The Prophecy (1995)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Gregory Widen

Writer (WGA):

Gregory Widen (written by)

Release Date:

1 September 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

Dagget consults the most unlikely of sources for advice.

Plot:

The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to collect a soul which will end the stalemated war in Heaven, and only a former priest and a little girl can stop him.

Plot Keywords:

Heaven | Angel | Soul | Corpse | Blood

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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
Sandra Ellis Lafferty	...	Madge (as Sandra Lafferty)
William 'Buck' Hart	...	Grave Keeper
Christina Holmes	...	Allison
Nick Gomez	...	Jason (as Nicholas Gomez)
Jeremy Williams-Hurner	...	Brian
Jeff Cadiente	...	Usiel
Paul Schmidt	...	Novice Deacon
Bobby Lee Hayes	...	Deputy #1
John Sankovich	...	Deputy #2
Thomas 'Doc' Boguski	...	Security Officer (scenes deleted) (as Thomas 'Doc' Bugoski)
Randy Adakai-Nez	...	High School Kid
Joseph Blake Arnold	...	Novice Priest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clark Hunter	...	Psycho Killer (uncredited)
Michele Spadaro	...	Jerry's Girlfriend (uncredited)

Directed by
Gregory Widen

Writing credits (WGA)
Gregory Widen		(written by)

Produced by
W.K. Border	....	executive producer
Raquel Caballes Maxwell	....	co-producer
Don Phillips	....	executive producer
Joel Soisson	....	producer

Original Music by
David C. Williams

Cinematography by
Richard Clabaugh		(director of photography)
Bruce Douglas Johnson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Sonny Baskin

Casting by
Don Phillips

Production Design by
Clark Hunter

Set Decoration by
Michele Spadaro

Costume Design by
Dana Allyson

Makeup Department
Tarra D. Day	....	assistant hair stylist: Los Angeles (as Tarra Day)
Tarra D. Day	....	assistant makeup artist: Los Angeles (as Tarra Day)
Peggy Hannaman	....	hair stylist: Los Angeles
Peggy Hannaman	....	makeup artist: Los Angeles
Steven Mack	....	hair stylist
Scott Patton	....	special makeup effects: Patton EFX
Martha Preciado	....	key makeup artist (as Martha Cecilia)
Dave Snyder	....	on-set prosthetics supervisor
Mark Villalobos	....	special makeup effects artist
R. Stephen Weber	....	second makeup artist

Production Management
Candice D. Campos	....	post-production supervisor
JoAnn Perritano	....	production manager
Paul Ratajczak	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fernando Altschul	....	first assistant director
William Paul Clark	....	assistant director: Los Angeles
Philip Fracassi	....	assistant director: Los Angeles (as Philip Dominic Peter Fracassi)
Michael Hamm	....	second assistant director
John F. Hart	....	assistant director: second unit
Louis Shaw Milito	....	second second assistant director
Joel Soisson	....	second unit director

Art Department
John G. Aldrete	....	construction coordinator
Joe Arnold	....	swing gang (as Joseph Arnold)
Max Biscoe	....	swing gang: Los Angeles
Henry Cota	....	carpenter: Los Angeles
Jose D. Cota	....	carpenter: Los Angeles
Philip Fracassi	....	on-set dresser (as Philip Dominic Peter Fracassi)
Scott Getzinger	....	swing gang: Los Angeles
John Harrington	....	property master
Baxter Jeffrey	....	carpenter
Stacy Lande	....	scenic artist
Merdyce McClaran	....	assistant property master
Rick Potts	....	scenic artist
Charles Righetti	....	leadman

