Starring: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens, Stuart Baird, Harvey Bernhard Directed By: Richard Donner, J.M. Kenny Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC Label: 20th Century Fox Number of Items: 1 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Region Code: 1 Release Date: September 04, 2001 Running Time: 111 minutes Theatrical Release Date: June 25, 1976
Amazon.com: After The Exorcist sparked a lengthy trend of supernatural thrillers, this 1976 horror film scored a hit with critics and audiences for mixing gothic horror and mystery into its plot about a young boy suspected of being the personification of the anti-Christ. (No doubt it's a favorite of shock-rocker Marilyn Manson.) Directed by Richard Donner (best known for his Superman and Lethal Weapon films), The Omen gained a lot of credibility from the casting of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as a distinguished American couple living in England, whose young son Damien bears "the mark of the beast." Mysterious deaths and unexplained incidents draw the attention of a photographer (David Warner), whose investigation leads to the young boy--and also to the photographer's shocking decapitation (in a scene that has since been inducted into the horror hall of fame). At a time when graphic gore had yet to dominate the horror genre, this film used its violence discreetly and to great effect, and the mood of dread and potential death is masterfully maintained. It's all a bit hokey, with a lot of biblical portent and sensational fury, but few would deny it's highly entertaining. Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score works wonders to enhance the movie's creepy atmosphere. --Jeff Shannon
HiDef 666 A must have for OMEN fans. Great picture quality and loads of extras for true Damien followers.
Still Creepy After All These Years This movie scared the heck out of me when I saw it in the theaters in 1976, and it's still creepy today. It was almost 30 years later when I finally saw it for the second time. The DVD version is excellent because it presents the movie in the 2.35 widescreen mode, which is essential to the viewing of this film if you are a fan of cinematography. I had forgotten how beautifully filmed this movie was.
I'd also forgotten the story was a bit slower than I remembered from back in '76 but still provides enough action and plenty of chills. This time around, I found the nanny (Billie Whitelaw as "Mrs. Baylock") to be more scary than the devil-kid! I didn't even remember her from 30 years ago but she got my attention on the DVD. It was a very effective job of acting by that woman.
In the meantime, I always enjoy looking at Lee Remick's gorgeous face with her magnetic eyes and Gregory Peck is usually rock-solid in roles he plays. This is no exception. The presence of Peck and Remick is one reason I still perfer this version over the re-make (which was pretty good, too.)
Although I question the accuracy of some of the supposed quotes from the Book Of Revelation from the Bible, the movie is still a good witness to people who don't believe in Satan. They might after viewing this movie.
Creepy Classic When Katherine Thorne (Lee Remick) gives birth to a still-born baby her husband, Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck), the current ambassador of the UK, replaces the baby (without her knowledge) with another baby born on the same night who's mother had died during the birth.. The baby was born on the 6th hour of the 6th day of the 6th month (June). They name the baby Damien (Harvey Stephens). The three of them move into a mansion and the all live together happily. But thing start to go wrong for them, starting at Damiens' fifth birthday party when the young maid of the house hangs herself by jumping off the roof proclaiming: "Damien, it's all for you!". A series of equally mysterious deaths lead Robert Thorn to discover the truth that his adopted son is the literal anti-christ - but can he stop Damien before it is too late . . .
`The Omen' is a first class, cult favourite film with a riveting storyline, a talented cast and a chilling musical score. Although this is a horror film it relies more on shock tactics and suspense than it does on blood and gore. The musical score (on recent television performances and DVD releases of the movie) has been digitally remastered with a new Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Mix in comparison to when it originally came out in 1976, but it is still not as good as I should be; it deserves the full 5.1 Remix.
The movie has not got any one particular protagonist, although the two obvious choices would be Robert Thorne and Damien Thorne. In my opinion, Robert is the protagonist, but I thought that the latter was a better and more interesting character so I would consider Damien to be the anti-hero.
