Archive of films Rosemary's Baby / Rosemary's Baby

USA
1968, 136 min

Section: Borderline Films: The First Ten Years
Year: 2013

A cult psychological horror flick based on Ira Levin’s novel about fragile Rosemary (newcomer Mia Farrow), whose nascent domestic idyll is shattered when she realizes that the child she is carrying is the fruit of a Devil-worshiping conspiracy concocted by her overly solicitous neighbors. Carte blanche: Sean Durkin

Synopsis

Sean Durkin, who chose Polanski’s seminal film as his "carte blanche,” claims that Rosemary’s Baby was the greatest influence on his debut, primarily "in terms of how it creates fear without trying to scare you.” The movie adaptation of Ira Levin’s second novel is one of the most highly awarded psychological horror flicks of all time, a true cult classic. In full expectation of a bright family future, the title character, portrayed by the virtually unknown Mia Farrow, moves with her husband (John Cassavetes) to a West Central Park apartment in the Bramford building. But their loving idyll takes an unpleasant turn when Rosemary realizes that the child she is carrying is the fruit of a conspiring satanic sect led by her eccentric and elderly neighbors. Directed with supreme control, this study in female paranoia is outstanding for its visually creative blend of the horrific world of supernatural powers and the heroine’s disturbed psychological state. Thirty-five-year-old Roman Polanski proved that, in addition to his many other qualities, he was a master at working with actors (Ruth Gordon of Harold and Maude fame picked up an Oscar and Golden Globe for her role as the diabolical woman next door).

About the director

Roman Polanski (b. 1933, Paris) was born into a Polish Russian family of Jewish origin that moved to Kraków in 1937. After surviving the Holocaust, he studied direction at the National Film School in Łódź. His well-received feature debut Knife in the Water (1962) was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. He then worked in France and England, and he was awarded at the Berlinale two years running, for Repulsion (1965) and Cul-de-sac (1966). Soon after, in the United States, he created the horror comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), parlaying its success into the sensational horror Rosemary’s Baby. He scored Best Director Academy Award nominations for the gangster film Chinatown (1974) and the literary adaptation Tess (1979), ultimately winning the coveted statuette for the war drama The Pianist (2002), which also brought him the Palme d’Or at Cannes that same year. In 2004 at KVIFF he accepted the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema.

Contacts

Park Circus Group
15 Woodside Crescent, G37UL, Glasgow
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 141 332 2175
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.parkcircus.com

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About the film

Color, DCP

Section:	Borderline Films: The First Ten Years

Director:	Roman Polanski
Screenplay:	Roman Polanski podle románu / based on a novel by Ira Levin
Dir. of Photography:	William Fraker
Music:	Christopher Komeda
Editor:	Sam O’Steen, Bob Wyman
Producer:	William Castle
Production:	William Castle Productions
Cast:	Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans
Contact:	Park Circus Group