife Harper (Mary Louise Parker, Fried Green Tomatoes), his determined but open-minded mother Hannah (Meryl Streep, Adaptation), a fierce drag queen/nurse named Belize (Jeffrey Wright, Basquiat, reprising his celebrated performance from the Broadway production), and you've still only begun to discover the wealth of characters and storylines in Kushner's ambitious work. The powerhouse cast (also featuring James Cromwell, Michael Gambon, and Simon Callow) is uniformly superb. The script has its weaknesses--some of the fantastic elements, including Prior's journey to Heaven towards the end, fall flat--but even what doesn't work is bristling with ideas and a ferocious desire to capture human existence in this time and place. --Bret Fetzer

2) Description
Academy Award-winners Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson lead an all-star cast in a 6-hour HBO Films Event. Directed by Mike Nichols and written by Tony Kushner based on his Pulitzer Prize-winning play: Angels in America.

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5

1) Brilliant Writing and Acting   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I am an artist and writer and I believe this is one of the most important, brilliant movies of the decade. It is smart and funny. Sad and inspiring. One for the library.

2) Al in rare form   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
A tour de force performance by most who appear, but esp. by Al who plays a vulnerable character, a new role for him. Full of passion and perfection, I bought it to add to my PACINO collection and am pleased it's as entertaining as it's intended to be.

3) Well Performed , but just Lack of Attraction!   [Rating: 3 out of 5]
All the actors and actresses no doubtfully well performed in this TV show, but it is just lack of that certain attraction to drag me watching it till the end. Maybe if this short TV show was convert into a regular 1.5-2 hours film, the result could have turned out better?

4) Political crying game   [Rating: 1 out of 5]
Stupid pointless movie unless your intent is to punish the Reagan white house for causing aids. We all know that Reagan and the Right wing were responsible and It couldn't have been anyones personal behavior right? All opinions about the subject aside. The movie was choppy and boring most of the time unless you have a fascination with aids and death. They really didn't need the angel.

5) garbage   [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I don't object to the content. I don't have any problem with Aids, other than losing a lot of friends to it and wishing it would go away. I just think this is a bad play. Bad, as in poorly written. I know it isn't politically correct to critisize books or movies or tv shows about Aids. And that means we're subjected to a lot of bad literature. This play/movie is awful.