In `The Omen' Katherine and Robert Thorne are a rich American couple who move to England while Katherine is pregnant. The birth does not go as planned and she delivers a still-born baby. In order to keep this devastating news from his wife - knowing how much she had wanted a baby - Robert replaces the still-born with another new-born baby whose mother died during the birth. They decide to name the child Damien.
Shortly after Roberts' wife has a terrible `accident' and ends up in hospital, a photographer (David Warner) shows him photographs that he has taken of the people from around Damien who have died under mysterious circumstances. The pictures all contain similar oddities and this leads Robert on a journey to Rome which leads him to the terrifying conclusion that Damien is the son of the devil.
My only complaint about this movie would be that between scenes of action - or scenes featuring Damien - this movie can get a bit slow. Nevertheless, the only point where the plot moves along slowly enough to be considered `boring' is in the middle when Robert Thorne, along with a photographer (whose name we never learn), travel to Rome to discover the truth about Damien and where he came from. Even though I found it slightly boring, twenty-five minutes of not-very-interesting storyline is not enough to take any merit away from the other hour and a half of the film, which was very enjoyable.
Even though it was made thirty years ago this movie is still very popular today and is not showing signs of its age - even in comparison with today's big blockbuster, special effects, hi-tech, movies. I highly recommend this movie to any fan of the horror genre, especially if they are looking for a good movie and not just buckets of gore.
A CLASSIC of the Horror genre! "The Omen" is one of the GREATEST Horror films ever made and a CLASSIC of the genre. Like Richard Donner did for "Superman: The Movie" he does for "The Omen" meaning, he provides FLAWLESS direction.
The LEGENDARY Gregory Peck gives a performance as only he could. David Warner is one of my favorite actors (Time After Time) and he gives a very memorable performance as well. It's a shame his character meets such a grissly demise. Leo McKern is GREAT in his brief appearance as Bugenhagen. Between Warner and McKern, aren't British actors the GREATEST?!
"The Omen" contains TWO of the all-time GREAT death scenes. The first is where the nanny (Jack Palance's daughter) hangs herself at the birthday party. The second, and my all-time favorite death scene is where lightning strikes a pole on top of the church and the priest becomes impaled by it! The BEST death scene I've ever seen!
Billie Whitelaw is HUGELY CREEPY as Damien's second nanny. Bugenhagen describes her as "an apostate from Hell". I guess this would explain it. Also, I should mention that Harvey Stephens who plays Damien is the CREEPIEST child EVER seen on screen! Do yourself a favor and watch this Horror CLASSIC!
"Have no fear little one. I am here to protect thee"
Warning!!! In order to watch this movie "You must accept Christ as your saviour. You must accept him now!!" XXXXX
"Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding Count the number of the beast: For it is the number of a man; And the number is 666."
The above is found printed on-screen at the very end of this riveting suspense/horror movie. (Note that the above quotation is found in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 13, Verse 18.)
I think this movie is so good when you compare it to other movies in this genre because of its:
(1) Respectability: it is a film with renowned actors especially its two main principles, the legendary Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.
(2) Seriousness: the movie plays as a contemporary thriller rather than going over-the-top (as so many suspense/horror movies do)
(3) Background musical score: in a word it's--unforgettable. This musical score has a strong choral element with an eerie Latin chant.
Be forewarned! This movie contains some shocking and intense scenes. Amazingly, these scenes contain hardly any blood and gore.
Finally, the DVD itself (Collector's edition released in 2006) is perfect in picture and sound quality. It has many interesting extras.
One chilling extra is concerned with the production of this movie. The production was plagued with a series of incidents which some members of the crew attributed to the operation of a curse. They wondered if these incidents were due to supernatural forces trying to prevent this movie's filming.
In conclusion, this is an unforgettable suspense/horror movie. I leave you with a poem uttered by a priest in this movie:
"From the eternal sea, he rises Creating armies on either shore Turning man against his brother Till man exists no more."
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
