The Omen (1976)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writer:

David Seltzer (written by)

Release Date:

25 June 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

OUR FINAL WARNING.

Plot:

An American ambassador learns to his horror that his son is actually the literal Antichrist.

Plot Keywords:

Ambassador | Priest | Hospital | Stillborn Child | Death

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Wed. July 8

11:45 AM

MAX

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	Robert Thorn
Lee Remick	...	Katherine Thorn
David Warner	...	Jennings
Billie Whitelaw	...	Mrs. Baylock
Harvey Stephens	...	Damien
Patrick Troughton	...	Father Brennan
Martin Benson	...	Father Spiletto
Robert Rietty	...	Monk
Tommy Duggan	...	Priest
John Stride	...	The Psychiatrist
Anthony Nicholls	...	Dr. Becker
Holly Palance	...	Nanny
Roy Boyd	...	Reporter
Freda Dowie	...	Nun
Sheila Raynor	...	Mrs. Horton

Also Known As:

Omen I (reissue title)
Omen I: The Antichrist (reissue title)
Omen I: The Birthmark (reissue title)
The Antichrist (USA) (working title)
The Birthmark (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

111 min | Germany:107 min (cut version)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Latin

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

New Zealand:(Banned) (video release, 1989-1991) | New Zealand:R16 (1992 re-rating) | New Zealand:R18 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | UK:X (original rating) | UK:15 (DVD rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (2006) | Sweden:15 | Spain:18 | South Korea:15 | Canada:R (video rating) | Portugal:M/16 | UK:18 (tv rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Brazil:16 | Australia:MA (25th anniversary special edition) | Australia:R (original rating) | Canada:R | Finland:K-18 | France:-12 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R (certificate #24560) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

All Saints Church, Fulham, London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Trivia:

As part of its pre-release publicity campaign, and to point out the significance of "the three sixes" as The Sign of Satan, the movie was sneak-previewed nationwide in the USA on 6 June 1976. While audiences inside the theatres were being scared witless by the film, theatre employees were out front, busily putting up specially made posters declaring: "Today is the SIXTH day of the SIXTH month of Nineteen-Seventy-SIX!" Hokey though it was, the gimmick worked quite well, as many a theatre patron literally "freaked-out" upon seeing those posters as they left the previews.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Katherine falls from the hospital window, she waves both arms on the way down even though her right arm and shoulder had previously been solidly immobilized in a cast.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Father Spiletto: [voiceover] The child is dead. He breathed for a moment. Then he breathed no more. The child is dead. Dead. The child is dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dancing with the Stars: (#6.1)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Ave Satani

A great supernatural thriller, undeservedly bashed over the years

"The Omen" was included in a recent book I read of THE 1000 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE! - ironic since fellow IMDb user Theo Robertson claims it was included as an entry in a similar book titled THE 50 WORST FILMS OF ALL TIME.

I've always really liked "The Omen" and, like Theo, think it is superior to "The Exorcist." It's more chilling and freaky and subtle. There isn't any fake pea soup here, either. Which isn't to say that "The Exorcist" isn't any good - but it hasn't fared as well over the years.

"The Omen" is just really good. It was released the same year as Exorcist if I'm not mistaken and Gregory Peck gives a fine performance. The part where a character's head is lopped off and rolls across a street in slow-motion, and then director Richard Donner cuts to a whole new sequence, is really chilling and bizarre.

It's that sort of eerie unexplained stuff that makes this, in my opinion, superior to a lot of the other stuff out there - i.e. many other trashy supernatural flicks that don't hold anything against this.