The Omen

"You have been warned. If something frightening happens to you today, think about it. It may be The Omen."

1976 1h 51m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🍅

76%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 2,524🍅76%Rotten Tomatoes●62Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 145,374

HorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Immediately after their miscarriage, the US diplomat Robert Thorn adopts the newborn Damien without the knowledge of his wife. Yet what he doesn’t know is that their new son is the son of the devil.

“You have been warned. If something frightening happens to you today, think about it. It may be The Omen.”

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Cast

Gregory Peck
Robert Thorn
Lee Remick
Katherine Thorn
David Warner
Jennings
Billie Whitelaw
Mrs. Baylock
Harvey Stephens
Damien
Patrick Troughton
Father Brennan
Martin Benson
Father Spiletto
Robert Rietti
Monk

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Donner
Writers: David Seltzer
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $61M — a 21.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

50 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Omen Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Richard Donner, shot by Gilbert Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Donner directs. Gilbert Taylor behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Stuart Baird cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $61M — a 21.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
350 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Part of the "The Omen Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
6Directed by Richard Donner, shot by Gilbert Taylor. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Gregory Peck and Lee Remick and David Warner carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "You have been warned. If something frightening happens to you today, think about it. It may be The Omen.".
11IMDB entry: tt0075005 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 21 themes, including "ambassador", "prophecy", "monk", "photography".
13Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gilbert Taylor
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: Stuart Baird
Makeup / hair: Stuart Freeborn
Stunt coordinator: Alf Joint
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,800,000
Box office: $60,922,980
Return: 2176% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Omen (1976)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 62/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 145,374 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 6 wins & 9 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Original Score

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Omen Collection

Supernatural horror series centered around Damien Thorn, the Antichrist.

Also by

Richard Donner

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522019-10-06
★ 7/10
For whatever reason never saw The Omen before and while it has its moments, the last 10-15 minutes were particularly great, the middle part plodded along at a slow pace with little happening that was interesting outside a scene or two. All in all, it was okay but maybe a tad overrated. 3.25/5
GenerationofSwine2023-01-14
★ 10/10
I just recently re-watched this and the remake...there's really no fair comparison. Gregory Peck wins over Liev Schreiber, but then Peck is the better actor. Lee Remick is far more believable than Julia Stiles who doesn't seem to convey the same earnest fear and suspicion. David Thewlis is a good actor, but in bit parts he always seems to phone it in and David Warner was just the more believable photographer. I mean, the 1976 The Omen is dated, but that's not a bad thing and in this case you get the sense that they were doing something fresh and really trying to frighten you...and they did. By comparison the remake is paint by numbers and offers nothing new. 1976 is, hands down the more frightening, more dramatic, and more suspenseful film. Compared to 2006. 1976 is believable.
CinemaSerf2023-06-03
★ 7/10
OK, so at times this is a bit far-fetched, even for a horror movie, but I reckon it is still my favourite from the genre made in the 1970s. From a rather murky start in a Roman hospital, we see Gregory Peck and wife Lee Remmick head to London where he is to be US Ambassador - along with their new baby son "Damien" (cue the squeaking violins). Not long after their arrival, their nanny commits suicide - rather gruesomely, as it happens - facilitating the arrival of "Mrs. Baylock" (a rather menacing Billie Whitelaw). As the boy ages, and fuelled by some rather ghastly prophesies by Patrick Troughton's "Father Brennan", Peck slowly concludes that there is something a little dodgy about him. Thing is, can he thwart the evil contained within the youngster? Richard Donner does well to build and to sustain a sense of peril from pretty much the outset of this film - aided, ably, by a Jerry Goldsmith score that uses maniacal choral vocals and strings to keep you behind the sofa. Peck isn't at his best, and some of the scenes - especially in the graveyard with the Baskervillian hounds - do stretch the imagination, but for the most part it seizes your attention and keeps it. I have to admit to being disappointed by the ending - just why did the police have to give chase?