Rosemary's Baby
Academy Award × 1·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.
What critics thought
Near-universally praised on release and only more so with time, Rosemary's Baby is considered a benchmark of psychological horror — Polanski's American debut turned Ira Levin's pulp premise into something critics felt operated as serious art. The rare dissent came not from doubters but from admirers who thought the film's very plausibility worked against its dread, leaving audiences frustrated rather than terrified.
“The movie—although it is pleasant—doesn't seem to work on any of its dark or powerful terms. I think this is because it is almost too extremely plausible.”
Renata Adler·The New York Times
“a delightful witches brew, a bit over-long for my taste, but nearly always absorbing, suspenseful and easier to swallow than Ira Levin's book”
Stanley Eichelbaum·San Francisco Examiner
“Several exhilarating milestones are achieved in Rosemary's Baby, an excellent film version of Ira Levin's diabolical chiller novel.”
Variety
“Polanski shows an increasing ability to evoke menace and sheer terror in familiar routines (cooking and telephoning, particularly)”
The Monthly Film Bulletin
Genres
Drama, Horror
Cast & Crew
DirectorRoman Polanski
StarringMia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans
ComposerKrzysztof Komeda
Rosemary's Baby
Academy Award × 1·National Film Registry
A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.
What critics thought
Near-universally praised on release and only more so with time, Rosemary's Baby is considered a benchmark of psychological horror — Polanski's American debut turned Ira Levin's pulp premise into something critics felt operated as serious art. The rare dissent came not from doubters but from admirers who thought the film's very plausibility worked against its dread, leaving audiences frustrated rather than terrified.
“The movie—although it is pleasant—doesn't seem to work on any of its dark or powerful terms. I think this is because it is almost too extremely plausible.”
Renata Adler·The New York Times
“a delightful witches brew, a bit over-long for my taste, but nearly always absorbing, suspenseful and easier to swallow than Ira Levin's book”
Stanley Eichelbaum·San Francisco Examiner
“Several exhilarating milestones are achieved in Rosemary's Baby, an excellent film version of Ira Levin's diabolical chiller novel.”
Variety
“Polanski shows an increasing ability to evoke menace and sheer terror in familiar routines (cooking and telephoning, particularly)”
The Monthly Film Bulletin
Genres
Drama, Horror
Cast & Crew
DirectorRoman Polanski
StarringMia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans
ComposerKrzysztof Komeda
Rent/Purchase