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Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:01 pm**

Rosemary's Baby

Terrifying and darkly comic, Rosemary’s Baby marked the Hollywood debut of Roman Polanski. This wildly entertaining nightmare, faithfully adapted from Ira Levin’s best seller, stars a revelatory Mia Farrow as a young mother-to-be who grows increasingly suspicious that her overfriendly elderly neighbors, played by Sidney Blackmer and an Oscar-winning Ruth Gordon, and self-involved husband (John Cassavetes) are hatching a satanic plot against her and her baby. In the decades of occult cinema Polanski’s ungodly masterpiece has spawned, it’s never been outdone for sheer psychological terror.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

- New high-definition digital restoration, approved by director Roman Polanski, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
- New interviews with Polanski, actor Mia Farrow, and producer Robert Evans
- Komeda, Komeda, a feature-length documentary on the life and work of jazz musician and composer Krzysztof Komeda, who wrote the score for Rosemary’s Baby
- 1997 radio interview with author Ira Levin from Leonard Lopate’s WNYC program New York and Company on the 1967 novel, the sequel, and the film
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Ed Park and Levin’s afterword for the 2003 New American Library edition of his novel, in which he discusses its and the film’s origins

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:10 pm**

Michael wrote:I looooove Rosemary's Baby, don't you?

Pink credits splashing across muted, grey aerial views of Manhattan, this little masterpiece (Polanski's best IMO) slips us slowly into the world of Rosemary. I love that film works on more than one level, it can be either a story of a woman being raped by the satan cult living in her apartment building or a woman's paranoia ridden by fears (catholic childhood, pregnancy, her husband's declining career) that everything we see in the film is the projection of her fears - overly theatrical neighbors, evil doctors, black crib, etc. I also find it very interesting that the film never shows whether Rosemary really wants to get pregnant or not. It is her husband who insists on her getting pregnant, even going far to mark the calendar to pick the right night to fuck. And of course Rosemary submits to him, resulting in a traumatic night of sex pulsating with nightmarish images of nuns and demons.

Rosemary's Baby is a pure horror film but what makes it so special and unique is the humor spiraling throughout the film's madness. Ruth Gordon is a delight to watch, her eating cake in that dinner scene - just look at her face. More than enough to earn her an Oscar! And I can't tell you how much I adore the moment halfway through the film when Mia steps in with a new haircut, saying she went to Vidal Sasoon. Like a thunderbolt, that scene. Is there a greater way to advertise?

Did you hear that story, Michael, about the early scene where Gordon goes into Farrow's bedroom to use the telephone. After the shot was set up perfectly framing Gordon sat on the bed Polanski half closed the door so that from Farrow's point of view we can only see Gordon's back. Polanski apparently wanted the audience to all be trying to crane their heads round the door to see Gordon more clearly! (It also shows the way that Minnie isn't worried about violating Rosemary's personal space - the first of many violations!)

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:35 pm**

colinr0380 wrote: Polanski apparently wanted the audience to all be trying to crane their heads round the door to see Gordon more clearly!

So true! Even though we already know it's simply Gordon making a phone call. Funny how that works.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:55 pm**

Rosemary's Baby is one of the top five paranoia thrillers and horror films of all time. Everyone from the start when they moved into the apartment is so off killter that you never know if whats going on with Rosemary is true, or if it' all in her mind. And I see that I'm not the only one that from the start sees that Minnie isn't worried about violating Rosemary's personal space or her. I think that part of the paranoia that add to the film was how easy it was to violate Rosemary from the start.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:05 pm**

i love it, too.
and while it's treatment of gender is often deemed 'problematic' (when not called outright misogynist) i think that polanski is one of the few directors who can take that sort of thing and use it to create a masterful work of art.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:53 pm**

A master work of art, indeed! But never once did I think of the films treatment of gender. It's quite balanced, I think. Surely Rosemary is a woman who falls into crazy paranoia but folks, men and women, involving her are all equal wackos. There is no hero, men including doctors and her husband, are portrayed as evil.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:13 pm**

Michael wrote:A master work of art, indeed! But never once did I think of the films treatment of gender. It's quite balanced, I think. Surely Rosemary is a woman who falls into crazy paranoia but folks, men and women, involving her are all equal wackos. There is no hero, men including doctors and her husband, are portrayed as evil.

It's not paranoia if they're actually out to get you.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:20 pm**

Mr_sausage wrote:It's not paranoia if they're actually out to get you.

You can say that. But some do get paranoid thinking people are out to get them, to rape them, to violate them, and so on. I think Rosemary going crazy is in consistent with Polanski's other "apartment" films, Repulsion and The Tenant.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:39 pm**

I can't believe I haven't seen this film yet. It is one of those films that i just looked over i guess.

Posted: **Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:55 pm**

Michael wrote:
Mr_sausage wrote: It's not paranoia if they're actually out to get you.
You can say that. But some do get paranoid thinking people are out to get them, to rape them, to violate them, and so on. I think Rosemary going crazy is in consistent with Polanski's other "apartment" films, Repulsion and The Tenant.

