The Messenger Has Arrived

The legendary HBO mini-series based on Tony Kushner's play is a lavish, devastatingly brilliant production featuring stellar performances from Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep, alongside gay heart-throbs Justin Kirk and Ben Shenkman.

God has abandoned Heaven. It's 1985: the Reagans are in the White House and Death swings the scythe of AIDS. In Manhattan, Prior Walter tells Lou, his lover of four years, he's ill. And Lou, terrified by the disease, bolts. As disease and loneliness ravage Prior, guilt invades Lou.  Joe Pitt, an attorney, who is Mormon and Republican, is pushed by right-wing fixer Roy Cohn toward a job at the Justice Department. Both Pitt and Cohn are in the closet: Pitt is closeted out of religious shame and societal turmoil; Cohn is closeted to preserve his power and success. Pitt's wife, Harper, is strung out on Valium, aching to escape a sexless marriage.     Meanwhile, an angel visits Prior and invites him to be a prophet in death. Pitt's mother, and Belize, a close friend, are his voices of love and compassion that help Prior choose.

DVD Regular Price $19.95, On Sale $17.96