When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger to the modern world.When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger to the modern world.When God appears to an assistant grocery manager as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger to the modern world.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 3 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis film briefly interrupted Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)'s 15-week reign at the number one spot at the box office in October 1977. Star Wars returned to the top spot the following week.
- GoofsThe trial for slander would have been a civil trial and would have taken many months, if not years, to come to trial after the alleged slander took place. Neither side would be permitted to call "surprise" witnesses at the trial. The witness list would have been made known to both sides well in advance of the trial as part of the discovery process, and each side would have had an opportunity to depose the other side's intended witnesses prior to the trial if desired.
- Quotes
Jerry Landers: How can you permit all the *suffering* that goes on the world?
God: Ah, how can *I* permit the suffering?
Jerry Landers: Yeah!
God: I don't permit the suffering. You do! Free will. All the choices are yours.
Jerry Landers: Choices? What choices?
God: You can love each other, cherish and nurture each other or you can kill each other. Incidentally, "kill" is the word. It's not "waste." If I meant "waste" I would have written "thou shalt not waste." You're doing some very funny things with words, here. You're also turning the sky into mud. I look down, I can't believe the filth. Using the rivers for toilets, poisoning my fishes. You want a miracle? *You* make a fish from scratch. You can't. You think only God can make a tree? Try coming up with a mackerel. And when the last one is gone, that'll be that. Eighty-six on the fishes, goodbye sky, so long world, over and out.
- Alternate versionsThe Saul Bass variant of the Warner Bros. Pictures logo is plastered with the 1984 variant in the post-1989 VHS releases, and 2003 variant on the digital platforms.
George Burns is terrific as God taking the form of a kind old man. God (Burns) asks a man (John Denver) in the 1970s to relay His message to the world: that, despite the tough times, "it can work" if people get their act together. The man is put in the unenviable position of trying to convince people that he really is God's messenger. In the end, it's not about politics or who's right and who's wrong; it's a friendly reminder that we shape the world in which we live, and we can make it good again.
Carl Reiner's film seems like a fairly realistic (if comical) portrayal of the difficulties that would arise if God appeared to only one man in today's modern society. There's a satirical side to it. But the God in this film isn't concerned with who believes and who doesn't. He realizes He can't win over everybody, but He remains in good humor. He watches over the universe in a hands-off manner.
Personally I'm not very religious, but Burns is the kind of God I'd like. Great casting.
In terms of entertainment value, OH, GOD! might not be the *best* choice for a movie night, but I enjoyed it. I wouldn't want to watch it over and over again, but it's nice to check out once every so often. And I think it's definitely worth seeing once.
7/10
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Oh, Gott
- Filming locations
- Riverside Drive and Main Street, Burbank, California, USA(the phone booth where Jerry meets God at the end)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $41,687,243
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,040,920
- Oct 9, 1977
- Gross worldwide
- $41,687,243
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1