Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30912 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-10-04
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 93 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A prime candidate for cult status (it even spawned a sequel), The Prophecy is a 1995 apocalyptic horror flick that belongs in the darker corners of the comedy-horror sub genre alongside Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mimic and Phantoms--and like those movies it's a mixed blessing with some highlights worth savouring.

This one's got Christopher Walken in its favour, starring as the Angel Gabriel, who's really mad at God for allowing humans into heaven (because, you see, humans have souls and angels don't, and God plays favourites). Gabriel takes his anger out on the human race, coming to Earth to capture the soul of the most evil human alive in an effort to defeat the "good" angels that remain in God's good graces. One of the good angels is played by Eric Stoltz, who captures the evil soul before Walken does and transfers it into the body of a little girl.

Are you with us so far? Don't worry if you're not, because writer-director Gregory Widen filled The Prophecy with so many wild ideas that he didn't bother to connect them to a coherent plot. Add Viggo Mortensen as the devil and Elias Koteas as a priest-turned detective who's tracking Walken and it's clear that Widen was attempting something ambitious here. He nearly succeeded, since The Prophecy jumpstarts its heaven-and-hell rivalry with enough action, humour, and intelligence to make the movie sufficiently entertaining. It was enjoyable enough to entice Walken back for the sequel, so if you're into this kind of thing, this one's a keeper. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

Video Description
DVD Special Features
Languages: Dolby Digital 5.1: English
Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired
Running Time: 94 mins approx
Widescreen Format: 2.35:1

Synopsis
There is war in heaven when Archangel Gabriel (Christopher Walken) leads a revolt to unseat the usurpers of God's chosen: Mankind. But when a homicide investigation takes a turn for the Biblical, a cop (Elias Koteas) and a school teacher (Virginia Madsen) learn that they are not just dealing with a string of mysteriously mutilated bodies, but with saving the earth from becoming a suburb of Hell.

Customer Reviews

The Prophecy does not disappoint
Just before The Prophecy was released, there was a lot of excitement about it in certain circles I was a part of. That excessive hype led to my initial disappointment with the movie. Over time, though, as I have watched it over again a time or two, my appreciation of the film has grown. Biblical prophecy and apocalyptic discourses are fascinating to me, and this movie plays off of some of the more far-fetched ideas in the realm of speculation. As the movie opens, we see Thomas Daggett lose his faith in God at the very moment in which he was to be confirmed as a priest; his loss of faith is interestingly a result of having been shown too much of heaven rather than too little. The movie then jumps to the present, where Daggett is a police detective investigating the death of a man-like enigma with no eyes and fetus-like cell structure. We have already seen how this being attacked the angel Simon and lost the fight. The injuries Simon sustains in the struggle upsets his plans, plans which consist of retrieving the soul of the recently deceased most evil man on earth before "the enemy" seizes that soul for their continuing nefarious purposes. Before Simon dies, he gives the soul to a young Indian girl named Mary, and the plot revolves around the enemy's attempts to retrieve the black soul from her and the efforts of Daggett, Mary's teacher, and a medicine man to release the black soul from within Mary's body. The enemy, as Daggett learns by translating a Bible found on the body of the initial victim, is none other than the archangel Gabriel. An unknown 23rd chapter of Revelation in the ancient Bible describes a second war going on in heaven, a war led by the archangel Gabriel who refuses to bow down to the "monkeys" of humanity whom God gave souls and thus elevated above even the angels. This is not a "Left Behind" type of story about the end times; it is a saga of the second war in heaven, a war among God's angels themselves. Naturally, such a conflict cannot end without the original fallen angel Lucifer involving himself in the action, and all of this makes for a quite satisfying conclusion to the movie.

This movie is blessed with terrific acting. Christopher Walken in particular delivers a powerful portrayal of the tortured archangel Gabriel. There are some pretty good special effects, particularly those showing the horrors of the fighting among the angels in heaven itself. Most religious individuals should have no real problems with The Prophecy because it never portrays itself as representing some kind of truth or challenges its viewers' own beliefs. While the movie has its flaws, it succeeds in presenting a problematical storyline with the required seriousness it requires in order to be effective. It is also improved by small bits of humor along the way, such as Gabriel's dislike for human tears and his inability to drive a car. This is definitely a must-see for Christopher Walken fans. Those unable or unwilling to suspend their disbelief, especially when it involves intractable religious views, will do well to seek their entertainment elsewhere.

Fun with theology
Heaven's been closed for the past two thousand years because of a war between the angels, with Christopher Walken's Archangel Gabriel leading those eager to do away with the talking monkeys who have supplanted them in God's affections, and now the War in Heaven has spilled out onto Earth. These angels aren't the benign, mournfully watchful figures of Wings of Desire or City of Angels, let alone the make-a-wish do-gooders of Touched by an Angel. These are God's hitmen, creatures that spend their whole existence praising God with one wing dipped in blood. They don't grant wishes, they don't make things better and you really, REALLY wouldn't want to see one. But, experienced as they are in laying waste to whole nations, they lack man's capacity for true evil and need to find the darkest human soul to show them the way to win. Viggo Mortensen's Lucifer isn't too keen on the situation, fearing a victory for Gabriel's side will result in Heaven becoming another Hell - and two Hells is one Hell too many for him. Stuck in the middle is Elias Koteas' priest-turned-cop, who lost his faith not because Heaven showed him too little but because it showed him too much.

The similarities to writer-director Gregory Widen's Highlander screenplay are apparent, although this boasts a much lower budget but infinitely superior direction, a good visual sense and some great locations. Much of the film's strength is in its ideas and its dialogue: the plotting is at times perfunctory, Virginia Madsen's schoolteacher takes little convincing of the Angelic threat and Walken probably has a little TOO much fun as Gabe, whether letting schoolchildren blow his horn or gleefully explaining "I'm an angel. I kill firstborns while their mamas watch. I turn cities into salt. I even, when I feel like it, rip the souls from little girls, and from now till kingdom come, the only thing you can count on in your existence is never understanding why." The ending too is more than a little awkward. But the good points outweigh the bad.

No extras (the US release includes the trailer) but a decent 2.35:1 widescreen transfer.

Walken's Gem
I love this film! Walken is perfectly cast as the menacing angel Gabriel, pretty miffed at God for banishing him. The darkness of the film is very effective as is the way the angels themselves are portrayed. These are no white feathered good guys and most of them you really wouldn't want to meet down a dark alley! The plot is not a challenging one really. I've watched the film several times and found it more enjoyable each time. Viggo Mortenson as the Devil provides an unlikely hero at the end and is also perfectly cast.