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"A profound once-
in-a-lifetime
viewing privilege."
"The cinematic art
form at the pinnacle
of excellence."
'Angels in America', Tony Kushner's play, produced in the early to mid 90's, is both a damning indictment on the lack of response to the early AIDS crisis, to a celebration of those who survive and continue to live with the disease.
It's a brilliant work that is not easily understood, but upon several viewings, and even readings of the play, allows the layers and filters of this incredible drama to infuse itself into your own psyche, and by merely watching it, you are changed. Angels quite possibly is the quintessential drama ever produced.
The script is poetic, much like Shakespeare in beauty, fluidity, and emotional penetration. Therefore the viewer should not expect realistic naturalistic dialogue.
The stage is often more suited for the poetic than is the screen, but Mike Nichols stayed true to the message and kept the beautiful dialogue as originally written and the jaw-dropping film adaptation of Tony Kushner's epic, 5-hour play, is a defining artistic statement documenting the political and social upheaval that AIDS-HIV disease brought to America's gay community and to the wider America around it.
Mixing agitprop and camp with magical realism and utter, heart-rending, pathos, tragedy, and ultimately, the triumph of the human spirit over desperation and resignation.
Kushner and director Mike Nichols bring the story to the screen in a big, big way, with all-around amazing performances by a perfectly cast ensemble.
The musical score matches the high levels of word and vision.
Al Pacino gets to chew up yards of scenery in his portrayal of the sleazy, venal, far-right wing attorney Roy Cohn (who acted as Joe McCarthy's point man in the infamous 1950s prosecution of "atom spies" Julius and Ethel Rosenberg) and for once, all of Pacino's high-decibel yelling pays off with some real dramatic ooompf.
There are a lot of things that you could comment on in this play -- the exploration of Jewish-American assimilation, the powerful reaffirmation of a supposedly marginalized leftist perspective, etc. -- but the most profound insight Kushner has to offer is about who the real redeeming angels will have to be in our nation's coming cultural reconciliation.
The humanity that he is able to impart into the character of the middle-American Mormon, Mother Pitt (played faultlessly by Meryl Streep), is a marvel of modern political drama: and it rings undeniably true.
Pushing past our narrowly defined social and political "roles," and into our shared humanity, is the only road open to folks who want to see America's moral and ethical core liberated from the ideological intrusions of the religious far-right, and the resulting frustrated anger of the disenfranchised middle-liberal-left.
As many people have learned, particularly amid the devastating upheavals of the HIV crisis, our real emotional lives are (ideally) not ruled by dogma.
Mother Pitt isn't just a caring parent, she's also a kind, pragmatic person, and for her, the most pragmatic choice when confronted with an epidemic, is to simply offer sympathy and solace. What could be more natural? Let's hope her example prevails.
FILM INFORMATION: 'Angels in America'
Web: Additional Details at IMDb
Director: Mike Nichols
Writer: Tony Kushner
Cast: Full Cast and Crew
Genre: Drama | Fantasy
Awards: Won 5 Golden Globes. Another 33 wins & 27 nominations
Runtime: 352 min - 6 parts
Spoken Language: English
Subtitles: n/a
FILM CLIP:'Angels In America'
DOWNLOAD & EXTRACT FILM FILES: 'Angels in America'
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| Method 1.) File Self Extraction. (For PC) Download files into the same folder. then click on the 'xxxx.part01.exe' file and the film will self extract. (For Mac) You will need a Command Line Archiver like Rar for Mac OS X' |
Method 2.) Download and rejoin files with a program like HJ Split/Join
(For PC) and (For Mac) use either MacHacha or Split and Concat.
Disc 1Disc 2
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