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Angels In America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes
by Tony Kushner
1993
For some silly reason, my library does not have the second part of this two part play. They do, however, have the both discs of the made-for-HBO mini-series, so I’ve at least been able to see all of the screen version.
Some observations:
- The mini-series is about 6 hours long, but the play (when both parts are produced together) has a total runtime of about 7 hours. WHAT IS IN THAT EXTRA HOUR THAT WAS CUT OUT FOR THE MOVIE? I’ll never know, I guess, because I couldn’t read that second part. I bet it was really good, too.
- I think I started crying about six minutes in to the first episode. It’s that kind of situation.
- It’s also incredibly moving, hopeful, and beautiful, so, you know, I kept watching. Note: keep tissues nearby. Like two or three boxes.
- Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, that lady from Weeds, that guy from Weeds (and some other people) star, which if you discount the Weeds folks is basically my dream cast for anything, and even the Weeds folks are really good.
- Mike Nichols directed! MIKE NICHOLS. This is a very big deal. To me.
Reasons You Should Spend At Least Six Hours of Your Life Watching This
- Al Pacino
- Meryl Streep
- Emma Thompson
- It will make you cry
- It will make you laugh
- The play won a Pulitzer, if you’re into that kind of thing
- It’s a movie about gay men with AIDS in the 80s that doesn’t rely on stereotypes or one dimensional characters
- Because I am reduced to humor and poor-list making because trying to detail all the complex emotions this play/mini-series stirred in me didn’t work out so well
This post is part of Erin of Erin Reads Reading Buddies Project. She and Emily of Eat the Books posted much better reviews today, which I highly recommend you check out.
Yikes, this sounds awful emotional. Love the review format though, some good reasons to watch it there!
It’s emotional but in a really cathartic, beautiful way. And there is lots of hope and joy and good friendships, too.
Pingback: Thoughts on “Angels in America” by Tony Kushner | Erin Reads
I love your list format! I found Angels in America to be really hard to talk about in a concise way. I wanted to keep writing and writing. Thank you for recommending it to me and then getting me to prioritize it!
The first part of the HBO version stuck to the play more closely than the second. The second was fairly true, but they did cut out and change a few more things. I think it worked fine as HBO did it–they didn’t cut out anything I thought was vitally important–but I can definitely see where the play would run longer.
Thanks Erin! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know about the play v. the mini-series; I can’t believe the library only has one part of the play! So strange.
I enjoyed your “Reasons You Should Spend Six Hours of Your Life…”
Thanks William!
I am so with you on the not actually being able to express my emotions for this play- I wrote a rambling, embarrassingly long review of it that didn’t even say a tenth of what I felt. I think your succinct list was probably a much better idea! I love the miniseries so much, and the people from Weeds really are pretty good, non? hehe
I watched this shortly after my uncle passed away from AIDS and … well, yeah, a few boxes of tissues were absolutely needed. It still resonates all these years later. Love this miniseries so very much.
Oh, boy, Melissa. I hear ya. I have a close relative who is HIV positive and I think that definitely contributed to my incredible crying process during the whole mini-series.
Haha, thanks Laura! I only liked the first couple of episodes of Weeds (although I watched entire seasons) so I was very impressed by the Weeds-folks performances in the mini-series.
I watched this movie on HBO when it originally aired. I had no idea what it was about – hadn’t seen the play. I’m a Meryl fan, what can I say? I was FLOORED by this move. I remember telling everyone to turn on their TVs and watch this show… I’m afraid most didn’t. They missed out on such an incredible experience… the acting — impeccable (SO incredible), the story, the humanity, the sets (how they get that done on a stage, I have no idea). Love, love, love this story. It’s beautiful and so worth watching (and watching again, which I did last year).
Funny thing, Weeds hadn’t come out when this aired on HBO, so when I started watching Weeds I had the opposite reaction to you, I was like, “Wait… are those the Angels in America people?”
Watching it in that order probably would have helped me like the uncle guy on Weeds a lot more!
I remember watching this when it aired on TV over here. It was a while ago though, I think I was a lot younger. I did remember loving it. And being extremely moved by it. I would like to rewatch this (and possibly read the play?) now, because I expect that the age difference will enable me to understand it better? Or maybe I underestimate my younger self..
You should definitely try rewatching it, Iris! It holds up really well.