Angels In America

[Arcadia]

[size=1]HBO has a new two part movie thing coming out - [i]Angels In America[/i], showing the 7th and the 14th of December. It's a fantastic play by Tony Kushner and has been done so many times and has been banned so many more. It deals with a lot of controversial topics, all bundled up together in one nice package, so obviously not everybody's going to like it, let alone appreciate what it's trying to say.

[i]Angels[/i] deals with religion (specifically Mormons and the Jewish faith, as well as some interesting ideas regarding Angels and God), history (in terms of it being just one big catastrophe after another), homosexuality, and the human condition itself. It's hard to give a basic summary of the plot because there's just so much going on, so many different story lines to pick up on. It's full of relationships - everybody is connected, somehow, and everybody struggles to come to some sort of spiritual/sexual understanding.

Besides that, it's hysterical - I read the play for a theatre class of mine and I laughed nearly the entire time. It's got characters that you just love, and then some that you love to hate. I've been trying to look up who's playing who for the HBO versions, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a couple big names: [b]Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, and Mary-Louise Parker,[/b] just to name a few.

I really think it's going to be fantastic. I haven't heard much else about it, besides when it's going to air and the cast and all that, so I'm a little anxious. The play is absolutely brilliant and I hope the two movies (the play is actually in two parts, hence the two movies) capture that.

Hopefully at least one person out there will want to watch it after reading this. ^_^ After all, if it ruffles a few feathers, it's got to be worth checking out, right?[/size]

[Semjaza]

I'll watch it if it concerns ideas on angels (that's where my name is from, so I have an interest in it), esepcially because this sounds like it's somewhat satirical.

Depends when it is on though. I don't get these channels up in my room, sadly.

[Dagger]

One of my friends is a huge fan of the play, and she's practically been counting down the hours until Sunday night. Her excitement is rather contagious, so although I never got around to reading [i]Angels in America[/i], I'll definitely try to watch the HBO production. A recent Washington Post review stated that it's one of the best television movies/mini-series ever made, and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it.

EDIT: Ah.... "Azazel" sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure where I'd seen the name before. Thanks for clearing that up. ^_^

~Dagger~

[Queen Asuka]

[color=hotpink][size=1]Oh gosh, not another run against the Mormons. When will we ever get a break? Oh well, it sounds interesting enough. Perhaps I will check it out when I have some time. I guess it's kind of sad that I haven't heard of this "Angels."[/color][/size]

[Semjaza]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Dagger IX1 [/i]
[B]EDIT: Ah.... "Azazel" sounded familiar, but I wasn't sure where I'd seen the name before. Thanks for clearing that up. ^_^

~Dagger~ [/B][/QUOTE]

Heh. Well that could be a few things. Semjaza Azazel is an actual angel, there's some stuff on him online if you look. There are other Azazels though... I'd say most people are familiar with the demon.

[Arcadia]

[size=1]Asuka, it's not really against Mormons at all. It picks fun at them, just as it does with Jews, but it's not condemning any religion at all. It's more of an explanation of why there are so many, I guess.

Heh, the Angels in the play are portrayed as powerful, but rather dull. They mainly react to something that God did, outside of the play, and their goal is to somehow fix that. It's... interesting. ^_^ I don't think it deals with them in the way you might be thinking, but I still think you'd get a kick out of it.[/size]

[Guest rttocs77]

It has FANTASTIC talen behind it, but the trailer made it seem pretty over-the-top, to the point where its all laughable.

I will watch the first episode Sunday and report back on what I think about it.

[Arcadia]

[size=1]Well, the thing about that is, parts of it probably are supposed to be rather over-the-top. Specifically, I'm thinking about the design notes that Kushner wrote in for whenever the Angel appears. How the set should be built, what kind of lighting and sound should be used, etc.[/size]

[Guest rttocs77]

Ok, I saw it last Sunday night. I thought the acting was outstanding but I didn't think it was FANTASTIC.

Meryl Streep was especially good in it and I also felt they were criticising Republicans and Mormons in it. That wasn't very nice.