Rosemary's Baby (1968)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Ira Levin (novel)
Roman Polanski (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 June 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Pray for Rosemary's Baby

Plot:

A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life.

Plot Keywords:

Apartment | Dream | Neighbor | Baby | Pregnancy

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

Mia Farrow	...	Rosemary Woodhouse
John Cassavetes	...	Guy Woodhouse
Ruth Gordon	...	Minnie Castevet
Sidney Blackmer	...	Roman Castevet
Maurice Evans	...	Edward 'Hutch' Hutchins
Ralph Bellamy	...	Dr. Abraham Sapirstein
Victoria Vetri	...	Terry Gionoffrio (as Angela Dorian)
Patsy Kelly	...	Laura-Louise McBirney
Elisha Cook Jr.	...	Mr. Nicklas (as Elisha Cook)
Emmaline Henry	...	Elise Dunstan
Charles Grodin	...	Dr. C.C. Hill
Hanna Landy	...	Grace Cardiff
Phil Leeds	...	Dr. Shand (as Philip Leeds)
D'Urville Martin	...	Diego
Hope Summers	...	Mrs. Gilmore

Also Known As:

A Semente do Diabo (Portugal) [pt]
Dziecko Rosemary (Poland) [pl]
El bebé de Rosemary (Venezuela) [es]
La llavor del diable (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
La semilla del diablo (Spain) [es]
Le bébé de Rosemary (Canada: French title) [fr]
Le bébé de Rosemary (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
O Bebê de Rosemary (Brazil) [pt]
Rosemaries Baby (West Germany) [de]
Rosemary má detátko (Czech Republic) [cs]
Rosemary má dietatko (Slovakia) [sk]
Rosemary's Baby (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Rosemary's Baby (Denmark) [da]
Rosemary's Baby (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Rosemaryn painajainen (Finland) [fi]
Rosemaryna beba (Croatia) [hr]
Rouzmerina beba (Serbia) [sr]

Runtime:

136 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Brazil:14 | India:A | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Approved | USA:R (re-rating) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Dakota Hotel - 1 West 72nd St. at Central Park West, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

William Castle Productions

Trivia:

Ira Levin felt Rosemary's Baby is "the single most faithful adaptation of a novel ever to come out of Hollywood." William Castle speculated the reasons for this were because it was the first time Roman Polanski had ever adapted another writer's work. Unaware he had the freedom to improvise on the book.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Rosemary and Guy come back from dinner at the Castevet's and they are in the bedroom, Guy untucks his shirt twice.

Quotes:

[First lines]
Mr. Nicklas: Are you a doctor?
Rosemary Woodhouse: He is an actor.
Mr. Nicklas: Oh! An actor! We're very popular with actors! Have I seen you in anything?
Guy Woodhouse: Well, I did "Hamlet" a while back, didn't I, Liz? Then we did "The Sandpiper"...
Rosemary Woodhouse: He's joking. He was in "Luther" and "Nobody Loves an Albatross" and a lot of TV plays and commercials.
Mr. Nicklas: That's where the money is, right? The commercials.
Guy Woodhouse: And the artistic thrill too!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Devil's Disciples (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby

Brilliant

What struck me most about this film is something that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet which is the use of colour. For a large section of the film, the overwhelmingly predominant colour is yellow, traditionally the colour of Satan. Then, as the birth draws near and after the birth, blue is brought in, an allusion to the Virgin Mary. There are many scenes symbolically comparing her to Mary, notably one while she is giving birth with her head on a pillow with yellow stripes on it so it appears she has a halo. There are so many things like that to notice, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.