Angels in America (miniseries)


Angels in America is a 2003 American HBO miniseries directed by Mike Nichols and based on the Pulitzer-prize winning play of the same name by Tony Kushner. Set in 1985, the film revolves around six New Yorkers whose lives intersect. At its core, it is the fantastical story of Prior Walter, a gay man living with AIDS who is visited by an angel. The film explores a wide variety of themes, including Reagan era politics, the spreading AIDS epidemic, and a rapidly changing social and political climate.
HBO broadcast the film in various formats: two 3-hour chunks that correspond to Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, further divided into six 1-hour "chapters" that roughly correspond to an act or two of each of these plays; the first three chapters were initially broadcast on December 7, 2003, to international acclaim, with the final three chapters following.
Angels in America was the most-watched made-for-cable film in 2003, and earned much critical acclaim and numerous accolades: at the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards, it became the first program in Emmy history to win in every major eligible category, and won all four acting categories. It also won in all five eligible categories at the 61st Golden Globe Awards. In 2006, The Seattle Times listed the series among "Best of the filmed AIDS portrayals" on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of AIDS.

Plot

Millennium Approaches

It is 1985, Ronald Reagan is in the White House, and AIDS is causing mass death in the Americas. In Manhattan, Prior Walter tells Louis, his lover of four years, that he has AIDS; Louis, unable to handle it, leaves him. As disease and loneliness ravage Prior, guilt invades Louis. Joe Pitt, a Mormon and Republican attorney, is pushed by right-wing Roy Cohn toward a job at the US Department of Justice. Both Pitt and Cohn are in the closet: Pitt out of shame and religious turmoil, Cohn to preserve his power and image. Pitt's wife Harper is strung out on Valium, causing her to hallucinate constantly and she longs to escape from her sexless marriage. An angel with ulterior motives commands Prior to become a prophet.

Perestroika

Prior is helped in his decision by Joe's mother, Hannah, and Belize, a close friend and drag queen. Joe leaves his wife and goes to live with Louis, but the relationship does not work out because of ideological differences. Roy is diagnosed with AIDS early on, and as his life comes to a close, he is haunted by the ghost of Ethel Rosenberg. As the film continues, the lost souls come together to create bonds of love, loss, and loneliness and, in the end, discover forgiveness and overcome abandonment.

Cast

The of the series by Thomas Newman was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

Production

Cary Brokaw, executive producer of the series, worked for over ten years to bring the 1991 stage production to television, having first read it in 1989, before its first production. In 1993, Al Pacino committed to playing the role of Roy Cohn. In the meantime, a number of directors, including Robert Altman, were part of the project. Altman worked on the project in 1993 and 1994, before budget constraints forced him to move out, as few studios could risk producing two successive 150-minute movies at the cost of $40 million. Subsequently, Kushner tried squeezing the play into a feature film, at which he eventually failed, realizing there was "literally too much plot," and settling for the TV miniseries format. While Kushner continued adapting the play until the late 1990s, HBO Films stepped in as producer, allocating a budget of $60 million.
, where the heaven sequence was shot
Brokaw gave Mike Nichols the script while he was working with him on Wit starring Emma Thompson, who also co-adapted the play of the same title. The principal cast, including Meryl Streep, Pacino, and Thompson, having recently worked with Nichols, was immediately assembled by him. Though Ben Shenkman had previously portrayed Louis in the San Francisco A.C.T.'s production, Jeffrey Wright was the only original cast member to appear in the Broadway version, having won the 1994 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor for his stage performance. The shooting started in May 2002, and after a 137-day schedule, ended in January 2003. Filming was done primarily at Kaufman Astoria Studios, New York City, with important scenes at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. The Heaven sequence was shot at Hadrian's Villa, the Roman archaeological complex at Tivoli, Italy, dating early 2nd century.
Special effects in the series were by Richard Edlund, who created the two important Angel visitation sequences, as well as the opening sequence wherein the angel at the Bethesda Fountain opens its eyes in the end, signifying her "coming to life". Costumer Martin Izquierdo was hired to design functioning wings for Thompson's Angel.

Critical reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the series a 92% "Certified Fresh" rating based on 24 reviews, with an average rating of 9.5/10. The critical consensus reads "In Angels of America, writer Tony Kushner and director Mike Nichols imaginatively and artistically deliver heavy, vital subject matter, colorfully imparted by a stellar cast." The New York Times wrote that "Mike Nichols's television version is a work of art in itself." According to a Boston Globe review, "director Mike Nichols, and a magnificent cast led by Meryl Streep have pulled a spellbinding and revelatory TV movie out of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning work" and that he "managed to make "Angels in America" thrive onscreen..."

