"Holocaust 2000" a.k.a. "The Chosen" is an agreeable Italian knock-off of "The Omen", and as far as Spaghetti clones of hit Hollywood movies go, it entertains pretty well. An ageing but still virile Kirk Douglas stars as Robert Caine, an executive whose dream project is to construct a thermonuclear plant in The Holy Land. He's opposed by many loud voices, including his own wife (Virginia McKenna), but there are also powers-that-be that are determined to see this project come to fruition, for it could mean total Armageddon.
The film is sometimes plodding, sometimes laughable, but it tells a reasonably enjoyable story. Surprisingly, it isn't as debauched or as wild as one might expect, opting for actual subtlety part of the time. Fans of "The Omen" who adore its violent, elaborate set pieces will find that the death scenes here aren't as inspired (except for the bit with the helicopter blades). They're also few and far between.
That said, it's a hoot to watch a serious-faced Douglas act the Hell (so to speak) out of this material. His reactions when he realizes that there are figures / numbers included in the plans that correspond to figures / numbers in Biblical prophecy are hilarious. This flick ain't ALWAYS subtle; it piles on the voice-overs so much that it becomes over the top.
Excellent on location shooting is a plus, as well as another of Ennio Morricones' striking and sinister genre scores. It won't become iconic the way that Jerry Goldsmiths' Latin chants for "The Omen" did, but it's still good stuff.
This being an Italy-Britain co-production, it allows for a superior international cast to give a straight-faced go at this script: the gorgeous Agostina Belli as the journalist to whom Robert takes a fancy, Simon Ward as his ironically named son Angel, Anthony Quayle as the worried Griffith, Alexander Knox as eminent professor Ernst Meyer, Spyros Fokas as one of the projects' opponents, Massimo Foschi as a crazed-looking would-be assassin, Adolfo Celi as an asylum doctor, and Romolo Valli as a helpful priest.
It's hard to completely knock any film where a buck-naked Kirk goes through his paces in an off-the-wall nightmare sequence; this film gets some points for style.
All in all, not bad. It's not entirely satisfying, especially the ending, but this viewer isn't sorry he watched this.
"Holocaust 2000" is a catchier title than the less imposing "The Chosen", I must say.
Six out of 10.
The film is sometimes plodding, sometimes laughable, but it tells a reasonably enjoyable story. Surprisingly, it isn't as debauched or as wild as one might expect, opting for actual subtlety part of the time. Fans of "The Omen" who adore its violent, elaborate set pieces will find that the death scenes here aren't as inspired (except for the bit with the helicopter blades). They're also few and far between.
That said, it's a hoot to watch a serious-faced Douglas act the Hell (so to speak) out of this material. His reactions when he realizes that there are figures / numbers included in the plans that correspond to figures / numbers in Biblical prophecy are hilarious. This flick ain't ALWAYS subtle; it piles on the voice-overs so much that it becomes over the top.
Excellent on location shooting is a plus, as well as another of Ennio Morricones' striking and sinister genre scores. It won't become iconic the way that Jerry Goldsmiths' Latin chants for "The Omen" did, but it's still good stuff.
This being an Italy-Britain co-production, it allows for a superior international cast to give a straight-faced go at this script: the gorgeous Agostina Belli as the journalist to whom Robert takes a fancy, Simon Ward as his ironically named son Angel, Anthony Quayle as the worried Griffith, Alexander Knox as eminent professor Ernst Meyer, Spyros Fokas as one of the projects' opponents, Massimo Foschi as a crazed-looking would-be assassin, Adolfo Celi as an asylum doctor, and Romolo Valli as a helpful priest.
It's hard to completely knock any film where a buck-naked Kirk goes through his paces in an off-the-wall nightmare sequence; this film gets some points for style.
All in all, not bad. It's not entirely satisfying, especially the ending, but this viewer isn't sorry he watched this.
"Holocaust 2000" is a catchier title than the less imposing "The Chosen", I must say.
Six out of 10.