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
- Al Pacino as Roy Cohn
- Meryl Streep as Hannah Pitt / Ethel Rosenberg / The Rabbi / The Angel Australia
- Patrick Wilson as Joe Pitt
- Mary-Louise Parker as Harper Pitt
- Emma Thompson as Nurse Emily / Homeless woman / The Angel America
- Justin Kirk as Prior Walter / Leatherman in park
- Jeffrey Wright as Mr. Lies / Norman "Belize" Arriaga / Homeless man / The Angel Europa
- Ben Shenkman as Louis Ironson / The Angel Oceania
- Brian Markinson as Martin Heller
- James Cromwell as Henry, Roy's doctor
- Michael Gambon as Prior Walter Ancestor No. 1
- Simon Callow as Prior Walter Ancestor No. 2
Soundtrack
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.Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result | |
2003 | National Board of Review Awards | Best Film Made for Cable TV | Angels in America | ||
2004 | - | - | - | - | - |
2004 | American Film Institute Awards | Top 10 TV Programs of the Year | Angels in America | ||
2004 | American Society of Cinematographers Awards | Movie of the Week or Pilot | Stephen Goldblatt | ||
2004 | ADG Excellence in Production Design Award | Television Movie or Mini-Series | Stuart Wurtzel - production designer; John Kasarda, Stefano Maria Ortolani - art directors; Hinju Kim, David Stein, Tom Warren - assistant art directors | ||
2004 | Broadcast Film Critics Awards | Best Picture Made for Television | Angels in America | ||
2004 | Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television | Mike Nichols | ||
2004 | GLAAD Media Awards | Best Miniseries or Film Made for TV | Angels in America | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Miniseries or Motion Picture – Television | Angels in America | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Al Pacino | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Meryl Streep | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Mary-Louise Parker | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Jeffrey Wright | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Ben Shenkman | ||
2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television | Patrick Wilson | ||
2004 | Humanitas Prize | 90 Minute or Longer Network or Syndicated Television | Tony Kushner | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Limited Series | Cary Brokaw and Mike Nichols, executive producers; Mike Haley, co-executive producer; Celia Costas, produced by | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Dramatic Special | Mike Nichols | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Dramatic Special | Tony Kushner | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Al Pacino | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Meryl Streep | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Emma Thompson | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Mary-Louise Parker | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Jeffrey Wright | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Justin Kirk | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Ben Shenkman | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Patrick Wilson | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Art Direction for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Special | Stuart Wurtzel, John Kasarda, George DeTitta Jr. | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or Television Movie | Stephen Goldblatt | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title Design | Randall Balsmeyer, J. John Corbett, Jim Rider, Amit Sethi | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Special | John Bloom and Antonia Van Drimmelen | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Television Movie | Lee Dichter, Ron Bochar and James Sabat | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Special | Juliet Taylor and Ellen Lewis | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Costumes for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Special | Ann Roth, Michelle Matland and Donna Maloney | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Makeup for a Limited Series, Television Movie or Special | J. Roy Helland, Joseph A. Campayno, John Caglione Jr., Kelly Gleason | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Limited Series or Television Movie | David Brian Brown, Jasen Joseph Sica and Angel De Angelis | ||
2004 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Limited Series or Television Movie | Richard Edlund, Ron Simonson, Liz Ralston, Stefano Trivelli, Don Greenberg, Lawrence Littleton, Michele Moen, Steven Kirshoff, Gregory Jein | ||
2004 | Producers Guild of America Awards | Visionary Award | Mike Nichols and Cary Brokaw | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Miniseries | Angels in America | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film | Al Pacino | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film | Meryl Streep | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Justin Kirk | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Patrick Wilson | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Jeffrey Wright | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Mary-Louise Parker | ||
2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Emma Thompson | ||
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Al Pacino | ||
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Justin Kirk | ||
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Jeffrey Wright | ||
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Meryl Streep | ||
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Mary-Louise Parker | ||
2004 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Emma Thompson | ||
2004 | TCA Awards | Program of the Year | Angels in America | ||
2004 | TCA Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials | Angels in America | ||
2004 | TCA Awards | Individual Achievement in Drama | Al Pacino | ||
2005 | Gracie Awards | Outstanding Entertainment Program - Drama Special | Angels in America | ||
2005 | Gracie Awards | Individual Achievement Award – Outstanding Female Lead in a Drama Special | Meryl Streep | ||
2005 | Grammy Awards | Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | Thomas Newman | ||
2005 | Producers Guild of America Awards | David L. Wolper Award for Outstanding Producer of Long-Form Television | Mike Nichols, Cary Brokaw, Celia D. Costas, Michael Haley | ||
2005 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Tony Kushner |