Sound Department
Flavia Amon	....	audio post coordinator
Dickran Bezirgenian	....	adr recordist
Mark Boccaccio	....	additional sound designer (as Mark Boccacio)
Ed Carr	....	foley mixer
Matt Colleran	....	sound engineer
Matt Colleran	....	sound technical coordinator
Cole Coonce	....	boom operator: Los Angeles
Mark DeSimone	....	adr mixer
Pete Elia	....	adr recordist
Mike Faba	....	boom operator (as Michael Faba)
Roger Fearing	....	adr recordist
Erik Flockoi	....	sound engineer
Monett Holderer	....	foley mixer (as Monette Holderer)
Paul Holzborn	....	foley mixer
Bess Hopper	....	foley mixer
Lee Howell	....	production sound mixer: Los Angeles
T.A. Moore Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer (as T. A. Moore)
Bret Newman	....	sound engineer
Darren Paskal	....	sound effects editor
John Post	....	foley mixer
Paul Ratajczak	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Ratajczak	....	sound supervisor
Al Rizzo	....	production sound mixer
Will Rogers	....	adr recordist
Dennis Sager	....	chief engineer
Brian Slack	....	stereo consultant: Ultra*Stereo®
Randy Vandegrift	....	dialogue editor (as Randy Vandergrift)
Daniel W. Victor Jr.	....	stereo consultant: Ultra*Stereo®
Tom Warren	....	sound account executive
Pawel Wdowczak	....	production sound mixer: Los Angeles
David Weisberg	....	sound designer
Robert E. Borge	....	stereo consultant: Ultra*Stereo® (uncredited)
Kurt Kassulke	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Thomas M. Ficke	....	special effects technician (as Thomas Michael Ficke)
Larry Fioritto	....	special effects: Los Angeles, Special Effects Services
David Gallion	....	special effects rigger
Gary L. King	....	special effects technician (as Gary King)
Jor Van Kline	....	special effects coordinator
Dean Welch	....	special effects technician (as Dean W. Welch)

Visual Effects by
T. Dow Albon	....	cloud wrangler: Effects Associates, Inc.
Keith Allan	....	titles and opticals: Title House
Adalberto Álvarez	....	grip: optical unit (as Adalberto Alvarez)
Jeff Bankert	....	grip: optical unit
Kent Burton	....	model animator: enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company
Candice D. Campos	....	first assistant director: optical unit (as Candice Campos)
Scott Coulter	....	digital effects supervisor: enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company
R. Blaine Currier	....	dolly grip: optical unit (as Blaine Currier)
June Czerwinski	....	wardrobe: optical unit
Jim Danforth	....	matte artist: angel effects and Mesa mattes, Effects Associates, Inc.
Jim Danforth	....	matte photographer: angel effects and Mesa mattes, Effects Associates, Inc.
Karen Danforth	....	administration: Effects Associates, Inc.
Dragon	....	computer imaging: cave sequence, Title House
Dragon	....	rendering: cave sequence, Title House
Conánn Fitzpatrick	....	digital animator: Available Light, Ltd. (as Conann Fitzpatrick)
Phillip Giles	....	digital supervisor: Neo Digital
Jamison Scott Goei	....	digital animator: Neo Digital (as Jamison Goei)
Dave Gregory	....	optical composites: enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company (as David Gregory)
Dave Gregory	....	titles and opticals: Title House
Michael F. Hoover	....	digital animator: enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company (as Michael Hoover)
Bruce Douglas Johnson	....	visual effects director of photography: cave sequence
Bruce Douglas Johnson	....	visual effects supervisor: cave sequence
Laurel Klick	....	digital supervisor: Available Light, Ltd.
Melissa Limmer	....	titles and opticals: Title House
Ralph Maiers	....	digital compositor: Digital Magic Company
George Maxwell	....	chief lighting technician: optical unit
Dan Middleton	....	production coordinator: Effects Associates, Inc.
Joel Miller	....	digital animator: enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company
Rodney Montague	....	visual effects producer: Digital Magic Company
Vincent Niebla	....	sculptor: beast, enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company (as Vince Nebla)
January Nordman	....	digital animator: Available Light, Ltd.
Scott Patton	....	digital animator: enemy ghost sequence, Todd Masters Company
Jeff Pierce	....	digital transfer supervisor: Digital Magic Company
Rebeca Scott	....	project coordinator: Effects Associates, Inc.
David Taylor	....	first assistant camera: optical unit
Joseph Thomas	....	digital animator: Available Light, Ltd.
Ron Cosmo Vecchiarelli	....	electrician: optical unit (as Ronald Cosmo Vecchiarelli)
Kimberly Weeks	....	script supervisor: optical unit
Michelle 'Miki' Weiss	....	titles and opticals: Title House (as Michelle [Miki] Weiss)
Gucci Westman	....	project coordinator: Effects Associates, Inc.
Martin Zboril	....	computer animation: cave sequence
Martin Zboril	....	conceptual art: cave sequence

