# Holocaust 2000 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Holocaust_2000 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Holocaust_2000.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_2000 > Source revision: 1339292990 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|1977 film by Alberto De Martino}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Infobox film | name = Holocaust 2000 | image = Holocaust-2000-poster.jpg | caption = Italian theatrical poster | native_name = | director = [Alberto De Martino](/source/Alberto_De_Martino) | producer = [Edmondo Amati](/source/Edmondo_Amati){{cite magazine|magazine=[Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/Monthly_Film_Bulletin)|title=Holocaust 2000|volume=45|issue=528|pages=47–48|year=1978|publisher=[British Film Institute](/source/British_Film_Institute)|location=London}} | writer = | screenplay = {{plainlist| * [Sergio Donati](/source/Sergio_Donati) * Alberto De Martino * Michael Robson}} | story = {{plainlist| * Sergio Donati * Alberto De Martino}} | based_on = | starring = {{plainlist| * [Kirk Douglas](/source/Kirk_Douglas) * [Agostina Belli](/source/Agostina_Belli) * [Simon Ward](/source/Simon_Ward) * [Anthony Quayle](/source/Anthony_Quayle) * [Virginia McKenna](/source/Virginia_McKenna) * [Alexander Knox](/source/Alexander_Knox) * [Ivo Garrani](/source/Ivo_Garrani) * [Spiros Focas](/source/Spyros_Fokas) * [Massimo Foschi](/source/Massimo_Foschi) * [Adolfo Celi](/source/Adolfo_Celi) * [Romolo Valli](/source/Romolo_Valli) }} | narrator = | music = [Ennio Morricone](/source/Ennio_Morricone) | cinematography = [Erico Menczer](/source/Erico_Menczer) | color_process = [Technicolor](/source/Technicolor) | editing = Vincenzo Tomassi | production_companies = {{plainlist| * Embassy Productions * Aston Film}} | distributor = {{plainlist| * [Titanus](/source/Titanus) {{small|(Italy)}} * [The Rank Organisation](/source/The_Rank_Organisation) {{small|(UK)}} * [American International Pictures](/source/American_International_Pictures) {{small|(US)}} }} | released = {{film date|df=yes|1977}} | runtime = 102 minutes | country = {{plainlist| * Italy * United Kingdom}} | language = English }} '''''Holocaust 2000''''' (also released as '''''The Chosen''''' and '''''Rain of Fire''''') is a 1977 [horror film](/source/horror_film) directed by [Alberto De Martino](/source/Alberto_De_Martino), written by De Martino, Michael Robson, and [Sergio Donati](/source/Sergio_Donati), and starring [Kirk Douglas](/source/Kirk_Douglas), [Simon Ward](/source/Simon_Ward), [Agostina Belli](/source/Agostina_Belli), [Anthony Quayle](/source/Anthony_Quayle), [Virginia McKenna](/source/Virginia_McKenna), and [Alexander Knox](/source/Alexander_Knox). The original musical score was composed by [Ennio Morricone](/source/Ennio_Morricone). The British-Italian co-production was produced by [Edmondo Amati](/source/Edmondo_Amati) for [The Rank Organisation](/source/The_Rank_Organisation) and [Titanus](/source/Titanus), and is widely-considered a cash-in on the success of the similarly-themed ''[The Omen](/source/The_Omen)'', which was released a year earlier. It received mixed reviews, but has become a [cult classic](/source/cult_classic).{{cite web |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/428433/Holocaust-2000/overview |title=New York Times: Holocaust 2000 |accessdate=1 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520135125/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/428433/Holocaust-2000/overview |archive-date=20 May 2011 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times) |date=2011 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/holocaust2000.shtml |title=Holocaust 2000 (1977) |accessdate=3 November 2016 |work=British Horror Films |archive-date=19 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219173649/http://www.britishhorrorfilms.co.uk/holocaust2000.shtml |url-status=dead }} ==Plot== Despite doomsday warnings from throngs of locals, wealthy industrialist Robert Caine makes the controversial decision to build a [nuclear power plant](/source/nuclear_power_plant) near a [sacred cave](/source/sacred_cave) in the [Middle East](/source/Middle_East). However, before Caine can reap the benefits of his latest bid for [global domination](/source/global_domination), he discovers that his son, Angel, is the [Antichrist](/source/Antichrist), who is planning to use his father's project to trigger the [end of the world](/source/Apocalyptic_and_post-apocalyptic_fiction). As Caine digs deeper, a string of suspicious accidents occur that kill off prominent figures who criticized the project. He