Disc one starts off with the commentary from director Richard Donner and the film's editor, Stuart Baird that was on the previous special edition release of the film. This is an interesting discussion that, while screen specific at times, gives us a pretty interesting look at what went into making the film. We learn about casting decisions and shooting locations as well as how some of the more elaborate set pieces from the film were created. Donner talks working with a child actor and with big name performers like Peck and despite some dead air in a few spots, this is a pretty engaging talk that is definitely a worthwhile listen for fans of The Omen. In this talk, Donner talks about a deleted scene that never made it onto the last DVD for some reason. Fox has corrected that this time out – more on that below.

A brand new second commentary track appears on this disc as well, featuring Donner once again who, this time around, is joined by Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of Man On Fire and director of A Knight's Tale). Despite the fact that Helgeland really has nothing to do with the movie being discussed (unless you include the fact that he wrote and directed The Order which deals with some similar themes) he's obviously a fan and he does a good job of keeping Donner talking for most of the track. If you listen carefully you might notice that Donner contradicts some of what he said in the earlier commentary track but these are minor discrepancies and while a lot of the information contained in these two tracks is covered just as thoroughly in the featurettes, they're interesting and entertaining enough in their own right as they at least provide a different take on the production's history.

Also carried over from the previous special edition release is an excellent documentary entitled 666: The Omen Revealed that clocks in at a lengthy forty-six minutes in length. This is a pretty in depth look at what went into making the first film in the franchise (it doesn't really touch on the sequels at all) through some interviews with Richard Donner and a few other crew members. It's interesting to hear how Donner had to get Peck on board before he could bet studio backing for the release and it's also interesting to hear who some of the original casting choices were for the part that Peck more or less came out of retirement to take (he hadn't made a film in the five years prior to The Omen).

The six minute Curse Or Coincidence, again carried over from the last disc, is also here. For those who haven't seen it this is an interesting little segment which takes a look at the strange circumstances surrounding the film as it was being made. It's been well documented how unusual problems plagued the staff. Planes were hit by lightning, dogs attacked animal handlers, an IRA bomb went off in a hotel being used and the curse even seemed to follow people involved in the production, notably effects guru John Richardson who was injured and whose girlfriend was decapitated during the making of A Bridge Too Far shortly after working on The Omen. Strange and compelling stuff!

Whereas the last time Fox put this film out on DVD, they for some reason omitted the deleted scene that Donner bluntly mentions in his original commentary. Thankfully that bizarre oversight has now been corrected and the Dog Attack Scene is presented on home video for the first time with optional commentary from Donner over top. Without spoiling it too much, let it suffice to say that Damien's diabolical dogs wreak havoc in the scene which Donner covers in a fair bit of detail with his optional discussion. Though the scene isn't one hundred percent complete (you can tell when you watch it that it ends short), it's

An Appreciation – Wes Craven On The Omen is a short video interview with the director of Last House On The Left who reminisces about catching the movie in the theater during its original theatrical release and being surprised with how strong a horror film it was. Taken aback by the fact that a big studio production with A-list stars was as frightening as it was, Craven talks about the film quite affectionately but doesn't add a whole lot to anything other than just, as the title states, a simple appreciation.

The biggest and best of the supplements in this set is The Omen Legacy, which is a massive one hundred and one minute long documentary that covers the entire franchise in some serious detail. This documentary was previously released as a single disc from Image Entertainment but Fox has done well and included it here which adds a whole lot of value to this package. Originally broadcast on AMC and narrated quite effectively by none other than Jack Palance, we learn about the origin of the first film and the follows ups through to the TV show that quickly fizzled and died. The making of the first film takes up half of the documentary and we hear from Donner, Seltzer, a Catholic priest and a Satanic priestess all of whom give their take on the authenticity of the material. The curse of the film is covered in more detail here than it is in the Curse Or Coincidence segment, and we also hear from some Fox studio executives, a special effects technician, and a few other assorted people somehow linked to the first film. It's an interesting examination of the movie and the effect that it has had on pop culture. From there the piece moves on to the follow ups and while none of them are as popular or well liked as the first film is, they too have some interesting behind the scenes stories. There are some refreshingly honest opinions given about the second film from a few people involved in the film including Seltzer and Lance Henrikson and they cover some of the more remarkable set pieces of that film in some detail. The rest of the spin offs are covered in increasingly lesser chunks as the documentary plays out but the filmmakers have done a good job of rounding up a lot of the people who had a hand in creating this material to give us their thoughts on how it all turns out and what it was like working on this stuff. This makes a very nice addition to this release.

Jerry Goldsmith Discusses The Omen Score is also carried over from the last disc. This is essentially four really brief talks with Goldsmith who covers how he created four of the more memorable musical numbers for the film's score. The Omen is one of those rare horror films whose score has gone on to become a part of pop culture in much the same way that the Tubular Bells theme from The Exorcist or John Carpenter's opening theme from Halloween have been ingrained in the minds of the populace, and it's interesting to hear from the man who did all the work on that aspect of the production what went into creating as masterpiece of music.

In The Screenwriter's Notebook we hear from David Seltzer who penned the script that Donner shot. Seltzer discusses quite openly how he approached the project simply as another job and how, not being a fan of the horror genre, he took the job so that he could pay some bills and put food on his table. That being said, Seltzer then discusses what kind of research he put into the project and how he pulled inspiration from various portions of Revelations and how he has, over time, become quite proud of the film even though he didn't necessarily have the greatest amount of confidence in it while he was working on it.

Rounding out the extra features are a few generous still galleries of over a hundred images from various aspects of the production, a video introduction to the movie from Richard Donner, and a trailer. Both discs include animated menus and chapter stops and the disc which houses the two discs comes inside a slipcase which features alternate cover art on the outside.

While a lot of the supplements have been carried over from the last release, the addition of the second commentary and the Omen Legacy documentary make this a pretty appealing double dip. This release easily comes highly recommended for those who don't already have the previous incarnation on DVD, and even for those who do The Omen 2 Disc Collector's Edition might still be worth a look depending on how much you enjoy the movie. This is, overall, an excellent package for an excellent film.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.