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Amazon.co.uk Review
In 1976 The Omen was a hit among critics and audiences hungry for more after The Exorcist with its mixture of Gothic horror and mystery and its plot about a young boy suspected of being the personification of the Antichrist. Directed by Richard Donner (best known later 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". 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 contrived, 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, Amazon.com
On the DVD: The all-new 45-minute documentary, "666: The Omen Revealed", has contributions from all the major behind-the-scenes players, including director, editor, screenwriter (who confesses the movie was only set in England because he wanted a free trip to London), producer and composer. The latter, Jerry Goldsmith, has his Oscar-winning contribution to the movie recognised with a separate feature in which he talks through four key musical scenes in the score. There's also a thought-provoking short called "Curse or Coincidence?" in which the many bizarre accidents that happened during shooting are related, including the terrible story of what happened to the girlfriend of the man responsible for designing the decapitation scene--spooky. Director Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird provide a chatty audio commentary to the film, and the DVD package is completed by the original theatrical trailer. --Mark Walker
Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround English
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Directors Commentary
Documentary 666 The Omen Revealed
6 Minute Shorts Curse Or Coincidence
Jerry Goldsmith Interview
The Omen Trailer
Czech\Danish\English\Finnish\Hebrew\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Swedish
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround English
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Directors Commentary
Documentary 666 The Omen Revealed
6 Minute Shorts Curse Or Coincidence
Jerry Goldsmith Interview
The Omen Trailer
Czech\Danish\English\Finnish\Hebrew\Hungarian\Icelandic\Norwegian\Polish\Portuguese\Swedish
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I watched this film for the first time when I was 12 and I was afraid to go alone in the dark for about a week. This film proves that the horror genre is not just about blood, guts and gore, and that things can be scary without using that. The film relies on psychological horror and suspense, although there are parts of the film which are very violent. Although the film has a good cat, including Gregory Peck(To Kill A Mocking Bird) and Lee Remick(Days of Wine and Roses), the star of the film is, then 5-year-old Harvey Stephens, whose terrifying stare and smile really hepled the film become the classic that it is now. Another winner is Jerry Goldsmith's score, which won the film an acedemy award, and Richard Donner(Superman, Lethal Weaposn) for his directing which helped give the film its creepy atmosphere and scary shocks. Also watch out for the scene with the pain of glass: it will stay with you forever.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A very enjoyable film with excellant set pieces and exciting deaths. I particuly enjoy the crescendo of exhilrating gregorian music before 'the offing' of preists, nanny's and journalists. This film has devil dogs, baboons attacking and a malevolent anti-christ tot on a tri-cycle. Whilst The Exorcist deserves 5 stars this deserves 666.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I sometimes enjoy annoying 'serious filmgoers' by trying to convince them that American Beauty is not as good a film as American Pie. The fact is, I actually believe that. But if you really want to get them, tell them this film is better than The Exorcist. They'll go bananas - but it's true!
I agree that The Exorcist came first, but this is a vast improvement. The best thing about The Exorcist was the sound. That says it all really. It succeeded because, at the time, people thought that being posessed by The Devil was fair enough. In today's more secular age, where even the buses tell you there's probably no God (much less The Devil), it's hard not to find The Exorcist incredibly boring, slow-moving and frequently unintentionally funny. The fact that it has been parodied so often doesn't help either.
The Omen, on the other hand, like Magic and The Medusa Touch which came out at around the same time, builds wonderfully and rests on the performance of the troubled male lead. Is Gregory Peck going mad? Could his son REALLY be The Devil?
Well, of course he is, but from the first hints that this may be so until the penny finally drops (too late), it's a splendidly tense ride - enjoyably so. The sequence where Patrick Troughton's priest meets his end at the hands of a lightning conductor is one of the best in any horror film. Whenever I go to a Fulham match and walk past that church and through Bishop's Park, I get a delightful shiver recalling this film.
Talking of which, avoid the remake at all cost! The script is virtually identical but the London locations which work so well here are missing. They shot it more cheaply in the Czech Republic but pretended it was London. They didn't fool anyone - the shop fronts are clearly all Czech!
This original is one of the best horror films of all time.
I agree that The Exorcist came first, but this is a vast improvement. The best thing about The Exorcist was the sound. That says it all really. It succeeded because, at the time, people thought that being posessed by The Devil was fair enough. In today's more secular age, where even the buses tell you there's probably no God (much less The Devil), it's hard not to find The Exorcist incredibly boring, slow-moving and frequently unintentionally funny. The fact that it has been parodied so often doesn't help either.
The Omen, on the other hand, like Magic and The Medusa Touch which came out at around the same time, builds wonderfully and rests on the performance of the troubled male lead. Is Gregory Peck going mad? Could his son REALLY be The Devil?
Well, of course he is, but from the first hints that this may be so until the penny finally drops (too late), it's a splendidly tense ride - enjoyably so. The sequence where Patrick Troughton's priest meets his end at the hands of a lightning conductor is one of the best in any horror film. Whenever I go to a Fulham match and walk past that church and through Bishop's Park, I get a delightful shiver recalling this film.
Talking of which, avoid the remake at all cost! The script is virtually identical but the London locations which work so well here are missing. They shot it more cheaply in the Czech Republic but pretended it was London. They didn't fool anyone - the shop fronts are clearly all Czech!
This original is one of the best horror films of all time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of the best horror films ever made - Blu-ray review
This review is partly based on the Blu-ray, rather than the DVD.
This being one of my all-time favourite horror movies, I felt I had to buy it on Blu-ray when I first... Read more
This being one of my all-time favourite horror movies, I felt I had to buy it on Blu-ray when I first... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Dee S. Guise
Silly me
Fine. Got it on time, watched it with great pleasure. Only one regret: not having noticed it was a VHS. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Charlotte Salomon
Gleefully unsettling, but slightly dated
A genuinely creepy Satanic-horror flick. Like another excellent film of this genre, Rosemary's Baby, it doesn't directly show anything supernatural taking place, so there is an... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Amanda Huggenkiss
6+6+6 = A movie classic
"The Omen" is not an out-and-out scary film. What this film instead exudes in bucketloads is foreboding. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Matthew Norton
Review
I saw this movie when i was 7 ,and it has always been one of my favourite Horror movies.
The premise of The Omen comes from the end times prophecies of Christianity. Read more
The premise of The Omen comes from the end times prophecies of Christianity. Read more
Published on 11 Nov 2007 by shaun wrench
A good template for grown up scary horror
Whilst having slight credibility faults, being a bit hammy and over written, this film scared the hell out of me on first viewing, by conventional means of plot: some worrying... Read more
Published on 29 July 2007 by Lou Knee
A good horror film
The Omen was the first horror film I ever saw at the cinema. At the time it made a huge impression on me. Read more
Published on 22 Jun 2007 by S J Buck
Classic supernatural horror
There was a rising trend in the 1970's for excess gore and pushing the boundaries as much as possible within the horror genre. Read more
Published on 8 May 2007 by J. Roberts
Not creepy, just cheesy
This movie was rather a dissapointment for me. I expected a disturbing/creepy thrilling type of film, this just isn't either a thriller or horror really. Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2007 by crazykat
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... Read more
Published on 4 Nov 2006 by marky77
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