The Omen (1976)

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:

Priest | Ambassador | Hospital | Stillborn Child | Death

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations

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 | Italian

Color:

Color

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 (re-rating) (2006) | UK:18 (video rating) (1987) | 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:

Charlton Heston, Roy Scheider, Dick Van Dyke, and William Holden turned down the lead role. Gregory Peck, accepted the lead. William Holden did eventually accept a role in a sequel.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The process for revealing a photo goes like this: Revealer, Water, Fixer and Water. When the photographer is revealing the picture, he takes it out of the revealer and exposes it to light, without the picture being submerged in fixer. A picture that has not been in fixer will start blackening instantly by the light. He treated the photo as though the whole process had been completed.

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:

Featured in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills: America's Most Heart-Pounding Movies (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Ave Satani

One of the Best

This movie plays with the intellect. It is frightening for what is not seen. From the grey overcast that blurs the skies of London and the dead stillness of the great Pereford mansion that houses the ill-fated Thorn family to the deepest recesses of civilization in the hollow underground of an ancient excavation site, the film effectively captures the viewer's interest and draws them into a world that is on the verge of the ultimate disaster - the birth of the anti-Christ.

Born into the world of politics and wealth, little Damien Thorn is the darling of the beautiful and privileged Robert and Katherine Thorn. Mysterious accidents and the overall feeling of death begin to shadow their lives until the horrifying truth of Damien's birth is uncovered millions of miles away in a grave in a decaying pagan cemetery in Italy. Gregory Peck gives a fine performance as ambitious politico Robert Thorn, a man who slowly discovers that his fate is interlinked in ancient biblical prophecy. With escalating horror, he uncovers a grand design that's unfolding under the unsuspecting eyes of the entire world - and he and his perfect family are at the centre of it. His search for the truth is one of the best in films, taking him to the farthest reaches of the globe and climaxing in an exciting and bizarre confrontation between himself and the face of evil.

Lee Remick is ethereal as his beautiful and tragic wife. The rest of the cast - Billie Whitelaw as the creepy Mrs. Baylock, David Warner as the doomed Jennings and Leo McKern as the mysterious archaeologist Bugenhagen - give the movie its singular dark and moody quality. THE OMEN has a few disturbing moments that shock rather than disgust, but the film is loaded with memorable scenes that are ingenious. It's the 'feeling' that the film incites that makes this movie unique. The haunted performances of the actors, the creepy-crawly musical score, the insinuation that doom is slowly creeping into the world with the birth of one lone child, all succeed in making THE OMEN one of the truest horror films.

Sometimes it's the knowing that something is going to happen that is more frightening than actually seeing it happen ...