Awards and nominations

In 2004, Angels in America broke the record previously held by Roots for the most Emmys awarded to a miniseries in a single year by winning 11 awards from 21 nominations. 'Angels' alongside with television movie Eleanor and Franklin became one of the two most honored programs in television history. The record was broken four years later by John Adams at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards when it won 13 trophies from 23 nominations. Also miniseries became the first, and only, program to sweep every major category, going 7/7, in Emmy history. It also joined Caesar's Hour, in 1957, as the only series to win all four main acting categories in one night.
YearAwardCategoryNomineeResult
2003National Board of Review AwardsBest Film Made for Cable TVAngels in America
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2004American Film Institute AwardsTop 10 TV Programs of the YearAngels in America
2004American Society of Cinematographers AwardsMovie of the Week or Pilot Stephen Goldblatt
2004ADG Excellence in Production Design AwardTelevision Movie or Mini-SeriesStuart Wurtzel - production designer; John Kasarda, Stefano Maria Ortolani - art directors; Hinju Kim, David Stein, Tom Warren - assistant art directors
2004Broadcast Film Critics AwardsBest Picture Made for TelevisionAngels in America
2004Directors Guild of America AwardsOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for TelevisionMike Nichols
2004GLAAD Media AwardsBest Miniseries or Film Made for TVAngels in America
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Miniseries or Motion Picture – TelevisionAngels in America
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Actor – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionAl Pacino
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Actress – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionMeryl Streep
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionMary-Louise Parker
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionJeffrey Wright
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionBen Shenkman
2004Golden Globe AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for TelevisionPatrick Wilson
2004Humanitas Prize90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated TelevisionTony Kushner
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Limited SeriesCary Brokaw and Mike Nichols, executive producers; Mike Haley, co-executive producer; Celia Costas, produced by
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Dramatic SpecialMike Nichols
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Dramatic SpecialTony Kushner
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Television MovieAl Pacino
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television MovieMeryl Streep
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television MovieEmma Thompson
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Television MovieMary-Louise Parker
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television MovieJeffrey Wright
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television MovieJustin Kirk
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television MovieBen Shenkman
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television MoviePatrick Wilson
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Art Direction for a Limited Series, Television Movie or SpecialStuart Wurtzel, John Kasarda, George DeTitta Jr.
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Television MovieStephen Goldblatt
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Main Title DesignRandall Balsmeyer, J. John Corbett, Jim Rider, Amit Sethi
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series, Television Movie or SpecialJohn Bloom and Antonia Van Drimmelen
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Television MovieLee Dichter, Ron Bochar and James Sabat
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Television Movie or SpecialJuliet Taylor and Ellen Lewis
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Costumes for a Limited Series, Television Movie or SpecialAnn Roth, Michelle Matland and Donna Maloney
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Makeup for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Special J. Roy Helland, Joseph A. Campayno, John Caglione Jr., Kelly Gleason
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Television MovieDavid Brian Brown, Jasen Joseph Sica and Angel De Angelis
2004Primetime Emmy AwardsOutstanding Special Visual Effects for a Limited Series or Television MovieRichard Edlund, Ron Simonson, Liz Ralston, Stefano Trivelli, Don Greenberg, Lawrence Littleton, Michele Moen, Steven Kirshoff, Gregory Jein
2004Producers Guild of America AwardsVisionary AwardMike Nichols and Cary Brokaw
2004Satellite AwardsBest MiniseriesAngels in America
2004Satellite AwardsBest Actor – Miniseries or Television FilmAl Pacino
2004Satellite AwardsBest Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmMeryl Streep
2004Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmJustin Kirk
2004Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmPatrick Wilson
2004Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmJeffrey Wright
2004Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmMary-Louise Parker
2004Satellite AwardsBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmEmma Thompson
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Actor in a Miniseries or Television MovieAl Pacino
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Actor in a Miniseries or Television MovieJustin Kirk
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Actor in a Miniseries or Television MovieJeffrey Wright
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Actress in a Miniseries or Television MovieMeryl Streep
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Actress in a Miniseries or Television MovieMary-Louise Parker
2004Screen Actors Guild AwardsBest Actress in a Miniseries or Television MovieEmma Thompson
2004TCA AwardsProgram of the YearAngels in America
2004TCA AwardsOutstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and SpecialsAngels in America
2004TCA AwardsIndividual Achievement in DramaAl Pacino
2005Gracie AwardsOutstanding Entertainment Program - Drama SpecialAngels in America
2005Gracie AwardsIndividual Achievement Award – Outstanding Female Lead in a Drama SpecialMeryl Streep
2005Grammy AwardsBest Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual MediaThomas Newman
2005Producers Guild of America AwardsDavid L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form TelevisionMike Nichols, Cary Brokaw, Celia D. Costas, Michael Haley
2005Writers Guild of America AwardsTony Kushner