The Omen

The Omen is a 1976 horror film directed by Richard Donner and starring Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Stephens, Billie Whitelaw, Patrick Troughton, Martin Benson, and Leo McKern.

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The premise of The Omen comes from the end times prophecies of fundamentalist Christianity. Unlike the Left Behind series, this movie had no obvious evangelistic intent and its reading of the prophecies is fairly superficial, using them only as a premise from which to build the larger plot. The story tells of the childhood of Damien Thorn, who was switched at birth with the murdered child of a wealthy American diplomat. Damien's family is unaware that he is actually the offspring of Satan and destined to become the Antichrist.

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The movie followed at the tail end of a cycle of 'demonic child' films such as Rosemary's Baby, I Don't Want To Live, To The Devil A Daughter, and most notably The Exorcist, and was itself followed by sequels (see below) and a number of copycat films such as the Italian-made Kirk Douglas movie Armageddon 2000. As a rule of thumb, the children concerned get older as the cycle continues, from the newborn of 'Rosemary' to the teens of such films as Carrie and The Fury (1978).

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The Omen was memorable for its chillingly effective use of symbolism, such as the birthmark of the number 666 on Damien's scalp, the effective use of crucifixes and statuary for foreshadowing, and the wallpapering of a room with pages from a Bible to ward off evil spirits. Some critics contended that the movie's attempt to portray apocalyptic symbology reflected the lack of a scholarly grounding in actual prophetic texts. Nevertheless, the movie has chilled and terrified generations of viewers. The movie boasted one of the most disturbing scenes in cinema as a character whose face appeared joyful hanged herself at a birthday party attended by young children.

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An original score for the film was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, for which he received the only Oscar of his long career. The score features a strong choral segment, with a foreboding Latin chant. The refrain to the chant is, "Sanguis bebimus, corpus edimus" (Latin, "We drink the blood, we eat the flesh"), interspersed with cries of "Ave Satani!" (Latin, "Hail, Satan!"). Aside from the choral work, the score includes lyrical themes portraying the pleasant home life of the Thorn family, which are contrasted with the more disturbing scenes of the family's confrontation with evil.

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During the course of filming, the production was plagued with a series of "curses", which the crew suggested were perhaps supernatural forces trying to prevent the filming of the movie. Such "curses" included: the plane for scriptwriter David Seltzer was struck by lightning; Richard Donner's hotel was bombed by the Provisional IRA; Gregory Peck canceled a flight to Israel, only for the plane he'd chartered to crash, killing all on board; and on the first day of shooting, the principal members of the crew survived a head-on car crash.

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Tagline: Good morning. You are one day closer to the end of the world. You have been warned.

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The Omen spawned several sequels.

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• ' (1978)
• ' (1981)
• ' (1991, made-for-TV).
• The Omen 666 (2006, remake of the original).
The Omen: Cast ►



 

1976: 1976 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar)....

Horror film: The horror cinematic genre is characterized by the attempt to make the viewer experience dread, fear, terror, or horror. Its plots often involve the intrusion of an evil force, event or personage, sometimes of supernatural origin, on the mundane world and the consequences thereof....

Richard Donner: Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg, April 24, 1930) is an American film director and also producer through the production company, The Donners' Company, he and his wife, producer Lauren Schuler-Donner, own....




The Omen related Images and Photos (experimental)

The Omen 1976	Damien: Omen II	Gears of War 3 Omen Metal Key Chain	Gears of War 3 Omen Armor Belt Buckle
Gears of War 3 Omen Chain Wallet	Gears of War 3 Omen Canteen Flask	Gears of War 3 Omen Studs Rubber Bracelet	Gears of War Crimson Omen Water Bottle
Gears of War 3 Omen Drawstring Bag	Gears of War 3 Omen/Title Chain Wallet & Key Chain Gift Set	Gears of War 3 Omen/Title Wallet and Dog Tag Gift Set	Gears of War 3 Vein Omen Bottle Opener Key Chain