Richard Donner died yesterday aged 91.
He was a top drawer Hollywood filmmaker who's hand was on the tiller of many iconic movies. the News is focusing on The Goonies, an important film for a late Seventies generation chomping popcorn to the gang's antics in 1985.
Donner also gave us the Christopher Reeves' Superman films, milestones in bringing DC to the big screen and icons for a certain age-group. He also produced that wondrous flick The Lost Boys and later kicked off Marvel's new onscreen universe with the X-Men.
But its an earlier film he directed that really gets my vote and one I adored as a teenager, The Omen. Starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick I can almost replay every scene in my mind and I think I could the recite lines as they played out on the screen. On the slimy heels of the Exorcist the Omen was more palatable to a lot more people and was seen by many as it didn't get banned!
The whole iconography of the Omen was terrific; the Dr. Who priest, the lightning rod impaling, the Rottweilers of the old Cerveteri cemetery and the knives of Megiddo. And who can forget seeing THAT scene as a teenager, the one with the spinning head and the sheet of glass!
And so, as the eternal sea rises as cited in the film, I say goodnight to Richard and thank him and his family for his marvellous films. Rest in Peace.
Which of his movies did you like readers? Have you any collectables from them?
Yup, for me it has to be 'The Omen', too. I was too young to see it when it was first released but it had a definite allure back then (Satanic films always did) and it just seems to improve every time I watch it. A good novelisation, as I remember, but that's the nearest thing to a collectable I own. The BBC did a good audio version a couple of years ago, too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it too Paul. I enjoyed Omen 2 as well. I have a sort of Omen knockoff on video as well - with Kirk Douglas called Holocaust 2000. Have you seen that? not bad.
DeleteIf I remember correctly, it's a cheapo Italian rip-off but pretty good. Been a while since I've seen it, though, but now I want to see it again.
ReplyDeleteThat's it! Its a seven headed nuclear reactor I think!
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