Transatlantic tensions: the omen’s british inheritance— production, performance, and cultural contexts

This essay argues that The Omen’s hybridity as a transatlantic coproduction—a prestige American studio film produced in the UK, using British production infrastructure—unsettles any straightforward classification of a national or cultural identity for the film. Such status is hardly unusual for either British or American cinema in the 1970s; however, unlike for instance George Lucas’ Star Wars (1977), which simply made logistic use of British production infrastructure while maintaining a distinct sense of “American-ness,” The Omen is beset with transatlantic tension, both narratively and in terms of its production. It is not the aim of this essay to argue that The Omen is “really” a British film, but instead to demonstrate that it is not wholly an American one either.