The Omen Collection

Scream Factory’s The Omen Collection is the latest in what is becoming a very awesome string of releases; a stunning, full collection of a horror franchise in a heavy-duty slipcover with an original art design (individual film cases have theatrical art covers). Like the Critters collection before it and the upcoming The Fly collection, The Omen Collection offers all four original titles and the remake with a bounty of extras on each disc. You also get Omen IV: The Awakening for the first time on Blu-ray (Fox had previously put on a collection in flimsy paperstock packaging that had just the first three films and the remake).

If you’ve not seen The Omen series, or you’ve only seen the first film; it’s an interesting, if wildly uneven, experience. The Omen is, of course, a horror classic (and this transfer is really a stand-out, full-grain, it looks like you’re seeing it on new 35mm). Damien is a much goofier film, not that it’s a comedy, it’s just harder to take it seriously. The Final Conflict is good and has Sam Neill, but I’ll be honest, it always felt more like a ‘demonic drama’ like The Devil’s Advocate than a horror film to me. The Awakening is probably good for one viewing to say you saw it. The same goes for the remake which in places duplicates large sections of the dialogue line for line and is mostly an inferior copycat.

Another real callout for this set is all the extras, both recycled and new. If you’re not really an extras person these are still worth the time. Scream Factory is also getting a reputation for filming some truly interesting, unexpected interviews for their releases. A particular favorite of mine is the interview with Holly Palance, (the actress behind the ‘it’s all for you Damien’ nanny) talking about having to stand on that roof unaided and other memories. My recommendation is that you pick this collection up and spend a week going through it, just one film and all its extras a night, you will not be sorry.

 

From the press release:

THE OMEN COLLECTION Deluxe Edition Special Features

Disc 1:

THE OMEN (1976)

• 4K Transfer from the original negative, approved by director Richard Donner
• NEWThe Devil’s Word – an interview with screenwriter David Seltzer
• NEW It’s All for You – an interview with actress Holly Palance
• NEW The Devil’s Music – aninterview with composer Christopher Young talking about Jerry Goldsmith’s legendary score
• NEW audio commentary with special project consultant Scott Michael Bosco
• Audio Commentary with director Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird
• Audio Commentary with director Richard Donner and filmmaker Brian Helgeland
• Audio Commentary with film historians Lem Dobbs, Nick Redman and Jeff Bond
• Isolated Score Track
• Richard Donner on THE OMEN
• The Omen Revelations
• Curse of Coincidence?
• 666: The Omen Revealed
• Screenwriter’s Notebook– an interview with writer David Seltzer
• Introduction with director Richard Donner (2006)
• Deleted Scene with commentary
• An Appreciation – Wes Craven on THE OMEN
• Jerry Goldsmith discusses THE OMEN score
• Trailers from Hell featuring commentary by filmmaker Larry Cohen
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Radio Spots
• Still Galleries – Behind the Scenes, movie stills, posters and lobby cards

 

Disc 2:

DAMIEN: OMEN II

• NEW Damien’s Guardian – an interview with actress Lee Grant
• NEW The Devil’s CEO– an interview with actor Robert Foxworth
• NEW The Harbinger – an interview with actress Elizabeth Shepard
• NEW Elizabeth Shepherd’s Scrapbook– a look at her behind the scenes photos with commentary by Elizabeth Shepherd
• NEW Audio Commentary with special project consultant Scott Michael Bosco
• Audio Commentary with producer Harvey Bernhard
• Vintage Featurette – Power and the Devil: The Making of DAMIEN: OMEN II
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spot
• Radio Spot
• Still Gallery

 

Disc 3:

OMEN III: THE FINAL CONFLICT

• NEW The Devil in the Detail– an interview with director Graham Baker
• NEW Resurrecting the Devil – an interview with screenwriter/associate producer Andrew Birkin
• NEW Interview with production assistant Jeanne Ferber
• NEW Audio Commentary with special project consultant Scott Michael Bosco
• Audio Commentary with director Graham Baker
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Still Gallery

 

Disc 4

OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING

• NEW The Book of Evil – an interview with screenwriter Brian Taggert
• Theatrical Trailer
• Still Gallery
• The Omen Legacy – a documentary on THE OMEN films

 

Disc 5

THE OMEN (2006)

• Audio Commentary by director John Moore, producer Glenn Williamson and editor Dan Zimmermann
• Unrated Extended Scenes and Extended Ending
• Omenisms – Behind the scenes of THE OMEN (2006)
• Abbey Road Recording Sessions featurette
• Revelation 666: Behind the Scenes
• Theatrical Trailers

 

Movie Details

THE OMEN

“An Absolutely Riveting, Thoroughly Scary Experience!” – Los Angeles Times

When Kathy Thorn (Lee Remick) gives birth to a stillborn baby, her husband Robert (Gregory Peck) shields her from the devastating truth and substitutes an orphaned infant for their own – unaware of the child’s satanic origins. The horror begins on Damien’s fifth birthday when his nanny stages a dramatic suicide. Soon after, a priest who tries to warn Damien’s father is killed in a freakish accident. As the death toll mounts, Robert realizes his son is the Antichrist and decides he must kill the boy to prevent him from fulfilling a cataclysmic prophecy. Briskly paced and breathtakingly evil, The Omen is the first film in the classic legacy of terror.

TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX Presents A HARVEY BERNHARD-MACE NEUFELD Production

GREGORY PECK LEE REMICK “THE OMEN”

Co-Starring DAVID WARNER BILLIE WHITELAW Executive Producer MACE NEUFELD Produced By HARVEY BERNHARD Directed By RICHARD DONNER Written By DAVID SELTZER Music By JERRY GOLDSMITH

1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Mono/English Subtitles/1976/Approximate Feature Running Time: +/- 111 Minutes

 

DAMIEN: OMEN II

Damien returns to fulfill his destiny.

Since the sudden and suspicious death of his parents, 12-year-old Damien (Jonathan Scott-Taylor) has been in the charge of his wealthy uncle (William Holden) and aunt (Lee Grant) and a student of a military school. Widely feared to be the Antichrist, Damien relentlessly plots to seize control of his uncle’s business empire – and the world. Anyone attempting to unravel the secrets of Damien’s sinister past or fiendish future meets with a swift and cruel demise.

A HARVEY BERNHARD Production In Association With MACE NEUFELD

WILLIAM HOLDEN LEE GRANT “DAMIEN – OMEN II”

Produced By HARVEY BERNHARD Co-Produced By CHARLES ORME

Directed By DON TAYLOR Screenplay By STANLEY MANN And MICHAEL HODGES

Story By HARVEY BERNHARD Music By JERRY GOLDSMITH

Color by DeLuxe® Panavision®

1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Mono/English Subtitles/1978/Approximate Feature Running Time: +/- 107 Minutes

 

THE FINAL CONFLICT

Satan’s son is all grown up… and he’s not playing around anymore.

Damien Thorn (Sam Neill) is now 32, a coldly calculating being whose creed is evil, whose ambition is world domination and whose only loyalties are to himself and the father he serves. To attain his ends, he will kill anyone in his way, be it friend, enemy, disciple or lover. Only a dedicated priest (Rossano Brazzi), whose mission is to destroy the Antichrist and who has at his command the Seven Sacred Daggers of Megiddo, stands between Damien and his desire to bring the world to the brink of global chaos.

TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX Presents A HARVEY BERHARD Production In Association With MACE NEUFELD

“THE FINAL CONFLICT” SAM NEILL As Damien ROSSANO BRAZZI DON GORDON LISA HARROW BARNABY HOLM

Executive Producer RICHARD DONNER Produced By HARVEY BERNHARD Directed By GRAHAM BAKER

Written By ANDREW BIRKIN Based On Characters Created By DAVID SELTZER Music By JERRY GOLDSMITH

1080p High-Definition Widescreen (2.35:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Stereo/English Subtitles/1981/Approximate Feature Running Time: +/- 108 Minutes

 

OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING

Damien’s prophecy is reborn!

Damien Thorn is dead, but his prophecy is reborn in a mysterious girl named Delia, who is adopted by two attorneys, Gene and Karen York. When Karen realizes her baby was born under suspicious circumstances, she hires a private investigator to find Delia’s real parents. A series of bizarre accidents occur, and Karen begins to suspect everyone of conspiring against her as she unravels the truth about her child.

FNM FILMS PRESENTS A HARVEY BERNHARD/MACE NEUFELD Production “OMEN IV: THE AWAKENING”

FAYE GRANT MICHAEL WOODS

MICHAEL LERNER ASIA VIEIRA Co-Producer ROBERT ANDERSON Executive Producer MACE NEUFELD

Screenplay By BRIAN TAGGERT Story By HARVEY BERNHARD & BRIAN TAGGERT

Produced By HARVEY BERNHARD Directed By JOHN MONTESI And DOMINIQUE OTHENIN-GERARD

1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio Stereo/English Subtitles/1991/Approximate Feature Running Time: +/- 97 Minutes

 

THE OMEN (2006)

“Haunting. A Top-Notch Scary Movie.” – Richard Roeper, Ebert and Roeper

In this chilling remake of The Omen, man’s darkest fears are manifested as an unspeakable terror is unleashed on the world! U.S. diplomat Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber, Ray Donavan) substitutes an orphan for his own stillborn baby in order to spare his unknowing wife, Katherine (Julia Stiles). But after a series of grotesque murders and dire warnings, the Thorns come to the horrifying realization that their child is the son of Satan!

TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX PRESENTS A JOHN MOORE Film “THE OMEN”

JULIA STILES LIEV SCHREIBER MIA FARROW DAVID THEWLIS PETE POSTLETHWAITE MICHAEL GAMBON

And Introducing SEAMUS DAVEY-FITZPATRICK Music By MARCO BELTRAMI Film Editor DAN ZIMMERMAN

Production Designer PATRICK LUMB Director Of Photography JONATHAN SELA Executive Producer JEFFREY STOTT

Produced By GLENN WILLIAMSON JOHN MOORE Written By DAVID SELTZER Directed By JOHN MOORE

1080p High-Definition Widescreen (1.85:1)/DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1/English Subtitles/2006/Approximate Feature Running Time: +/- 110 Minutes