Rosemary's Baby (DVD)

...scenario....let me explain! Are Rosemary's fears well-founded and have her and Guy allowed themselves to be befriended by a couple of elderly devil worshippers who want their baby? Or is Rosemary suffering from what the Americans call ‘post-partum crazies’? - a paranoid and delusory condition that some pregnant women can apparently suffer from.

To find out whether Rosemary's fears are real, or whether it is all in her mind....or maybe ...
...and he excels himself with Rosemary's Baby. I also believe that it was his first major cinematic undertaking.

The atmosphere throughout the whole film is taut, tense and thought-provoking. There are even a couple of minor amusing pieces here and there in the film that probably won't make you laugh out loud, but will raise a smile.

All of the actors in the film play their parts tremendously well, but my own particular ... more

MAIN CAST:

Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow)
Guy Woodhouse (John Cassavetes)
Roman Castavet (Sidney Blackmer)
Minnie Castavet (Ruth Gordon)
Dr Abraham Sapirstein (Ralph Bellamy)
Edward "Hutch" Hutchins (Maurice Evans)
Terry Gionoffrio (Victoria Vetri)
Dr Hill (Charles Grodin)

RUNNING TIME: 136 minutes

DIRECTOR AND SCREENPLAY WRITER: Roman Polanski

RELEASED: June, 1968

OTHER INFORMATION:

Adapted by Roman Polanski from a novel by Ira Levin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The opening credits roll, and Mia Farrow's voice sings an eerie, slightly off-key lullaby, as the camera gradually pans in on the Dakota Building which overlooks New York's Central Park.

Lie back with a bottle of wine and a bag of crisps (or similar) and allow yourself to be immediately gripped, then drawn into a world of tannis root, chocolate "mouse", devil worshippers, pregnancy, paranoia, and experience what I personally feel are the greatest levels of spine-bending suspense any film has ever managed to invoke.

Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy, move into an apartment in New York’s Dakota Building. The previous tenant had been an elderly lady who died in a nursing home, after having become worried and confused to the point where she blocked off the access door to the adjoining apartment. Rosemary and Guy settle in and make friends with the elderly couple who live in the next door apartment; then the story gradually begins to unfold.

When Rosemary falls pregnant, various events make her begin to suspect that the elderly couple next door are devil-worshippers and that they want her baby for their sacrificial rites. Guy’s behaviour towards Rosemary becomes strange, which merely adds fuel to Rosemary’s suspicions, and as the film progresses, Rosemary oscillates between what appears to be rampant paranoia, and a calmer state of being each time that Guy manages to convince her there’s nothing untoward going on.

The remainder of the film is a glorious build-up of the most nerve gripping suspense I have ever seen on celluloid.

The whole film is, as far as I'm concerned, centres around an "is she or isn't she" scenario....let me explain! Are Rosemary's fears well-founded and have her and Guy allowed themselves to be befriended by a couple of elderly devil worshippers who want their baby? Or is Rosemary suffering from what the Americans call ‘post-partum crazies’? - a paranoid and delusory condition that some pregnant women can apparently suffer from.

To find out whether Rosemary's fears are real, or whether it is all in her mind....or maybe something else, you will need to see the film.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In my opinion, Roman Polanski is one of the best film directors ever, and he excels himself with Rosemary's Baby. I also believe that it was his first major cinematic undertaking.

The atmosphere throughout the whole film is taut, tense and thought-provoking. There are even a couple of minor amusing pieces here and there in the film that probably won't make you laugh out loud, but will raise a smile.

All of the actors in the film play their parts tremendously well, but my own particular favourite is John Cassavetes, as Guy Woodhouse. Either the part was made for him, or he was made for the part - his portrayal of subtle behavioural changes towards his wife Rosemary are superb, and I can't think of anybody who could possibly have acted the part better. The film also contains some very surreal and cleverly thought-out dream sequences where we see inside of Rosemary’s mind while she sleeps….but, is it in her mind or is it really happening? You’ll have to watch the film to find out.

The film is an adaptation of Ira Levin's novel, Rosemary's Baby and it sticks very close to the book, which I feel is an achievement in itself, as so many films tend to wander far away from the novels they are taken from. I read the novel some years before I saw the film, and enjoyed both immensely.

The film Rosemary’s Baby received the following, out of 11 nominations:

Ruth Gordon (as Minnie Castavet) = Oscar for best supporting role and Golden Globe award
Roman Polanski = Best screenplay transcribed from a novel
Mia Farrow (as Rosemary Woodhouse) = BAFTA for best actress

I’m more than a little surprised that the now late John Cassavetes didn’t receive any kind of award for his utterly masterful portrayal of Rosemary’s husband, Guy Woodhouse.

Rosemary's Baby is healthily wedged at least halfway up my all-time top ten favourite films list, and I recommend anybody who loves knife-edge suspense, to watch it....if you've seen it before, then I urge you to watch it again, and again, and again.

This movie is a timeless masterpiece of chilling suspense and terror, during which the levels of suspense that unfold will drive you crazy with mysterious and frenzied expectation.

You can currently purchase this film on Amazon as follows:-

New: from £4.98 to £39.90
Used: from £2.49 to £3.50

£1.21 must be added to those above figures for shipping costs, and I believe all copies available for sale are on DVD.

You can also watch (until and if it gets removed for copyright reasons) Rosemary’s Baby on YouTube. It appears in 14 clips, each lasting approximately 10mins. I’ve found the best way of locating these clips is to open the YouTube home page, and type the words ‘Mia Farrow Rosemary’s Baby’ into the search pane, then scroll down. The first available clip currently appears to be part 14, but if you load that then immediately click the stop button on the YouTube media player, part 1 and onwards should appear to the right-hand side of the play screen.

Thanks for reading!

~~ Adapted from my publication on DooYoo under my GentleGenius user name ~~
 

...less