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Rosemary's Baby Details

1968 Certificate 18
  • 70
  • from 8813 members

In Roman Polanski's first American film, adapted from Ira Levin's horror bestseller, a young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes), move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an .. Read more

Starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
Director Roman Polanski
Genres Thriller

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Rosemary's Baby

In Roman Polanski's first American film, adapted from Ira Levin's horror bestseller, a young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband, Guy (John Cassavetes), move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and only elderly residents. Neighbors Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer and Ruth Gordon) soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building; despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, Guy starts spending time with the Castevets. Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Minnie starts showing up with homemade chocolate mousse for Rosemary. When Rosemary becomes pregnant after a mousse-provoked nightmare of being raped by a beast, the Castevets take a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castevets' circle is not what it seems. The diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth, and the baby is taken away from her. Polanski's camerawork and Richard Sylbert's production design transform the realistic setting (shot on-location in Manhattan's Dakota apartment building) into a sinister projection of Rosemary's fears, chillingly locating supernatural horror in the familiar by leaving the most grotesque frights to the viewer's imagination. This apocalyptic yet darkly comic paranoia about the hallowed institution of childbirth touched a nerve with late-'60s audiences feeling uneasy about traditional norms. Produced by B-horror maestro William Castle, Rosemary's Baby became a critically praised hit, winning Gordon an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Inspiring a wave of satanic horror from The Exorcist (1973) to The Omen (1976), Rosemary's Baby helped usher in the genre's modern era by combining a supernatural story with Alfred Hitchcock's propensity for finding normality horrific.~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

Starring Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans, Ralph Bellamy, Victoria Vetri, Patsy Kelly, Tony Curtis
Director Roman Polanski
Studio PARAMOUNT HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 2 hrs 11 mins
Certificate Certificate 18
Collections 100 Horror Films, 100 Top Thrillers
Genres Thriller
Language DVD: English
Dubbed German
Hearing-impaired English
Subtitles DVD: Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Turkish
Released DVD: 05 Nov 2001
Production year: 1968
  • Critics' reviews (3) of Rosemary's Baby

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  • 5 stars out of 5

    Ira Levin's bestseller about Antichrist cultism in Manhattan is impeccably and faithfully brought to the screen by director Roman Polanski in this genuinely horrifying chiller that quietly builds unbearable tension. Mia Farrow is the perfect satanic foil in a supernatural classic of conspiratorial evil meshed with apocalyptic revelations, and Ruth Gordon won a deserved Oscar for her busy-body portrayal of eccentric menace. It's one of the most powerful films ever made about Devil worship because Polanski expertly winds up the paranoia with spooky atmospherics and morbid humour.

    • Radio Times
  • A supremely intelligent and convincing adaptation of Ira Levin's Satanist thriller. About a woman who believes herself... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
  • Most helpful member's review of Rosemary's Baby

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  • 12 out of 12 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars [Highly rated reviewer]

    A bit far-fetched now but still very good

    I ended up watching parts of this twice because the first time I did I couln't concentrate on it and only managed to get about half way through. I watched ... more

      • McClennan from St Helens
  • Most recent members' review of Rosemary's Baby

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  • 1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

    Rated - 5 stars

    a horror thats not scary - in the gruesome, gory sense of the word. Its a chilling film and well worth watching

      • A customer from NEWTON AYCLIFFE
  • News and features

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    The Fearless Vampire Killers

    Polanski lands lifetime honour

    • 05 Aug 2009

    Controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski is to be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich Film Festival in September (09). Organisers will present the Polish-born director with the Golden Eye for his contributions to film at the 27 September (09) ceremony. He will also take part in a workshop discussing his work, prior to a retrospective of his films during the festival's annual A Tribute to... series. Polanski's featured works will include his cinematic debut, 1962's Knife in... Read more

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8,813 Member ratings
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1,593
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    • In Roman Polanski's first American film, adapted from Ira Levin's horror bestseller, a young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and ...