Rosemary's Baby

The diabolical Polanski, the angelic Mia Farrow, and their depressing crisis pregnancy manual wrapped in the garb of occult satanic madness. A masterpiece that is almost unrivalled in its genre in terms of atmosphere and story structure. The mismanaged finale it’s a great shame, if it weren't for that, this could have been the most intense horror experience of my life after the incomparable The Shining, instead of “only” a proper five-star movie. 90% (05/08/2013)

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. (15/11/2008)

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. (01/07/2004)

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. (23/11/2012)

It's been a while since I read Levin's book, so I can't exactly compare how much the film follows it... But I recognized the most important moments and most importantly, I got exactly the same feeling from the film version of Rosemary as I did from the literary one. The oppressive paranoia is almost palpable thanks to Polanski and the perfect Mie Farrow, the atmosphere unusually thickening... And everything is enhanced by the very strange yet fitting music by Krzysztof Komeda. Along with The Exorcist and The Omenn, Rosemary's Baby forms the “unholy trinity" of unforgettable films that are more than just horror films. (03/01/2019)