Stunts
Chuck Borden	....	stunt coordinator: additional photography
Dan Bradley	....	stunt coordinator
Ben Bray	....	stunts
Doug Coleman	....	stunts
Scott Alan Cook	....	stunts
Leslie Hoffman	....	stunt safety
Brett A. Jones	....	stunts (as Brett Jones)
Dyanna Lynn	....	stunts
Debby Lynn Ross	....	stunts
Alexis Scher	....	stunts
Erik Stabenau	....	stunts
Michael R. Thayer	....	stunts
Pete Turner	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
David Andress	....	additional electrician
Christopher Baffa	....	director of photography: second unit
Jason Elias	....	electric best boy
David E. Elkins	....	assistant camera: pick-up shots
Kenn Ferro	....	Steadicam operator
Eric S. Foster	....	chief lighting technician
Marianne Franco	....	second assistant camera
Anthony Gotta	....	lighting/additional photography
Andy Graham	....	first assistant camera
Mark D. Greene	....	additional electrician
Sean T. Hannan	....	grip
Keith A. Hascher	....	electrician
Greg Hewett	....	key grip
John Johnson	....	still photographer
Jeffrey S. Keiser	....	first assistant camera (as Jeffrey Scott Keiser)
Dolan Kirkpatrick	....	additional electrician
Brett 'Scooter' Losner	....	grip
Richard Maxey	....	best boy grip
George Maxwell	....	additional electrician
Paul Schmidt	....	camera loader
Paul Schmidt	....	first assistant camera: Los Angeles
Chris Shaw	....	additional electrician (as Christopher D. Shaw)
Taylor Evan Sparks	....	electrician
John A. Strubbe	....	best boy grip (as John Adrian Strubbe)
David C. Terry	....	dolly grip
Dan Zaitz	....	electrician

Casting Department
Lisa Bankert	....	casting associate
Leigh French	....	voice casting
Gaye Gilbert	....	casting: Arizona (as Gay Gilbert)
Mary Santiago	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Cassandra Conners	....	wardrobe supervisor
Jacqueline K. Fodor	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Jennifer Lane	....	assistant editor
Sharon McGeeney	....	negative cutting: Superior Film Service
Ray Morfino	....	color timer
Ian Slater	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Mark Boccaccio	....	music editor (as Mark Boccacio)

Transportation Department
Michael Bacon	....	driver
Gene Callahan	....	driver
Erik Carter	....	transportation captain
William Dawson	....	driver (as William J. Dawson)
Michael Dewey	....	driver
P. Gerald Knight	....	transportation coordinator
Gene Petty	....	driver
DeAnna Rush	....	driver (as Deanna Rush)
Steve Shoemaker	....	driver (as Steve 'Shoe' Shoemaker)
Larry Smith	....	driver: honeywagon
Richard Stauffacher	....	driver
Dotti Thompson	....	driver (as Dorothy V. Thompson)
Ron Volpe	....	driver (as Ron M. Volpe)

