The Prophecy (1995)

At the scene of a bizarre murder, L.A. homicide detective Thomas Dagget discovers a lethal heavenly prophecy now being fulfilled on earth. In his fight to stop the forces of evil, he finds an unlikely ally in an elementary school teacher.

Director:

Gregory Widen

Writer:

Gregory Widen

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Elias Koteas, Virginia Madsen

2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Walken	...	Gabriel
Elias Koteas	...	Thomas Dagget
Virginia Madsen	...	Katherine
Eric Stoltz	...	Simon
Viggo Mortensen	...	Lucifer
Amanda Plummer	...	Rachael
Moriah 'Shining Dove' Snyder	...	Mary (as Moriah Shining Dove Snyder)
Adam Goldberg	...	Jerry
Steve Hytner	...	Joseph
J.C. Quinn	...	Burrows
Emma Shenah	...	Grandmother
Albert Nelson	...	Grey Horse
Shawn Nelson	...	Indian Healer
Emily Conforto	...	Sandra
Sioux-z Jessup	...	Nurse

Storyline

At the scene of a bizarre murder, L.A. homicide detective Thomas Dagget discovers a lethal heavenly prophecy now being fulfilled on earth. Yet in his fight to stop the forces of evil, led by the powerful angel Gabriel, Dagget finds an unlikely ally in an elementary school teacher. Together they race against time and terror to save the world as we know it.

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Plot Keywords:

angel | scene of the crime | heaven | profanity | porn magazine | 

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Taglines:

BEWARE. Centuries ago a second coming was foretold. But what's coming is more terrifying than anyone expects.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and gore, and for some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hawthorne's tombstone is adorned by a large upside down cross on the left side.

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Goofs

As Thomas looks through Hawthorne's press clippings, a zoom-in shows that in the text of one of the articles, the word "preliminary" is spelled "perliminary". Also, there are two non-existent words: "Presidentedly" and "heruman".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Simon: I remember the First War, the way the sky burned, the faces of angels destroyed. I saw a third of Heaven's legion banished and the creation of Hell. I stood with my brothers and watched Lucifer Fall. But now my brothers are not brothers, and we have come here where we are mortal to steal the Dark Soul, not yet Lucifer's, to serve our cause. I have always obeyed, but I never thought the War would happen again.

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Alternate Versions

European release, titled God's Army, runs 90 minutes and features different footage:

• A sepia-tinted opening sequence shows Thomas Dagget sitting in in a swing, talking to Lucifer;
• The sequence where the first angel falls to Earth is shorter;
• The exorcism sequence at the end is shorter and has no special effects.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 5 (2009)

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Soundtracks

Gloria Laus
(Gregorian Chant)
Performed by The Choir Of Monks Of Saint-Benoit Du Lac
Conducted by Dom Andre Saint-Cyr
Courtesy of Promusic, Inc.

User Reviews

What a cast! A shockingly good film.

Religion has always been a clouded issue to me. There is absolutely no evidence that there is a God or an afterlife. But that hasn't stopped me ( and billions of people ) from believing in something. And I have always been taught that if there is good, then there is also the bad. If there is a heaven, there has to be a hell. The Prophecy tells us that there is, but it is not necessarily that cut and dried. The ruler of hell in this film is more like a character in a Martin Scorsese film. He is evil ( he has to be, he is Lucifer ) but he is not necessarily here to make God's life miserable. He is not necessarily good, but he is in a self serving kind of way.

The Prophecy is a very confusing and convoluted but brilliant film. The story ( bear with me here, it's been a while since I've seen this film ) is about a war between angels. Some angels became jealous when God decided he loved humans more than them. They become bitter and decide to start a war in heaven with the angels that are loyal to God. Their theory is that if the angels that oppose them are gone, they can take over certain things and hopefully get God's love back. To do this, they must steal the soul of the most heinous person that ever lived. We meet Gabriel, the lead angel in this crusade, and played by Christopher Walken, he is one of the most entertaining characters I have ever seen in the history of film. He has a sense of humour, he is vicious and he uses humans as slaves to do his dirty work. He catches them just before they are about to die and uses them with the promise that he will kill them once their job is finished. Here we meet Jerry, as his human monkey,and the only reason I mention this is because it is one of Adam Goldberg's early roles. He was Upham in Saving Private Ryan and watching this you could tell he had talent and that he would go places. He is fantastic in this film.

Elias Koteas plays Thomas, the only one who may have an insight into what is going on. He was a former priest who understands how religion is playing a part in all of this.

Eric Stoltz plays Simon, one of the good angels that is trying to save the world from Gabriel and he is very affective here as well.

But the star of this film is absolutely Walken. He is perfect as Gabriel. He has a sense of humour and he is evil at the same time. And in some ways you are rooting for him to win. That is until the very end when Satan shows up, because he steals every scene he is in as well.

Satan is played with wicked slickness by Viggo Mortensen. When he speaks he almost slithers and creeps his words onto the screen. He makes a dark scene darker and he keeps you glued to the screen. And his role in this film is one that epitomizes convolution. He is awesome.

This film is one that should not be missed. If you don't understand everything about it the first time, watch it again and again. You'll learn something new every time. And you'll enjoy it more and more. This is one hell of a film!!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Seraphim

Filming Locations:

Apache Leap Mountain, Superior, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,510,332, 4 September 1995

Gross USA:

$16,115,878

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,115,878

Company Credits

Production Co:

First Look International, NEO Motion Pictures, Overseas FilmGroup

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1