Well, you all knew I was going to, didn't you?

http://www.writewords.org.uk/forum/93_77787.asp

Comments appreciated.

JB

Waxy,

I am commenting on your Omen Review on this site for I had some difficulty in re-connecting your Da Vinci Review from my homepage.

Anyway your Omen Review is great in that it gives a very clear idea of the changes and whether you felt these were 'better'.

I must admit I cannot see any actress improve on the performance of Billie Whitelaw in the original Omen. Even when she appears in other films and acts out very different roles, she has a look of hidden and dark depths about her personna.

I did not like Gregory Peck at all in the original; he seemed unable to project 'something' other than Gregory Peck - he was still Gregory Peck when playing Captain Ahab!

Thanks for an informative Review.

Len

Thanks Len. I confess I've not seen Gregory Peck (or not focused on him if I have) in many other films, so perhaps I lost that distinction.

Appreciate the comments!

JB

Any more comments from anyone?

JB

Yeah, I'll dive in and spoil yer day

Only kidding. It was a great review. I always enjoy reading your forum rants and this review carries that same voice. Having said that, the preamble goes on for a bit, but I only say that because I'm interested in a review for this film and I wanted to get to the meat.

I don't know why they do these remakes - it really makes me wonder how pivitol someone mentioning the date as a money spinner at some board meeting was in this film coming about. The only successful horror remake, in my eyes, is The Evil Dead II, which was by same director. Anyway, back to the point, a genuinely fun, but informative review, Waxy, and good to hear it coming from someone who is passionate about the original.

Mind you, one thing I've just got to pull you up on:

an intelligent, understated masterpiece that has, without doubt, stood the test of time.

- I watched the 1976 Omen a few weeks back and although it is still a superb film, I don't believe it's stood the test of time, and I'm with Len on Gregory Peck. He's almost as wooden as John Woodvine in "An American Werewolf in London". But David Warner is fucking class, as is the dude who plays the priest who gets impaled.

Right, I'm all riled up. I'll be watching The Omen when I get back, full of curry and lager

Colin M

Thanks for your comments Colin.

The original Omen has stood the test of time, at least for me, simply because it is still scary, still tense and still disturbing. Yes, it looks a bit dated, but somehow that fact (and Gregory Peck's stiff ambassador) seem to work with the script perfectly.

Given another 30 years, I'll bet the new version will seem that much more dated than the original does now. It's a disgusting waste of money, I agree, and yes, I'm the first in line to shout that it's high time for a new Antichrist story. I wish remakes were passed over in favour of new stories being made, as the remake is not progressive enough for my tastes. There are a host of terrific new ideas out there - it's high time the studios took the same risks they did three decades ago. Therein classics are born.

JB