Other crew
Cindy Adams	....	caterer: Silver Screen Catering
Scott Adams	....	caterer: Silver Screen Catering
Roger Arar	....	legal services
Jason Autajay	....	set production assistant
Kelly Baldwin	....	assistant to producers
Carol Banker	....	script supervisor (as Carol J. Banker)
Lindsay Bayman	....	legal services (as Lindsey Bayman)
Steven Belgard	....	unit publicist (as Steve Waldo Belgard)
Thomas 'Doc' Boguski	....	production coordinator
Brett Boydstun	....	set production assistant (as Brett A. Boydstun)
Anna Braga	....	stand-in
James 'Trip' Brown	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles
Darcy J. Bruno	....	studio teacher
Sandra B. Clark	....	craft service assistant
Susan Coagan	....	craft service
Tarry Cokolow	....	security
Brad Curd	....	office production assistant: Arizona
Kevin S. Curd	....	office production assistant: Arizona
Konrad Dowling	....	insurance: RHH/Albert G. Ruben
Maureen Duffy	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
John Dusenberry	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles
David Epstein	....	production accountant (as David B. Epstein)
Nan Garcia-Wood	....	medic: Los Angeles
Jennifer Getzinger	....	assistant to director
Jennifer Getzinger	....	script supervisor: Los Angeles
John Grant	....	location manager: Los Angeles
Phillip J. Hardy	....	production assistant: Los Angeles
Robin Hewitt	....	controller: NEO
Lew Horwitz	....	production financing: The Lewis Horwitz Organization (as Lewis Horwitz)
Tiby Kantrowitz	....	set production assistant (as Tiby Lee Kantrowitz)
Brian Kingman	....	insurance: RHH/Albert G. Ruben
Pamela D. Kleckner	....	assistant location manager: Arizona
Peter Lambert	....	production financing: The Lewis Horwitz Organization
John Lark	....	stand-in
Ramiro López	....	catering: Los Angeles, International Catering (as Ramiro Lopez)
Karl Lund	....	security
Frank Marinella	....	set production assistant (as Frank Michael Marinella)
Melanie Masson	....	set production assistant
Melanie Miller	....	production secretary: Los Angeles
Ken Moglovkin	....	accounting services: NEO
Kathleen Papera	....	set production assistant: Los Angeles
Gayle Phelps	....	bird wrangler: optical unit
Richard Potter	....	production executive
Charlotte Purin	....	assistant location manager: Los Angeles
Dennis H. Ranke	....	location manager
Steve Ransohoff	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Andrew Rona	....	production executive
Adrian F. Roscher	....	legal services (as Adrian Roscher)
Richard E. Rosenthal	....	studio teacher: Los Angeles (as Richard Rosenthal)
Ron Schmidt	....	assistant production coordinator (as Ronald J. Schmidt)
Ron Schmidt	....	production coordinator: Los Angeles (as Ronald J. Schmidt)
Scott Smith	....	medic: Arizona (as C. Scott Smith)
Claudia Soisson	....	assistant accountant
Carol Sonheim	....	bird wrangler: optical unit
Marion Spiegelman	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Jr. Donald Stanton	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles (as Donald Stanton)
David Steinberg	....	legal services
Janet L. Stott	....	legal services
Art Stribley	....	production financing: The Lewis Horwitz Organization (as Arthur Stribley)
Traci Tasher	....	assistant to producers
Traci Tasher	....	craft service: Los Angeles
David Wittenstein	....	office production assistant: Arizona
Kurt Woolner	....	completion guarantor: Film Finances
Stephen Zakman	....	office production assistant: Los Angeles (as Stephen M. Zakman)
Kimberly Weeks	....	script supervisor: second unit (uncredited)

Thanks
Syd Cole	....	special thanks: Magic Film & Video Works
Marie Hélène Desbiens	....	special thanks: Magic Film & Video Works (as Marie-Hélène Desbienes)
Joe Forte	....	special thanks
Rubén García	....	special thanks: Magic Film & Video Works (as Ruben Garcia)
Rima Greer	....	special thanks (as Rima Bauer Greer)
Patrick Kerlee McAllister	....	special thanks
Brian Kibbie	....	special thanks: Magic Film & Video Works
Donald Knowlton	....	special thanks
Mario Landeros	....	special thanks
Robert W. Lowe	....	special thanks: Chief of Police, Superior
William MacCallum	....	special thanks: Director, Arizona Film Commission (as William E. McCallum)
Eric Makus	....	special thanks
Mike Petzold	....	special thanks
Greg Pruss	....	special thanks (as Gregory Pruss)
Jim Ryan	....	special thanks: Principal, Superior High School
Kathryn Takis	....	special thanks
Donald Widen	....	special thanks
Tracy Wong	....	special thanks
Chris Zapata	....	special thanks: Superior Town Manager

Production Companies

• First Look International (presents) (as First Look Pictures)
• NEO Motion Pictures (producer) (as Neo Motion Pictures)
• Overseas FilmGroup

Distributors

• Alliance Video (1998) (Canada) (DVD)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (Greece) (VHS)
• Dimension Films
• Dimension Home Video (USA) (DVD)
• Dimension Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Finnkino (1995) (Finland) (VHS)
• Miramax Films
• Overseas FilmGroup (1995) (non-USA) (all media)
• Prooptiki (Greece)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2002) (Finland) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Patton EFX (special makeup effects)
• Special Effects Services (special effects: Los Angeles)
• Title House (computer imaging and rendering: cave sequence)
• Todd Masters Company (enemy ghost sequence)
• Effects Associates (angel effects and Mesa mattes by)
• Digital Magic Company (additional digital visual effects) (as Digital Magic Company - Santa Monica, CA)
• Neo Digital Imaging (as Neo Digital)
• Available Light Productions (as Available Light, Ltd.)