also notes similarities between the design of the plant and features of a biblically-prophesied [Beast that will herald the apocalypse](/source/The_Beast_(Revelation)). During a dream, Caine envisions the plant rising from the sea, then sees its circle of towers take on the form of a [multiheaded monster](/source/Lernaean_Hydra). ==Different endings== The film was released with two endings. The European general release version of the film features an open ending, with Kirk Douglas in exile with his newborn child, and his adult son now successfully developing the plant intended to cause [Armageddon](/source/Armageddon). In the shortened version released in U.S. theaters, home video, and network television, a new ending was added where Douglas returns to the company and enters a board meeting, having explosives hidden on him. In the final scene, Angel's face is overlaid with an image of an explosion, showing that Robert has successfully thwarted the apocalypse. The U.S. DVD from [Lionsgate](/source/Lionsgate_Studios) retains the original darker ending and the Blu-ray from Scream Factory contains both the European and American versions of the film. ==Cast== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * [Kirk Douglas](/source/Kirk_Douglas) as Robert Caine * [Simon Ward](/source/Simon_Ward) as Angel Caine * [Agostina Belli](/source/Agostina_Belli) as Sara Golan * [Anthony Quayle](/source/Anthony_Quayle) as Professor Griffith * [Virginia McKenna](/source/Virginia_McKenna) as Eva Caine * [Spiros Focás](/source/Spiros_Foc%C3%A1s) as Harbin * [Ivo Garrani](/source/Ivo_Garrani) as The Prime Minister * [Alexander Knox](/source/Alexander_Knox) as Professor Ernst Meyer * [Adolfo Celi](/source/Adolfo_Celi) as Dr. Kerouac * [Romolo Valli](/source/Romolo_Valli) as Monsignor Charrier * [Geoffrey Keen](/source/Geoffrey_Keen) as Dr. Howard * [Massimo Foschi](/source/Massimo_Foschi) as Arab Assassin * [John Carlin](/source/John_Carlin_(actor)) as Robertson * [Peter Cellier](/source/Peter_Cellier) as Sheckley * Gerard Hely as Clarke * [Penelope Horner](/source/Penelope_Horner) as Caine's Secretary * [Caroline Langrishe](/source/Caroline_Langrishe) as Carla * [Denis Lawson](/source/Denis_Lawson) as Stevens * [Tony Clarkin](/source/Tony_Clarkin_(actor)) as Megaphone Man {{div col end}} ==Reception== In a contemporary review, the ''[Monthly Film Bulletin](/source/Monthly_Film_Bulletin)'' referred to ''Holocaust 2000'' as "the wildest farrago yet to have come out of the demonology genre", finding that "the religious allegory adds little weight to the confusion of the plot". Donald Guarisco, writing a retrospective review for [AllMovie](/source/AllMovie), described the film as a rip-off of ''[The Omen](/source/The_Omen)'' which nevertheless "offers some creepy fun for fans of Euro-horror." Guarisco praised some unique plot elements, such as political and corporate intrigue, as well as references to fears of nuclear energy and civil unrest in the Middle East. He also noted that De Martino "gives the film a glossy touch during the non-horror moments but brings plenty of verve to the shocks: his best moment is a nightmare sequence in which Douglas hallucinates the nuclear plant he is working on rising from the sea and transforming into a multi-headed hydra."{{cite web|url=http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-chosen-v9458/review|publisher=[AllMovie](/source/AllMovie)|title=The Chosen (1978)|accessdate=18 December 2016|last=Guarisco|first=Donald}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * {{IMDb title|id=0077332|title=Holocaust 2000}} * [https://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-chosen-am48511 ''Holocaust 2000'' at AllMovie] * {{tcmdb title|id=70886}} * {{AFI film|56257}} {{Alberto De Martino}} Category:1977 films Category:1977 horror films Category:1970s science fiction horror films Category:British science fiction horror films Category:Italian science fiction horror films Category:English-language Italian films Category:Films directed by Alberto De Martino Category:Films scored by Ennio Morricone Category:Films with screenplays by Sergio Donati Category:Films about the Antichrist Category:1977 English-language films Category:1977 British films Category:1977 Italian films Category:Films set in the Middle East Category:1977 science fiction films Category:English-language science fiction horror films --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Holocaust 2000](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_2000) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_2000?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.