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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
David Seltzer (written by)
Release Date:
25 June 1976 (USA) more
Tagline:
OUR FINAL WARNING. more
Plot:
An American ambassador learns to his horror that his son is actually the literal Antichrist. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 8 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(25 articles)
Pat Seals of Flyleaf Shares His Top Ten Horror Films
(From Dread Central. 9 November 2009, 10:24 PM, PST)
Tortured Overtures: Horror Film Score Themes of the 1970s
(From SoundOnSight. 3 November 2009, 12:12 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Much Better Than THE EXORCIST more (247 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| 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 |
Additional Details
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)
more
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
111 min | Germany:107 min (cut version)
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In the scene where Gregory Peck goes to see his wife's psychiatrist, at the beginning of the scene notice the inverted cross on the table. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: In the graveyard, when Thorne kneels at his son's grave, he bumps the heavy stone lid quite easily, yet it takes both Thorne and the photographer considerable effort to move it a moment later. more
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.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut (1999) more
Soundtrack:
The Piper Dreams more
FAQ
What is the omen in "The Omen"?Why did Fr Brennan have a 666 birthmark if he wasn't the Antichrist himself?
Is "The Omen" based on a book?
more
more (247 total)
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This movie appears in the book 50 Worst Movies Of All Time alongside such fare as ROBOT MONSTER . This is completely undeserved because i rate THE OMEN as one of the best horror movies from the 1970s , if not all time . The book in question makes a big deal of how young Damien's parents experience some ghastly going ons without realising something is seriously wrong , but this is churlish since the audience ( like in most horror movies ) are one step in front of the protagonists , we instantly know what's going on even if the characters on screen don't and this is what makes the narrative so suspenseful , we're waiting for Ambassador Robert Thorn to put two and two together . It should also be pointed out that these types of tradgedies do happen in life and there's a rational explanation with no supernatural causes involved
Comparisons with both THE OMEN and THE EXORCIST will be made but this is by much the better film I think . Both films deal with satanic powers and both are very dead pan but unlike THE EXORCIST the serious tone of this movie doesn't go against it , THE EXORCIST goes out of its way to shock the audience while THE OMEN keeps its discipline and is all the better for it . Richard Donner brings shock moments where it's needed like the revelation of the priest after the fire , the scene in the cemetery and the lorry accident at Megiddo and unlike the shock scenes in THE EXORCIST they're never unintentionally funny . Giving roles to well known Brit character actors like Patrick Troughton , Billie Whitelaw , Leo McKern and David Warner also helps the movie a lot
The only real criticism I have is that it's not as good as I originally remembered after seeing it for the first time , but that's a problem with a great number of movies I've seen , or that the biblical city of Megiddo is nowhere near the location described in the screenplay ( It is in fact a few short miles west of the border of the West Bank on the route to Jenin ) but that won't matter to 99.9% of the rest of the audience . If I ever write a book called 50 Best Horror Movies Of All Time THE OMEN will definitely feature in it