In 1976 The Omen scored a hit with critics and audiences hungry for more after The Exorcist with its mixture of Gothic horror and mystery and its plot about a young boy suspected of being the personification of the anti-Christ. Directed by Richard Donner (best known for his Superman and Lethal Weapon films), The Omen gained a lot of credibility from the casting of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as a distinguished American couple living in England, whose young son Damien bears "the mark of the beast". At a time when graphic gore had yet to dominate the horror genre, this film used its violence discreetly and to great effect and the mood of dread and potential death is masterfully maintained. It's all a bit contrived, with a lot of biblical portent and sensational fury but few would deny it's highly entertaining. Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score works wonders to enhance the movie's creepy atmosphere. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com Damien: Omen II takes place several years after the mysterious events that claimed the life of the US Ambassador and his wife as the now teenaged and militarily enrolled Damien Thorne is slowly being made aware of his unholy heritage and horrific destiny. Woe is he (including anyone in Damien's adoptive family and his classmates) who suspects the truth or gets in his way. While not as unrelentingly frightening as its blockbuster predecessor, this more-than-competent sequel raises some interesting questions about the nature of free will (can the anti-Christ deny his birthright?) before falling into a gory series of increasingly outlandish deaths, the best of which is a terrifyingly protracted scene beneath the ice of a frozen lake. Jerry Goldsmith (who won an Oscar for his work on the first film in the series) contributes another marvellously foreboding score. --Andrew Wright, Amazon.com The series concludes with The Omen III: The Final Conflict, starring Sam Neill as the adult Damien--aka the son of Satan--in a battle with the heavens for control of mankind. The film ends up depending more heavily on effects and spectacle than on the kind of basic horrors that made the first movie in the series so unsettling but at least this one gives some closure to the seemingly endless saga. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com On the DVDs: On the original movie disc there is an all-new 45-minute documentary, "666: The Omen Revealed", with contributions from all the major behind-the-scenes players, including director, editor, screenwriter (who confesses the movie was only set in England because he wanted a free trip to London!), producer and composer. The latter, Jerry Goldsmith, has his Oscar-winning contribution to the movie recognised with a separate feature in which he talks through four key musical scenes in the score. There's also a thought-provoking short called "Curse or Coincidence?" in which the many bizarre accidents that happened during shooting are related, including the terrible story of what happened to the girlfriend of the man responsible for designing the decapitation scene. Director Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird provide a chatty audio commentary to the movie. The second and third films lack as many extra features, being content with audio commentaries and theatrical trailers: the commentary for Omen II is by producer Harvey Bernhard, that for Omen III by director Graham Baker. --Mark Walker
IN WHITEWOOD, TIME STANDS STILL Christopher Lee was already a horror icon when he started filming The City of the Dead in 1959. Having played Frankenstein's Monster, Count Dracula and The Mummy for Hammer, this new picture would allow him to extend his range to the American Gothic and witchcraft in a small New England village Lee plays Professor Driscoll, an authority on the occult who persuades one of his students (Venetia Stevenson) to research his hometown, Whitewood, once the site of witch burnings in the 17th century. Booking herself into the Raven's Inn, she soon learns that devil worship among the locals hasn't been consigned to the past. Produced by future Amicus founders Milton Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, and beautifully shot by Desmond Dickinson (whose credits ranged from Laurence Olivier's Hamlet to Horrors of the Black Museum), The City of the Dead is a wonderfully atmospheric and still shocking slice of horror that stands firmly alongside with its Hammer contemporaries. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: New 4K digital restoration by the Cohen Film Collection and the BFI High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations of two versions of the film: The City of the Dead and the alternative US cut, Horror Hotel Uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM Audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Audio commentary by film critic Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 1897-2015 and Christopher Lee: An Authorised Screen History, recorded exclusively for this release Trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED! FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by Vic Pratt
The Cradle Will Fall
Channel 4's most successful ever drama series returns to DVD for an unprecedented fourth series. Following the lives loves and timetables of a group of hapless teachers that no sane parent would want teaching their children this irreverent comedy drama continues to steer clear of anything remotely educational or politically correct! Starring Tamzin Malleson as the manipulative sex kitten Penny; Vicky Hall as lardy Lindsay the biology teacher with a healthy disregard for her pupils
After Germany invades Poland in 1939 the Nazis decree that 350 000 Warsaw Jews be forcibly moved into an area known as the Warsaw Ghetto. Idealistic teacher Mordechai (Hank Azaria) decides the Jews must rise up against the Nazis and creates the Jewish Fighting Organisation (JFO). Determined to mobilise a resistance against the Nazis Mordechai recruits his friends (David Schwimmer Sadie Frost Donald Sutherland) who are determined to live with honour die with honour and provide hop
A woman's mother makes a last-minute deal with the Devil to save her daughter's life not realizing that her daughter's life is her stake. The daughter lives but with no chance of children. 20 years later she mysteriously becomes pregnant after meeting a dashing stranger. Yet people are dying around her...
One of the most chilling horror trilogies of all time is now available as a highly collectible Classic Series box set! Starring a wealth of talent including Gregory Peck Lee Remick William Holden Sam Neill David Warner Lee Grant and Billie Whitelaw the series spans the rise of Damien Thorn the Antichrist from devil's spawn to devious political figure. The films with their haunting and terrifying imagery together with the Oscar-winning soundtrack were box office smashes and have become must own films any horror or film fans' collection! The Omen He was born at 6am on the 6th day of the 6th month. The coming of Armageddon the sign of the final confrontation between the forces of good and evil as foretold in the Book of Revelations will begin with the birth of the son of Satan - in human form. The Omen II After the tragedy that befell his parents Robert and Katherine Thorn Damien is taken in by his caring Aunt and Uncle. However Damien is growing and so too are his mysterious powers - it is time for Damien to find out what his destiny really is... The Omen III Armageddon has come and the Evil One stands among us. His name is Damien Thorn and the power of evil is no longer in the hands of a child. The final and most terrifying chapter in the Omen Trilogy sees the fate of all mankind hanging in the balance as the battle lines are drawn for the ultimate war between good and evil for the final conflict.
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