Rosemary's Baby (1968)

[tibber]

i saw it twice and hated it both times, but i think maybe my tastes have improved since then, so i'll try again.

[Graven-Images]

I thought the movie moved a bit slow, but it's still a great film.

The book by Ira Levin is also a must-read. The sequel that Levin wrote (Son of Rosemary) blew chunks and pissed me off. Worst ending EVER for a book, total cliche crap that I would have thought Ira Levin (and just about ANY of today's authors) would have been above.

[buzzy]

Both the movie and movie are pure treasures. And they get better with every viewing too!

[Robert Thorn]

My short thoughts:

This flick was easily one of the best of the 1960s, no questions asked. This film, which was created in a year that features another horror classic, a great comedy, a timeless western, and one of the best action films ever, still manages to stand out because it was put together by an expert director who's career was derailed by an idiotic mistake. I'm not condoning what he did, but at the same time I prefer to seperate the art from the artist.

Anyways, looking aside from that this film operates as a clastrophobic exercise, one that perfectly showcases one woman's fear of birth. You wouldn't even need the whole nightmerish idea of giving birth to Satan's kid, because the way this film operates it one can't help but feel Rosmary's terror through her freaky dreams, and her worries about bearing the child himself.

In any other movie most of this would be silly or even heavy handed, but under Polanski's deft touch the movie is never silly and also doesn't fail to chill or weird out the viewer.

In that reguard, "Rosemary's Baby's" reputation as a near perfect piece of movie making is secure in the annuals of horrordom, and is another example of how well Roman was able to work in different genres.

[Biohazard]

Anton was the "technical advisor"...those are real Satanic chants in the movie.
He was also the Devil's eyes.

Here's a list of things that I find strange about this movie.

1.It begins at the very spot John Lennon was later shot!
2.Actual blood(Farrow's)is taken.
3.A lamb is cooked and eaten.
4.Mia Farrow's marriage ended during the filming.
5.The Pope is in town when Satan is raised.
6.The Pope,JFK and Jackie Kennedy are present at the ritual...or is it all a dream?
7.The author's name(IRA LEVIN) is an anagram for EVIL IRAN.
8.The wedding ring on Mia's hand is removed before she's raped. Was this filmed before or after her marriage ended?
9.Rosemary has a sad little dream of her beautiful baby. This was never to be. The following year Polanski's baby boy was ripped out of his wife's womb and slaughtered...by devil worshippers.
10.When Rosemary remembers the Devil's eyes at the end,the eyes are shown as she screams "GOD".
11.Rome is the home of the supposed first antichrist...the Satanist's name in the book is Roman...so is the Director's.
12.Sharon Tate was reported telling a friend "Lucifer is a beautiful being" a year before her murder.
13.The camera moves down to show the baby at the end,but chooses to go out the window to reveal New York City....and the lullabye on the soundtrack is apparantly for US.

Blood... a slaughtered lamb...destruction of marriage...murder.... a slaughtered baby....a director that has to flee the country...politicians...the Pope...real rituals...there's something going on with this movie...

As for it being "slow"...well Polanski wanted it to be as realistic as possible so that people would believe.
Life is NOT quick cuts and action...anyway,it's sort of an "unfolding mystery"...every scene is important.
It became the highest grossing horror movie of all time(until "The Exorcist") and the first to be nominated for "Best Screenplay"...it won "Best Supporting Actress" for Ruth Gordon.
And there is a VERY bloody scene in it,not to mention Horror's first full-frontal nude scene.

[Realm of Horror Comics]

Rosemary's Baby is a great flick. One of the best.

Religious-themed horror flicks are (almost) always golden.

[Ecto]

Rosemary's Baby is an awesome movie. I love the music it plays at the opening of the film.

[peckwest1]

I just watched this oldie earlier today. It had me interested early on, especially the scene when they noticed the door behind the hutch that had been moved. That was a good, mysterious little tidbit early on to draw you in, and it reminded me of the beginning of the movie DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK. Things definatly slowed down for the middle portion of the film though, and I can see many an impatient person getting bored real quick. However, I stick with a movie till the end, and this case was no different. Once the whole thing had come and gone, I felt like it was a bit predictable. I had been thinking "damn theyre eating and accepting all this shit from these old people, and they look a little suspect to me". I just had bad feelings about them the whole time, but I admit, it was still entertaining to watch how everything turned out.

As far as movies from the 60's go, I'll give this 7/10 (PSYCHO~10/10)

In the grand scheme of things, I give it 4/10 (GODFATHER~10/10)... it was just slow as shit and I feel like the vast majority of people I know would have hated it.

[BonzaiKitten]

Rosemary's Baby is probably my favourite film of all time. It gave me a love for Polanski films.

Originally Posted by Biohazard

And there is a VERY bloody scene in it,not to mention Horror's first full-frontal nude scene.

I don't remember a full frontal shot at all.