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Rosemary's Baby
review by Anthony D.
Studio: Paramount
Running Time: 136 Minutes
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassevetes, Ruth Gordon,
Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans and Ralph Bellamy
Written by: Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers and Wayne
Powers
Written for the screen and Directed by Roman
Polanski
Retail Price: $29.99
Features: Making of Featurette, Retrospective
Interviews with director Roman Polanski, Co-Producer Robert
Evans and production designer Richard Sylbert
Specs: Widescreen Anamorphic 1.66:1, English Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono, French Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, English
Subtitles
"Could young Rosemary Woodhouse actually be pregnant with
the child of Satan?" is the question posed by Roman
Polanski's disturbing tale of urban horror adapted from Ira
Levin's equally suspenseful novel "Rosemary's Baby."
Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her actor-husband Guy (John
Cassavetes) have just moved into the exclusive Bramford
building on New York's upper West Side, a building with a
dark history of evil. Like The Overlook in Stephen King's
later novel, "The Shining," The Bramford becomes a major
character with its own possible agenda, and the location
filming at New York City's "The Dakota" adds another
apprehensive layer in light of its later association with
the assassination of John Lennon.
It is 1965, and Guy is not a working actor UNTIL he meets
the next door neighbors: Minnie and Roman Castavet
(unforgettably portrayed by Oscar winner Ruth Gordon and
Sydney Blackmer) two strange old coots with and even
stranger coterie of friends. As Rosemary announces her
pregnancy, suddenly Guy's career takes off thanks to the
fortuitous blinding of a fellow actor. Just as suddenly, the
Castevets are carefully watching every move that Rosemary
makes, including sending her to their choice of obstetrician
who prescribes that Rosemary drink a beverage daily
concocted by Minnie from her personal herbarium.
Rosemary's pregnancy is by no means easy. She feels
constant pain which her Castevet-recommended doctor says is
normal; she is given to very strange eating habits - -not
the normal "pickles and ice cream" cravings - -no, Rosemary
craves red meat, and the redder and the bloodier the better;
she is plagued by the thought that the night she conceived,
she was raped by some inhuman creature - - vividly depicted
in a dream sequence; and is finally convinced that her
neighbors are the leaders of a coven of witches who, in
exchange for her child, have given Guy his newfound fame as
an actor.
Does The Bramford, with its incredible dark history,
house a coven of witches? Has Guy sold his soul, and his
child, to agents of Satan? Is Rosemary about to give birth
to a child not-of-this-earth? Can an audience brought up on
slasher series accept the finely-wrought tale of urban
paranoia that Polanski presents us with?
With Paramount's pristine presentation on this newly
released dvd, the answer to the latter question is a
qualified and resounding, "Yes."
Properly framed in a 1.66:1 anamorphic print, Paramount's
presentation positively gives us one of the best transfers
of a film from the 1960's. Everything about the film looks
right - - from the pink title cards to the final credit roll
- - there is nothing at all to distract from the enjoyment
of the film. Color fidelity. Contrast. Fleshtones. Solid
blacks. Shadows and light. Everything adds up to a perfect
picture. Detail is so fine that one, if given the urge,
could count the freckles on lovely Mia Farrow's face. The
garish colors of Minnie's costumes leap from the screen, but
never bleed. After years of only seeing "Rosemary's Baby" in
poor-quality, edited television prints, or smeary
videotapes, it is a pleasure to see this particular favorite
given the care that Paramount has bestowed on this
particular DVD.
The Dolby Digital track (2.0) is a faithful, firmly
centered monaural track. Dialogue never sounds processed,
and even the most quiet moments are well-served. Kristopher
Komeda's haunting musical score is never harsh nor tinny,
and Mia Farrow's vocalese under the opening credits is
melancholy and chilling.
Paramount dug into their vaults and came up with a
winning short film, billed as a "making of," about the
working relationship between Roman Polanski and Mia Farrow.
Alternately narrated by the director and the actress, this
short subject explores the mindsets of these two talents:
Mia, the flower-child and Roman, the European
fish-out-of-water. The documentary is filled with clips of
the filmaking process, both on and off the set. Also
included is a contemporary "talking heads" retrospective
discussion consisting of Roman Polanski, producer Robert
Evans (for some reason shown only in a right-sided profile
shot) and production designer Richard Sylbert.
One of the truly disturbing films that stays with you
long after it's over, "Rosemary's Baby" deliberately takes
its time in reaching its final nearly-ambiguous ending.
Though made and set in America, the film FEELS remarkably
foreign, and it is to Polanski's credit that his foreign
filmaking process works in adding layer upon layer of
suspense. Through the use of a hand-held camera, we see the
world through Rosemary's eyes and are constantly reminded of
her pain and plight. I can think of no other contemporary
(1968) actor who could have brought Rosemary to life as
heart-rendingly as Mia Farrow. Blessed with a classically
structured face and saucer-wide eyes, and a frail waif-like
appearance she can be both vulnerable and strong and always
believable. Hers is one of the classic performances in the
genre: Sigourney Weaver in "Alien" and Claire Bloom and
Julie Harris in "The Haunting" are rare other examples.
Whether she is dicovering that her possible rape by a
supernatural being with a pained cry of "This is no dream!
This is really happening," or boasting plaintively of her
husband's theatrical credits, "He was in "Luther" and
"Nobody Loves an Albatross," Farrow is completely and
totally realistic. Polanski has surrounded his leading lady
with a wide assortment of character actors - -easily
identifiable to film buffs: Patsy Kelly, Emiline Henry ( who
TV buffs will recognize from "I Dream of Jeannie"), Ralph
Bellamy, Sidney Blackmer and Charles Grodin. All are cast
far against type, and bring their own special brands of
peculiarity to their roles. This familiarity works in making
the unsettling events of the film ring true, as impossible
as they may seem, and makes Rosemary's final discovery a
moment of sheer cinematic genius.
The horror that is within "Rosemary's Baby" is never
shown, hence its appelation, " a horror film without
horror." The terror which lies beneath everyday events is
focused on clearly, as is the dread of every pregnant woman.
I can remember taking in "Rosemary's Baby" at a repertory
house in the late 1970's, accompanied by a strict Catholic,
who felt impelled to cover his eyes through many scenes - -
not because the film is graphic, but because Polanski
constantly keeps the viewer in a familiar, yet somewhat
unnerving place. Any trip I take to New York City is
incomplete without a side trip to The Dakota - - towering
menacingly into the skies near Central Park. With the fine
job that Paramount has done with this title, it would
 (5/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (4.5/5)
 (4/5)
 (3.5/5)
(5/5,
NOT an average)
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