Anjos na América

I am by far the youngest to submit a comment about "Angels in America" and I must say that all the negative comments are ridiculous. I have never been so moved by a film since I watched "David and Lisa." The acting was superb and the script was beyond beautiful. I can not for the LIFE of me understand why people would be offended by the film. With all the homosexuality aside, the direction, cinematography, and writing has been the best that I have seen to EVER come out of HBO let alone a Miniseries. Why can't any of you who hated the movie so much step back and appreciate it for what it really is, a great piece of art.

"Angels in America" was inspiring, touching, and beautiful and I wish they made it longer!

There are films that are so good, so good, that are almost a miracle. That's the case of this extraordinary miniseries, "Angels in America", which proves that TV-movies don't have to be inferior, technically or artistically, to any other big production. It was good that Tony Kushner's adaptation of his Pulitzer-winning stage play was turned into a 6-hour miniseries, otherwise much of it would've been lost in a 2 and half hour movie.

"Angels in America" is a stunning epic about the AIDS crisis in 1985, around a group of people haunted by the disease. Kushner even included a real character, the hateful right-wing fixer Roy Cohn (Al Pacino - Cohn was also played by James Woods in another acclaimed TV-movie, "Citizen Cohn", in 1992). The 6 hours are always interesting, often sad, sometimes funny, never depressing. The ensemble cast is just wonderful and I couldn't pick one favourite - Justin Kirk (the real lead and the one who, sadly, got less awards, what's a shame by the way), Mary-Louise Parker, Meryl Streep, Pacino, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, Patrick Wilson, Ben Shenkman and James Cromwell. "Angels in America" is one unforgettable cinematic experience, everything that a film should be - films don't get better than this. It's hard to point out the "guilty", but let's give special credit to the veteran Mike Nichols ("Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", "The Graduate"), who made another modern masterpiece the following year: "Closer", based on a Patrick Marber's play. Since his debut in "Virginia Woolf", Nichols proved he could turn a play into a great film like no other. "Angels in America" is one of his finest works. Unmissable. 10 out of 10.

"This disease will be the end of many of us, but not nearly all. And the dead will be commemorated, and we'll struggle on with the living, and we are not going away. We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come".

Simply the best piece of American Cinema/Television I have ever seen!! Superb acting by the entire cast, fantastic and clever script, magnificently filmed, a pure joy from start to finish.

I am amazed how well such an excellent stage presentation has translated to film. This will become a classic. All of the awards that it has received are fully deserved.

It has captured the essence of what being gay was in the 80's with all its fears, problems and excitements. But it is more than just a gay document, it speaks of life generally in the 80's, of everyones fears and hopes in such an affluent time. The depiction so real (even in the surreal sequences) so insightful of that period.

Totally remarkable.

There was a statement that was going through my head while watching "Angels in America": I know what art is when I see it. Just like art, this ambitious miniseries dares the viewer to have an opinion on the various subjects brought up by screenwriter/playwright Tony Kuchner.

I saw the miniseries one chapter at a time, which may or may not have been a good idea to get the full impact of the point. At least it did motivate me to read both of Kuchner's "Angels" plays.

I found it to be both a frustrating and challenging miniseries. There were the great performances by Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Justin Kirk, and Jeffrey Wright and the good performances by Emma Thompson, Mary-Louise Parker, Patrick Wright and, in a small role, James Cromwell.

I find it rather humorous that some people thought Al Pacino was miscast as Roy Cohn. Though this is Kuchner's fictional view of Cohn and having seen the real Roy Cohn in television interviews, I though Pacino was not too far from the essence of who Cohn was: an ambitious but very bitter gay man in denial who helped his notable clients but was always out for himself. Cohn was rabid dog without a leash. This was Pacino's first television role and I though he did a great job. (Correction: Pacino's only television acting role prior to "Angels in America" and not including the edited version of "The Godfather Saga" was the short-lived but critically-acclaimed ABC drama "N.Y.P.D." (1967-69).

I did have a few problems with the mini-series. The role played by Ben Shenkman (Louis) was incredibly annoying. I heard that role is Tony Kuchner's alter ego. Louis redeems himself at the end but I found him to be a whiny, cowardly man who had difficulty counting his blessings. I loved it when after Louis' typically long diatribes, Belize (Jeffrey Wright) verbally put him down with a just a few words.

In both plays, many of the actors played multiple roles. It seems more of a gimmick on the small screen, though I think Streep and Wright fared best.

The always dependable Thomas Newman has fashioned a haunting musical score. It was minimalistic and very memorable. The theme has been on my mind ever since I first heard the theme when the miniseries won various awards at the Golden Globes. (Update: The miniseries received 21 Emmy nominations and won a record (for miniseries) 11 Emmys. For some mysterious reason, Newman's brilliant score was overlooked.)

I don't see this play adapted for the big screen without chopping a lot of things out. Congratulations to Mike Nichols and the cast and crew for taking a chance adapting "Angels in America" to television.

I saw a pre-screening of this and was trying to keep low expectations, due to all the surrounding hype. But it certainly lived up to all the acclaim, the expectations from such high-caliber actors, and the myriad of awards (Tony's, Pulitzer, etc.) that the play received.

HBO has once again backed/produced a breakthrough piece of entertainment, on the same level (and maybe above) The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Wit, et. al. But it would be nice for the public to able to see this on the big screen, as it has such grandeur at times.

I won't go into too much detail of the plot as it's still being aired, but do yourself a favor and check it out. And contrary to some reviews, it is still relevant. Not because things are still the same now as they were in 1985 in regards to politics and AIDS and homophobia (although in some ways they are), but because humans still still struggle with relationships, pain, disease, death, religion and hope. It would be like saying "Schindler's List" isn't relevant today because the Holocaust is over and Hitler is dead.

Take the time to view this one of the several times HBO runs it. Give yourself time to watch it distraction-free and enjoy!