Search - Paramount Valu-rosemarys Baby [dvd] on DVD

A "devilishly" good movie

JLind555 | 03/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ira Levin's classic tale of gothic horror in 1960's Manhattan is wonderfully brought to life by Roman Polanski in the film version. The movie has much more depth and strength of characterization than the book, and the biggest surprise, when the movie first opened, was Mia Farrow's absolutely great performance as Rosemary.

The movie stays very close to the book throughout, and the actors are terrific. John Cassavetes is excellent as Rosemary's low-life actor husband who sacrifices her to his ambition without a second thought; Ruth Gordon won a well-deserved Oscar for best supporting actress as the delightfully wacky witch next door; Sidney Blackmer gives a chilling performance as her sinister husband whose name is an anagram that sends Rosemary hurtling down a spiral chute of terror and panic, and Ralph Bellamy is total perfection as the evil Dr. Sapirstein.

The two best scenes in the movie are the scene in which Rosemary, who wants a baby more than anything else in the world, finds herself being impregnated by God-knows-what, and the scene toward the movie's end when she realizes just what she was impregnated with. The movie was shot mostly in and around the Dakota, the grand old Upper West Side co-op that lends itself remarkably well to the creepy projection of a haunted house, the cinematography and film editing are excellent, and Polanski's direction proves that a great horror movie doesn't have to be a slasher film to effectively scare the bejesus out of you. There's no blood, no gore, no violence; just a great psychological horror ride, and it works."

Quite Possibly The Greatest Horror Movie Ever Made

leland6914 | Bremerton, WA United States | 04/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The film is not in your face. In fact, Roman Polanski's visionary work is more subdued than many films at this time. But it is that tameness, and peace that makes the mood of this movie so uncomfortable. Everything is fine, only the opposite. The film starts slow enough, a young couple moving in together, trying to have a baby. While they come at the mercy of strange happenings. Whether it be Rosemary's friend 'jumping' to her death. Or it be her somewhat too nice neighbors. You begin to see the world through the eyes of Rosemary, and you grow terrified along with her. While the sheer horror really comes at the end, when we realize how easy evil can seduce us, the movie stays chilling until the last frame. While movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and The Thing try to capture a horrible beast in his most frightening stage, this movie teaches us that the scariest things in life may be the people we trust the most. This truly is Polanski's best work, and it has survived the test of time."

One of my favorites. . . .

Kendra | 08/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I used to play the theme song on the piano when I was a kid. . . it was haunting, just like the film.

I always loved this film. It was almost perfect in every way. My Grandma used to remind me of Ruth Gordon, so I just adored Ruth Gordon. Here she was her New York yenta-ish self, but a Satanist, too. This is exactly why the film works so well. We all get scared of monsters and psychopaths running around with knives. In this movie, though, the villians are are New York yenta and her intellectual husband.

This does follow Ira Levin's excellent novel. Mia Farrow is perfect as gentle, almost timid Rosemary. The entire cast is wonderful.

I remember watching this movie as a child, and I'm almost certain that the ending here is changed. When Rosemary enters the neighbor's apartment with her knife, and goes over to the bassinet, then gasps in horror, there used to be a superimposed image of cat-like eyes while Rosemary screams, "What have you done to his eyes?" That really worked well, but it's gone here, or at least on the dvd I watched recently.

All in all, an excellent movie.

By the way, several years ago I was in the bookstore and came upon Ira Levin's sequel to this, "The Son of Rosemary". UGH! This is the most horrible novel EVER. Well, probably not ever, but definitely up there. What a disappointment that was!"

"They use blood in their ritual's, and the blood that has t

M. | Mass. | 10/31/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rosemary's Baby is satanic good fun. This is one of the most impressive horror film's I've ever seen in my life and may be my favorite horror movie of all time. Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby is extremely ahead of it's time with the use of strange dream sequences, experimental cinematography and truely disturbing subject matter. Mia Farrow's performance is amazing to say the least and she has cemented her role as one of my favorite actesses of all time. Not much blood or gore in this movie but focuses on it's acting and satanic vibe to scare viewers......and it does! This is an amazing movie I recommend to anyone who has not seen it, GO BUY IT NOW!"