Remember those paint-by-numbers kits that you did as a kid? Hollywood has taken it to the next level. It’s called the shoot-by-the-numbers remake. “The Omen” is just the latest example of this approach. Using a script that was essentially the same as the original for all intents and purposes (updated of course for the 21st century) the remake wasn’t quite as bad as Gus Van Sant’s remake of “Psycho” but it’s kind of like painting the Mona Lisa by numbers. It’s a painting. It looks like the Mona Lisa but it’s missing that elusive quality of Da Vinci…call it brilliance, inspiration, smarts whatever you want to call it. If you’re going to recreate a famous film at least take Dali’s approach—put a mustache on the darn thing. Make a statement. Take a risk. It seems to me to be the ultimate Warholian approach to making a movie. Take s omething that’s existing, make it bigger and slap it on a screen and—it’s a movie! My rant does lead something…it does have a point which is to review the latest double dip from Fox. “The Omen” gained its power from the iconic presence and dignity that stars Gregory Peck and Lee Remick projected. Richard Donner’s brilliant as a director on “The Omen” was to strip away the most absurd elements of the story (well, OK, the whole thing is absurd but it’s entertainment) and make it as based in reality as possible. “The Omen” doesn’t have the jump cuts and break neck pace of many current horror films but that’s its beauty—it builds like an orchestral crescendo creating critical mass (to borrow from dire ctor Wes Craven) by the conclusion of the film. It scared the heck out of me before and it retains its power even in our gore drenched times. The only reason this movie was remade was because of the date 6/6/06. That’s all. It was all about marketing really with the “product” a last consideration. I'd encourage Hollywood to stop shooting-by-the-numbers and actually take a risk or two and make a new horror movie or, at the very least, find a unique angle in their remake. The original "The Omen" can't be touched by the remake and Fox's deluxe two disc set illustrates why. **

June 6 1976 and Robert Thorn (Gregory Peck, “Cape Fear”, “Moby Dick”, Roman Holiday”, “Duel in the Sun”) a U.S. diplomat stationed overseas is rushing to the hospital. His wife Katherine (Lee Remick “No Way To Treat A Lady”, “Days of Wine And Roses”) has just given birth to a stillborn baby. The Thorns are given the option of adopting the child of a woman who died during childbirth. As Damien grows older there are clear signs that there’s something unsettling about the child. When Thorn is approached by a priest (Patrick Troughton “Jason and The Argonauts”, “Doctor Who”) who tells him his son is the anti-Christ he believes the priest has been in the sacramental wine a bit too much. Damien’s new nanny (Billie Whitelaw, “Frenzy”, “The Krays”) at first seems the perfect protector for Damien but the Thorns soon see a dark side to her. Strange tragedies surround Damien (Harvey Stephens) and when photographer Keith Jennings (David Warner, “Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country”, “Titanic”) approaches Thorn with similar claims Thorn begins to believe them.

Image & Sound:

Well this movie doesn’t look any more or less EVIL than the original DVD presentation. This edition has been remastered (according to Richard Donner in the supplements) and the authoring bears this out to some extent as this edition has 36 chapters whereas the previous edition has 20. The supplements on the first disc are essentially the same as the single disc edition of the film. The new edition looks crisper and sharper than the previous edition with exceptional black levels and images that are sharp looking. The remixed soundtrack from the previous edition of the film on DVD is intact here as well as three mono soundtracks in English, Spanish and French. ---

It doesn’t say it anywhere on the box but this new edition is a 2 disc edition. The first disc features the original extras that were on the previous edition. The second disc holds the new features to this edition (with the exception of the new commentary track by Donner and screenwriter/director Brian Helgeland but we’ll get to that in a moment). We get “The Omen Legacy” which was previously available on DVD separate from the film. Narrated by Jack Palance the documentary examines the prophecies from the Bible that formed the basis for “The Omen”. We get a mix of Satan worshipers, priests, reverends and other experts. While a bit overblown suggesting that some of the earthquakes and disasters we’ve experienced both in the late 20th century (when the documentary was produ ced) and early 21st century suggests that the “end of days” could be at hand is a bit hard for me to swallow. Luckily the documentary shifts to discussing the films in “The Omen” series and backing away from the mythology that supports (and is often misinterpreted) the themes for the film. The idea to do “The Omen” came from Robert Munger a religious advisor who contacted producer Harve Bernhard with his idea that the Anti-Christ was already among us appearing as an innocent child. Bernhard had success in making a pair of exploitation films. He hadn’t tried horror yet but the material intrigued him. Bernhard approached writer David Seltzer (who didn’t have much interest at the time in doing genre material) and Seltzer initially turned him down. He recon sidered after reading the Bible and realizing that no one had really tackled this material (forgetting “Rosemary’s Baby”), Warner optioned and then passed on “The Omen” because of the success of “The Exorcist”. Warner had a concern about Warner would be perceived by the public. Richard Donner had the script sent to him by Mace Neufield and Donner in turn wanted to direct so he forwarded it to his friend Alan Ladd Jr. who immediately green lit the film. ***

Donner appears on two commentary tracks. The first was for the original DVD release with Donner and editor Stuart Baird (later a director with “Star Trek: Nemesis” to his credit). Interestingly, the second commentary track with Brian Helgeland has stories that contradict some earlier things Donner reveals in the first commentary track. Both commentary tracks are worth listening to. Donner is an entertaining storyteller and allowing him to ramble with occasional interjections and observations seems to be the best approach for his commentaries. Luckily Baird and Helgeland let him do just that. The contradictions in the commentary tracks all comes down to the reliability of memory either way the different stories are all entertaining. ***

“666: The Omen Revealed” features Donner, Munger, Bernhard and others involved in the production in a contemporary documentary discussing the film and its impact 30 years on. Featuring plenty of clips from the film there are a number of funny stories related by Donner, Bernhard and Neufield that don’t show up on the commentary tracks including some hilarious casting stories. Originally Charlton Heston was considered for the role (that would have been interesting particularly given his stature as an icon due to “The 10 Commandments”, “Ben-Hur”) but ultimately Gregory Peck came out of a self imposed retirement to play the role for Donner. We also get a deleted dog attack scene with commentary by Donner and Hegleand. The deleted scene is in pretty poor condition which isn’t a surprise given how much time has passed but it’s nice that it survived. Donner discusses his justification for cutting the scene and given the context of the time it makes sense. ***

“Screenwriter’s Notebook” is a featurette that focuses on writer David Seltzer. He took the assignment because he was broke according to this featurette. He did his research and was inspired by having just seen Spielberg’s “Jaws” to create a credible thriller. Seltzer went through a couple of titles (“The Anti-Christ”, “Birthmark”) and the title was changed by someone on the set when they were shooting the hospital scenes with Lee Remick. Seltzer acknowledges that Donner’s guidance made the film more powerful by knocking out anything that would make it appear like a fantasy. “An Appreciation: Wes Craven” allows the horror director to tip his hat to Donner’s film pointing out that its Donner’s depth as a director that made the film so effective and classy. It’s quite clip heavy to illustrate Craven’s points but he’s on target about what works so well in the film. At just over 20 minutes it’s the perfect length. We also get about 140 photos in the still gallery ranging from production shots to behind-the-scenes stills and head shots. ---

Final Words: