The Omen (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Richard Donner
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Billie Whitelaw, David Warner, Gregory Peck, Harvey Stephens, Lee RemickDirector: Richard Donner
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Gilbert Taylor
Editor: Stuart Baird
Producer: Mace Neufeld
Writer: David Seltzer
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; Latin (Original Language); English (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Movie Reviews of The Omen (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: "KATHY IS DEAD. I WANT DAMIEN TO DIE, TOO.": "THE OMEN" (1976)
Summary: 5 Stars
Wes Craven says it best in his DVD Appreciation: By staying several notches below the vile and brutalizing excesses of "THE EXORCIST," "THE OMEN" appealed to and frightened a much broader audience. Director Richard Donner crafted a far superior film than "THE EXORCIST" because you can be genuinely frightened by "THE OMEN" and not feel repulsed or feel like vomiting. The horrors of "THE OMEN" are more psychological in nature. The casting of Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Billie Whitelaw, and David Warner gives gravitas to a situation that might have been ridiculous if played by less talented, less subtle actors. Because Gregory Peck eventually believes his tot is the Devil, Jr., we the viewers believe it, too. Interestingly, his allegedly emotionally fragile wife Lee Remick is a lot smarter than he is; for she begins to believe it much sooner.
Donner directs with the perfect balance of mounting tension and wise restraint. Even Donner's handling of young Harvey Stevens as Damien is ideal. Stevens appears simultaneously demonic AND angelic. Donner uses Stevens very sparingly, but effectively, in scenes. When Damien has a major freak-out outside a church, Stevens' screams do, indeed, sound unearthly. "THE OMEN" was Stevens' only film. A quick Internet search revealed that the missing in action Stevens now lives a quiet life in England, where the film was shot.
Athiest Donner was apparently not disturbed at all by the demonic/Biblical ramifications in the script. Funnily enough, he never seems to understand why anybody would be disturbed by this film. He pitched the project to Peck and everbody involved as a "psychological thriller." The basic idea was, in fact, suggested by Born Again Christian Robert Munger, who served as the film's Religious Advisor and is heavily interviewed on the DVD documentaries. Donner's masterstroke, I think, was to have David Seltzer tone down the overtly demonic aspects of the script's initial draft titled THE ANTICHRIST and rework it so the bizarre occurances could also be interpreted as springing from coincidences in everyday life. At the same time, the bizarre occurances do neatly line up with the Biblical Book of Revelations. which Seltzer studied for three months prior to writing. In the end, Seltzer delivered an extremely tight, concise, well-constructed screenplay that grabs you whether you're a Christian or an agnostic/atheist.
Of course, Jerry Goldsmith's score contributes greatly to the disturbing atmosphere (especially the "Black Mass: Ave Satani" repeated chanted chorus) of the film. as Peck, particularly, moves from logical reason to the realization that his worse paranoid fears may, in fact, be true. Goldsmith discusses his Academy Award Winning Score at length on the DVD.
Distraught when his son is still-born, ambassador Robert Thorne (Peck) rather quickly accepts another baby boy from a priest (Martin Benson). He does not tell his wife Kathy (Remick) about the baby's death or the baby switch, fearing it would shatter her. Robert is named Ambassador to Britian. All is peaceful and prosperous until Damien's nanny (Holly Palance) commits suicide during his fifth birthday party. Mrs. Baylock (Whitelaw) soon arrives as a replacement. Her initial demenor suggests Mary Poppins, but she's been sent straight from Satan's School for Nannies. Father Brennen (Patrick Troughton) appears to confront Robert and starts screaming that
he must accept Jesus Christ as his Savior-- and that both he and Kathy are in grave danger. Brennan is memorably killed shortly afterwards. After incidents at Church and Zoo, Kathy suffers a terrifying fall from a balcony (listen to the DVD commentary for Donner's tale on how this memorable scene was ingeniously filmed), Robert begins to take Brennen's warnings more seriously. Hospitalized, Kathy says to Robert, "Don't let him kill me. Don't let him kill me," which is, to me, the scariest moment in the entire film. Photographer Keith Jennings, (David Warner) who has been tracking Robert since Damien's birthday party, joins Robert on a quest to solve the puzzle of Damien's true parentage. The climaxtic final scenes still give me chills. Donner received angry letters from viewers complaining that he "Let Evil Win In The End." That final twist, shot by Donner in an extra day and a half, was actually the idea of 20th Century Fox President Alan Ladd, Jr.
The documentary "THE OMEN LEGACY" reveals just how superior Donner's Original film is when compared with the sequels and remake. All sequels and remakes can definitely go straight to Hell. The same documentary and DVD commentaries also humorously reveal that Donner can barely remember the names of anybody he worked with on this classic film, except for Peck, Remick, and Stevens.
Summary of The Omen (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
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