Rosemary's Baby

The main thing I appreciate about the whole Rosemary phenomenon is that Polanski's adaptation was made so soon after Levin's book was published. This preserved the authentic atmosphere of the story. However, with Levin, it is a joy to wade through the marginalia of the lives of the various people in the house and the vicissitudes of Rosemary and Guy's young marriage. The full spontaneous paranoia comes into play only in the final part of the book, and until then the reader might think that this is just an ordinary idyll written for the purposes of social criticism. The final whirlwind then completely changes the literary genre and the book cannot be put down until the last page. The film is more so enchanted by Levine's text and doesn't fundamentally change anything. The only thing I missed in the film was the chapter about Rosemary's defiance in which Hutch lends her a car and a cottage so she can think about whether she'll continue to stay with Guy. In this way, Rosemary, played by Mia Farrow, remains a much flatter character, which is quite a shame. And with her new hairstyle, she loses all her charm, but that's perfectly fine. (22/11/2012)

The Atmosphere, the music and the actors are absolutely brilliant. The conclusion is well-executed, with solid direction. What bothered, however, me was the very slow start and it is already in a different league in terms of filmmaking, someone who did not grow up with this may find it quite hard to connect. (30/06/2004)

It's not a five-star movie, probably due to a slight disappointment at the very end, but I'll get to that later. Everything works perfectly, each character has their characteristic role, the actors are convincing and perfectly chosen for their roles, the atmosphere is built slowly but effectively. Polanski can evoke a lot of distressing feelings in the audience by depicting the suffering of poor Rosemary, who is innocence itself, and surely every viewer must have empathized with her. This film, filled with so much rebellion and twists, could have had, much to my delight, a slightly more gradual development towards an even more gradual final resolution, which in reality didn't reach as high as we would have expected considering the plot. In short, the point was just a fraction of the whole spectacle, which wasn't as grandiose as I would have wished. However, it was still a very dramatic ride. (11/06/2014)

Excellent performances, music and direction, but it’s only around the middle that it gets a proper atmosphere, up until then it’s a pretty ordinary drama. The second half, however, is a brilliant portrayal of paranoia (similar to The Tenant, Polanski knows his stuff), but unfortunately it’s somewhat devalued by the overly literal ending, which may convey the idea of the relationship of mother and child, but at the cost of the atmosphere. Overall, though, Rosemary’s Baby is very good. (14/11/2008)

After watching this film for the first time years ago, I considered it a powerful experience with an effective ending. The problem is that Polanski sticks faithfully to Levin's book, and that is the stumbling block. Polanski's film is strong where the viewer doesn't know whether it's the paranoia of a woman with a risky pregnancy or a real conspiracy and the intervention of supernatural forces. Theoretically, it would work if the twist weren't notoriously known. Rosemary's Baby is one of Polanski's most successful films, and this title is usually the first that comes to mind for an average movie fan when Polanski is mentioned. At the time, the film fascinated audiences precisely because of the combination of motherhood and the then immensely popular theme of Satanism. Levin's book is about the strength of maternal love, not the psychosis of an unhappy mother. The film would simply work much better as a psychological drama than as a horror, and the literal ending is disruptive and ineffective. Moreover, it is more of a dark grotesque now than a horror. In retrospect, I appreciate Mia Farrow's performance and, above all, Polanski's traditionally meticulous direction, but the script and twist are quite off for me, so I can't rate it higher than 3 stars. Overall impression: 60%. (02/06/2011)