Plot
In this horror trilogy, angels are at war with each other and with humans over what they perceive to be as God's preference for humans over angels. The leader of the revolt against God is the Archangel Gabriel (Walken) who is quite willing to tear apart both angels and humans who get in his way.
Commentary
I will be adding a much more substantial discussion of the Prophecy trilogy to this site later when I have some time. In the interim, I am contributing these few brief comments as I have finally become exasperated with the standard critical appraisal of these films as being dreadful beyond measure. The criticism which prompted me into action at last was a comment in an otherwise excellent interview/article on Walken which appeared in the 30 May 2004 issue of The New York Times magazine. The author, Stephen Rodrick expounds:
There have also been problems down at quality control. Walken has appeared in more stinkers than Gene Hackman. His ''Prophecy'' trilogy equals John Travolta's ''Look Who's Talking'' series for pure cheesiness. Somehow, Walken made two sequels, with progressively downwardly mobile co-stars, even though his character, Gabriel, clearly bites the dust in the original.
If ever there were a chalk and 'cheese' comparison, this would have to be it. These two series are simply not comparable on any front. Gabriel's resurrection in the second film, incidentally, is quite plausibly explained and makes perfect sense. We are talking about angels after all! Quite apart from this, contrary to a prevailing myth, there are a surprising number of very watchable films in Walken's opus - with the exception of a few at the beginning of the 1990s and at the beginning of the new millenium (Weapon of Choice notwithstanding). Walken also seems to get a better deal in independent films (including The Prophecy trilogy) rather than in mainstream Hollywood fare. (See here for more comments on this subject).
If the first Prophecy film is sometimes accorded a grudging and condescending respect, the two sequels, in particular the third, are almost universally panned by mainstream critics - professional and amateur alike. The fact of the matter is that the trilogy has a substantial underground cult following, with Walken attracting many fans as a result of his appearance in these films. Walken himself, in a number of interviews, has included these films as amongst his favourites.
The films themselves are interesting, thought provoking and challenging and feature outstanding and complex performances by Walken. Other performances, particularly in the first film (Viggo Mortensen springs to mind) are also very good. The second in the trilogy is perhaps the weakest (although it improves with repeat viewings) being in some ways simply a remake of the first film with uneven audio quality to boot. The third film, if rather flawed by the fact that it does not feature nearly enough Walken, draws the trilogy to a very satisfying close which invites multiple re-viewings of all three films.
Further sequels
Two further sequels (titled respectively The Prophecy 4: Uprising and The Prophecy 5: Forsaken) finished filming in Romania in May 2004, without Walken, but featuring good British actors such as Sean Pertwee, noted for their fine work elsewhere. A review of the DVD can be found here. According to the Upcoming Horror Movies site, number 5 will be released in September 2005.
Different versions
This information comes from Gabriela's Christopher Walken site
The European release of The Prophecy, titled God's Army, runs 90 minutes and features different footage:
A sepia-tinted opening sequence shows Thomas Dagget as a child sitting in a swing, talking to Lucifer;
The sequence where the first angel falls to Earth is shorter;
The exorcism sequence at the end is shorter and has no special effects.
Comments on DVD releases
I have had a number of concerns about the framing of the picture in the DVD release of the first film in the trilogy. In comparison with the video, the tops and bottoms of the picture have been cut off, but more has been added to the sides. For an excellent and detailed analysis of this framing with examples see Paul Leeming's page. Paul Leeming concludes 'As a result of this analysis, short of the director or editors telling me different, I believe that the DVD version of The Prophecy in all regions is indeed the correct aspect ratio that the director intended, and that the VHS full screen copies actually show more image than was originally intended for its cinema release.'
The second two films in the trilogy, however do not display these kind of differences in terms of the tops and bottoms of the frame and simply add more picture to the sides.
There are no extra features on any of the DVDs.
There is also material referred to by Viggo Mortensen not included in the first film, which would have made a more than welcome addition to the DVDs (dare I suggest a director's cut?). I am hoping (probably in vain) for a better release of these DVDs, if and when the sequels appear, or perhaps when the producers of the DVDs eventually realize that they are dealing with a cult phenomenon, rather than simple additions to the low rent disasters whose fading covers decorate the dusty shelves of so many video stores.
Walken essentials
Hair: Prophecy 1 and 2: dyed black, nineties fashion bob haircut.
Satisfyingly outrageous in combination with the white pancake makeup. Heavily disapproved of by mainstream critics of the films.
Prophecy 3: Wild unkempt long flowing hair, in serious need of conditioner. Particularly angelic in combination with trumpet playing in a convertible car on the highway. One can see Walken managing it with difficulty as it blows into his eyes in some scenes. With the lighting in the final scenes it creates an aureolic effect around his head as befits his character's status as archangel.
Salute to Broadway: none in evidence, but plenty of other athletic activity.
Thanks
I would like to thank Gabriela and Haydn Chen for additional information and discussion in relation to these films. I would also particularly like to thank Paul Leeming for undertaking a detailed analysis of the framing of the DVD and VHS versions of the first film.
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