Review of Rosemary`s Baby

Introduction

When Rosemary and her husband Guy move into their New York apartment, it seems perfect – apart from a few connections of the house with the occult. Rosemary puts this down to rumour, and at first she seems right – the neighbours are friendly, and the couple fit in well. However, whilst Guy’s career seems to be on the up, Rosemary begins to have fears that he may have made a pact with the devil…

Video

Rosemary’s Baby is presented in anamorphic 1.85:1. Although obviously not as sharp as more recent films, the print is in good condition and the transfer provides good definition with solid blacks and accurate flesh tones. There are a few instances of grain on screen, but this did not worry me as much as it might do with other films as, to some extent, a documentary feel was the intended look. Overall a pleasing, if not prefect, transfer.

Audio

The original mono soundtrack is included here. The dialogue comes across clear and the track is free from any hiss, so fans of the eerie soundtrack will not be disappointed.

Features

Although this is by no means a feature-laden track, Paramount does include some extras for once. The Retrospective is a 17-minute feature comprising of recent interviews with Roman Polanski, Producer Robert Evans and Production Designer Richard Sylbert. This is a well-produced piece which goes into some detail about the production of the film, and although a bit short and lacking interviews with the cast, is the next best thing to a commentary track. The Making-Of, produced at the time of filming (and is evident by the picture quality too) runs in at 22mins and is focused around Polanski and Farrow’s roles. Although fairly interesting, this featurette is also very bizarre and contains some of Farrow’s ramblings on hippie ‘Love and Peace’…has to be seen to be believed! No trailer however, or cast biographies.

Conclusion

Although cited by some as the greatest horror film ever made, I would find it hard to place it anywhere near the top of my list. If the Slasher is at end of the horror genre, this is right at the other – more creepy than scary, more likely to unnerve than to make you jump. Rosemary’s Baby deals with the theme of the Devil, but, if you haven’t seen it before, don’t expect something like The Exorcist or The Omen. Modern audiences may dislike the film’s slow pacing and ambiguous ending, but the atmosphere created, superb acting and economical script definitely makes Rosemary’s Baby a classic film.

The DVD is a solid release, with Paramount trying change its reputation as being the most frugal company with extras. They maintain their record of releasing titles with good picture and sound, and the two featurettes that are included makes this a worthwhile purchase.