Hmm. Part of the reason the movie works so well that first viewing is because you're never sure she isn't just paranoid. So I guess her vidication is rather secondary to Polanski's intention.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:23 am**

I haven't seen the Tenant yet, but my favorite out of the other two is Repulsion for how directly it shows the woman's fear of sex and contact with others. For me the final shot is one of the most haunting images in cinematic history. Rosemary's Baby is certainly the more accomplished film, but it's Deneuve that draws me in the most with her uncomfortable expressions and whisper of a voice. Although, with this thread I think I'm going to have to revisit Rosemary to see if my opinion changes.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:37 am**

Mr_sausage wrote:Hmm. Part of the reason the movie works so well that first viewing is because you're never sure she isn't just paranoid. So I guess her vidication is rather secondary to Polanski's intention.

First time I saw Rosemary's Baby, I was 100% sure that the Bram housed a coven of witches, all out to get Rosemary for the blood of her baby. But then on repeated viewings, I thought "Wait a min. Maybe everything we see in the sneaky film is Rosemary's warped projection." Fears intensified from absorbing too much witchcraft info from reading books, etc. and possible hormone imbalance from her pregancy. And what is the nun doing in her dreams of her childhood? For instance the crib is black for three reasons I could think of: either a) the actual cult's chosen color b) the baby's wake c) Rosemary's perception of evil. Either one of them could work.

I haven't seen the Tenant yet, but my favorite out of the other two is Repulsion for how directly it shows the woman's fear of sex and contact with others.

Replusion I love also! However I prefer Rosemary's Baby by miles and it's Polanski's best and most cool film IMO.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:51 am**

I'm with Michael on this one. I've always viewed this film as a brilliant study of paranoia. Whether or not you read the ending as unambiguous, it's still a fantastic movie about that fear of fears.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:47 am**

Rosemary's Baby is, for me: one of the five or ten greatest films of the sixties, one of the greatest adaptations of a novel to film, by and far the greatest of all horror films and my favorite film centering around a woman protagonist. It's an astonishing work of art inside and out.

Mia Farrow displays a tremendous sense of vulnerability, both emotional and physical, as the problems she faces grow increasingly serious. Cassavettes is also impressive, ostensibly charming and strange.

The opening, with the main titles in pink cursive over the magnificent shot of the city and Komeda's beautiful waltz on the soundtrack, is staggering in how brilliantly it corresponds to the sensitivity of the protagonist and her situation.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:16 pm**

Rosemary's Baby is great cinema. But I'd rate Repulsion and The Tenant even higher.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:52 pm**

forkupine wrote:Rosemary's Baby is great cinema. But I'd rate Repulsion and The Tenant even higher.

Care to elaborate on why you think that? What makes Rosemary's Baby stand above the rest of Polanski's filmography is: the amazing humor that others lack. Rosemary's Baby is Repulsion's more cool and gorgeous sister. The Tenant is a bit too much, too obvious while I prefer Rosemary's sublime subtlety.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:38 pm**

i disagree that 'the tenant' lacks humour.
i find that it's got quite an (admittedly incredibly grim) humour to it.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:47 pm**

The Tenant is a wonderful film, I used to love it years ago but as I ventured more into the film world of Polanski last summer, I ended up completely blown away by Rosemary's Baby. I keep returning to that film since. When it comes to describing a perfect film, Rosemary's Baby comes to my mind (along with Cleo From 5 to 7, Mala Noche and Cria Cuervos). There is no fault with it. No where in The Tenant matches the gorgoeus transcendence of Mia's pixie cut. Maybe I'm nuts but I can't, simply can't, get every word uttered from Ruth Gordon out of my head.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:02 pm**

Michael wrote:I looooove Rosemary's Baby, don't you?

I doooo! It's my favorite horror film of all time! I've lost count of how many times I've seen it. The mix of horror and humor makes me squirm with pleasure every time. Every performance is outstanding -- Ruth Gordon is perfection. I'm a big fan of Ira Levin's novel too -- reading it side by side with the screenplay you can see Polanski practically just transcribed the book. I adore the other films in his so-called 'apartment trilogy' (in fact I have poster of The Tenant hanging on the wall behind me!) -- but Rosemary's Baby really is one of the peak moments of Polanski's career.

One of my most treasured film books is Bob Willoughby's book of on-set photos from the film -- here are some scans of a few of my favorites. (if these are old news, tell me and I'll yank them down!)

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:03 pm**

Wow, those are great pics, don't you dare take 'em down!

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:20 pm**

Brilliant! I like Mia's gunbelt!

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:33 pm**

Awesome pics. Mia's chart, what is it?

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:36 pm**

It looks like a gag, it appears to be a star behavior monitor modeled on an elementary school grading system.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 6:48 pm**

Those are great. I love the one where Polanski looks like a tiny monkey perched on the cameraman's shoulder.

Posted: **Tue Jun 17, 2008 8:25 pm**

Michael wrote:Mia's chart, what is it?

The caption for that reads: "Roman had to tell Mia so often to behave herself that he had a chart made to grade her general conduct and her abilities as an actress."

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