The Omen
Short description
The Omen follows American diplomat Robert Thorn, whose wife Katherine gives birth to a stillborn child in Rome. A priest at the hospital offers him another newborn, born the same night and allegedly left without relatives, and Thorn agrees to raise the boy as his own son without telling his wife what happened. The couple name the child Damien and settle in London, where Thorn takes up a diplomatic post. Katherine dotes on the boy, but unsettling events gather around him: a nanny kills herself at his fifth birthday party, and a priest who tries to warn Thorn about the child dies shortly afterwards. Thorn is gradually forced to confront what his adopted son really is.
The film was released in June 1976 and runs 111 minutes. Richard Donner directed it from a screenplay by David Seltzer; it is the first of the eighteen features credited to Donner in chronological order, ahead of Superman. Gregory Peck and Lee Remick play the Thorns, with David Warner, Billie Whitelaw, Harvey Stephens as Damien and Patrick Troughton among a credited cast of forty. Made for about three million dollars, it took roughly sixty-one million worldwide, a strong return. On IMDb it holds 7.5/10 from around 146,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4/10 from roughly 2,500. A critics' rating of 7.3/10 from fifty-six reviews sits close to those audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- After the working title of the film changed from "Antichrist" to "The Birthmark", members of the film crew began to experience misfortunes: Gregory Peck and screenwriter David Zelzer flew to the UK on different planes, and both aircraft were struck by lightning; the film's producer, Harvey Bernhard, narrowly avoided being struck by lightning while in Rome; Gregory Peck was supposed to fly to Israel, but was forced to cancel the trip for some reason. Later came news of a plane crash – there were no survivors.
- Harvey Stephens, who played Damien, did not know he was filming a horror movie.
- To make the baboon pack attack the car, a Windsor Zoo employee was placed in the back seat with the pack leader. The monkeys went wild, eliciting genuine emotions from the lead actress, Lee Remick.
- Immediately after the film's release in North American theaters, the demand for Rottweilers sharply increased.
- Mike Hodges was offered to lead the filming process, but the director declined. Subsequently, Mike was appointed director of the sequel, but 20 days after filming began, Hodges was removed from the project due to creative differences with the producers.
- Dead sardines, painted orange, were used in the scene with the overturned aquarium. Director Richard Donner refused to use live fish for the filming due to ethical concerns.
- Harvey Stephens, who played Damien, is a natural blonde.
- Filming took place from October 12, 1975, to January 2, 1976.
- The first screenings of the film took place on June 6, 1976, marking the number of the Antichrist – 666.
- Gregory Peck, who played the main role, beat out his competitors Charlton Heston, Roy Scheider, and William Holden, despite not appearing in any serious films for about five years (from 1971 to 1975). Holden, however, landed the lead role in the sequel "Damien: Omen II".
- A corresponding vertical set piece, symbolizing a floor, was used for the scene of Lee Remick's fall. Therefore, stunt performers were not needed to film this scene.
- Gregory Peck agreed to a significant reduction in his standard fee, settling for $250,000. As a bonus, Gregory was to receive 10% of the film's box office receipts ($60.9 million in the US alone). Thus, "The Omen" became Gregory’s most profitable film in his career.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
