Angels in America is an embarrassment of riches. Adapted for the screen by Tony Kushner from his sprawling Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning two-part play, and directed by Mike Nichols (Wit, The Graduate), the six-hour HBO-aired miniseries stars Al Pacino as ferociously-in-the-closet gay right-wing lawyer Roy Cohn, Emma Thompson in a dual role as a compassionate nurse and an angelic (literally) messenger, and a virtuoso Meryl Streep in multiple roles, among them a gay man's empathetic mother, an elderly male rabbi, and the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. Equally impressive are Justin Kirk as Prior Walter, an AIDS patient touched by an angel, who proclaims him to be a prophet; Jeffrey Wright (who reprises his stage role) as an indomitable drag queen and nurse; Patrick Wilson as a secretly gay Mormon, and Mary-Louise Parker as his depressed, pill-popping wife. A panoramic, phantasmagoric gloss on Reagan-era America, circa 1985, this is one of 2004's most honored and acclaimed films (big screen or small), winning the Humanitas Prize, and a slew of Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy awards. Presented here in a handsomely packaged two-disc set (unfortunately extra-less), the heaven-sent Angels in America will be long savored for its outstanding performances, challenging ideas, blistering polemic, and soul-stirring humanity. Highly recommended. (D. Liebenson)
Angels in America
HBO, 2 discs, 352 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 Volume 19, Issue 6
Angels in America
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