Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Rosemary’s Baby
Directed by Roman Polanski
Written by Roman Polanski based on the novel by Ira Levin
1968/USA
William Castle Productions
Repeat viewing
#500 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
IMDb users say 8.0/10; I say 9.0/10

[box] Mrs. Gilmore: We’re your friends, Rosemary. There’s nothing to be scared about. Honest and truly there isn’t![/box]

There’s nothing creepier than gynecological horror unless it’s gynecological horror with old people.

I’ll make this short. to keep the story fresh for those who have not seen this classic film.  Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) is married to up-and-coming actor Guy (John Casavettes) and the two are ready to start a family.  They move into the historic Bamford Building, with its gothic layout and history of murders and weird occult activities.  Soon, the two are befriended by their elderly next-door neighbors Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon).    Minnie is nosy and bossy but Guy takes a liking to Roman and starts spending quality time with him.  Suddenly, the couple are in charge of Rosemary’s pregnancy, which rapidly develops alarming “complications” …  With Ralph Bellamy and Charles Grodin as obstetricians, Elisha Cook Jr. as a real estate agent, Maurice Evans as Rosemary’s friend, and Patsy Kelly as a friend of the Castevets.

My husband calls this “idiotic” but I think it is practically perfect.  Roman Polanski did an awesome job of creating a realistically eerie atmosphere in his first Hollywood film. Likewise Mia Farrow turned in what may be her best performance ever in her screen debut.  It seems like Polanski had his choice of all the great classic character actors to fill out his cast and they make the movie even more fun.

Netflix sent me the Criterion Collection Blu-Ray.  The film looked beautiful but sometimes high-resolution reveals a little too much as when it highlighted the make-up used to get Farrow’s warmed-over-death look.  It contains a 2012 documentary with Roman Polanski, Mia Farrow, and studio head Robert Evans talking about the making of the film, a radio interview with novelist Ira Levin, and a full-length documentary about Krzysztof Komeda, who wrote the haunting score.

Ruth Gordon won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her work in Rosemary’s Baby and Roman Polanski was nominated for an Oscar for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay.

Theatrical Trailer