Other Companies

• All Payments Services  payroll service
• Arizona Film Commission  special thanks to
• Arizona Golf Resort, The  special thanks to: the staff of
• Avid Film Composer  edited on
• BTS Payroll Services Inc.  payroll service (as BTS Payroll)
• Best Western, Copper Hills  special thanks to: the staff of
• City of Superior, Arizona  special thanks to (as Residents of Superior, Arizona)
• Clairmont Camera  camera equipment provided by (as Cameras By CLAIRMONT)
• D&L Fabricating  special thanks to (as D&L Fabricating of Phoenix, Arizona)
• Denmead Marketing  unit publicist
• Film Finance  completion guarantor (as Film Finances)
• Giorgio Armani  sunglasses provided by
• Ground Control Studios  post production sound services
• International Catering  catering: Los Angeles
• Lewis Horwitz Organization, The  production financing provided by
• Lexington Suites Hotel, Mesa  special thanks to: the staff of
• Magic Film and Video Works  special thanks to (as Magic Film & Video Works)
• Overseas FilmGroup  special thanks to: the entire staff of
• Phoenix Film Office  special thanks
• RHH/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services  insurance by (as RHH/Albert G. Ruben)
• RetroSpecs & Co.  sunglasses provided by (as Retrospecs)
• Rolling Thunder Ranch  bird wrangler
• Silver Screen Caterers  caterer (as Silver Screen Catering)
• Star Casting Service  extras casting (as Star Casting)
• Superior Film Service  negative cutting
• Superior High School  special thanks to
• Superior Volunteer Fire Department, The  special thanks to
• THX Sound System Theatre  mixed and recorded in a
• Title House  titles and opticals

Also Known As:

God's Army (Europe: English title)
God's Secret Army (Europe: English title)
Seraphim (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and gore, and for some language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1995) (uncut) | Finland:K-16 (1995) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (2002) (uncut) | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Hungary:18 | South Korea:15 | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Germany:18 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Superior, Arizona, USA

Company:

First Look International

Trivia:

In a bit of truly inspired foreshadowing, in 1993, 2 years before this films release, Christopher Walken played an eerily similar role to that of his portrayal of the Archangel Gabriel in The Prophecy. In the Madonna video for the song "Bad Girl" (from her album "Erotica"), Walken plays the Angel of Death who silently follows a woman (Madonna) as she is being destroyed by her lifestyle. Though there is no speaking part, his mannerisms and look are strikingly similar to his later depiction of Gabriel - even down to his slicked back hair, pale complexion and mostly black wardrobe.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Gabriel steps through the doorway to exit the mobile home, and the door flings open by supernatural power, we can see the string at the top of the door that pulls it open.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Aqua Teen Hunger Force: The Meat Zone (#2.9)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Angel in Black

Walken Makes This Preposterous Story Fun

This was a different kind of horror movie with bad angels as the main attraction. Actually, the main attraction is Christopher Walken in the role of "Gabriel." He's extremely entertaining with his mixture of humor and evil. He admonishes people for profanity!

Of course, the theology in this movie is so preposterous it's hilarious. In movies like this (actually almost all movies) you aren't going to get Biblically-based stories, just a lot of mumbo-jumbo passed on as such. At least in the end, the hero of the film correctly identifies the warring angel as one doing so strictly out of jealously for God. That's Bibically accurate, but the rest of the theology here is totally bogus. You just hope people aren't gullible to believe this stuff. However, a lot of people probably don't know there are such things as bad angels, so that part is true.

Theology-aside, this is a very entertaining movie. The language is tame but beware there are a couple of very gory scenes that might offend. The special- effects are good. Walken is a "trip" to watch and Virginia Madsen looks beautiful.