Home
search
more | tips
IMDb > Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Rosemary's Baby
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv schedule
Awards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summaryplot synopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotes
Fun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Rosemary's Baby (1968) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 66 | slideshow) Videos
Rosemary's Baby (1968) -- A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life.

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 17% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Roman Polanski
Writers:
Ira Levin (novel)
Roman Polanski (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Rosemary's Baby on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
12 June 1968 (USA) more
Tagline:
Pray for Rosemary's Baby
Plot:
A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Won Oscar. Another 11 wins & 9 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(53 articles)
Beatty Likens Manson Murders To 'Nuclear Device'
 (From WENN. 3 July 2009, 5:21 AM, PDT)

Remake of Hitchcock's The Birds May Die, Thankfully
 (From ReelzChannel. 16 June 2009, 6:30 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
In a word, outstanding. more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Additional Details

Runtime:
136 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Spain:18 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | South Korea:18 | Brazil:14 | India:A | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (video rating) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:Approved | USA:R (re-rating) | West Germany:16

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ira Levin felt Rosemary's Baby is "the single most faithful adaptation of a novel ever to come out of Hollywood." William Castle speculated the reasons for this were because it was the first time Roman Polanski had ever adapted another writer's work. Unaware he had the freedom to improvise on the book. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When Rosemary and Guy come back from dinner at the Castevet's and they are in the bedroom, Guy untucks his shirt twice. more
Quotes:
[First lines]
Mr. Nicklas: Are you a doctor?
Rosemary Woodhouse: He is an actor.
Mr. Nicklas: Oh! An actor! We're very popular with actors! Have I seen you in anything?
Guy Woodhouse: Well, I did "Hamlet" a while back, didn't I, Liz? Then we did "The Sandpiper"...
Rosemary Woodhouse: He's joking. He was in "Luther" and "Nobody Loves an Albatross" and a lot of TV plays and commercials.
Mr. Nicklas: That's where the money is, right? The commercials.
Guy Woodhouse: And the artistic thrill too!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Devil's Disciples (2006) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Lullaby more

FAQ

Why does Rosemary trust a quack like Dr. Sapirstein?
Did the Church of Satan leader Anton LeVay play the devil?
A Note Regarding Spoilers
more
31 out of 35 people found the following comment useful:-
In a word, outstanding., 19 February 2003
Author: oyason from Seattle

There are only a tiny handful of horrorfilms that really deserve the superlative outstanding, but Rosemary's Baby is definitely on my personal list and damn near the top of the column.

Elements of the supernatural are present; the murderous coven, the devil come to earth, the use of juju to destroy the enemy. But all of these things are at nothing compared to the real horror in Rosemary's life: that she is nothing more then a gestation vessel for her ambitious husband, the gory eccentrics in her building, and the most powerful demon in the Christian pantheon. No one takes her seriously in any other capacity. Even at the end, her last bit of resistance is broken down as Roman Castavet eases her into the role of the "mother of destruction".

I don't think it's any coincidence that Ira Levin wrote this novel or that it became such a huge hit in the sixties, when birth control pills became household words and the first open battles for legal abortion were being waged and won. The strength of this film is that it deals with social issues (reproductive rights) that were actively bouncing between the ears of the greater population of this country, and yet still doesn't become a tedious piece of social realism or agitprop.

The cast of the film is remarkable. Mia Farrow plays a woman protagonist who is far more self identified then the usual female victim in a Gothic, Guy Cassevetes plays a treacherous husband whose actions are beneath contempt, both performances are very precise. The film bounces adroitly from the high camp of Elija Cook's fastidious building superintendent to the great white fatherliness seen in Maurice Evan's character Hutch. The use of Ruth Gordon is inspired, having Sidney Blackmer play straight man to her zaniness even more so. The very fine comedienne Patsy Kelly shows up as a more obstreporous member of the coven, Ralph Bellamy is sedate and subdued as the suave warlock Sapperstein. And somehow or other, director Roman Polanski managed to tie all these energies together and create a solid, consistent package with a subdued pace that is both hysterical and chilling at the same time. It is one powerful satire.

Finally, the film contains one very strong nightmare sequence. Dreams are scary, Neil Gaiman reminds us,but there are few portrayed on film as strikingly as the one Rosemary has under a drug induced slumber on the night of her demonic group rape and the child's conception.

Rosemary's Baby is a magnificent effort. And I believe it set a standard that every new horror film should be measured against, just as the film 2001 has become for many admirers of science fiction one of the benchmarks of that genre.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
is Roesmary's Baby worth watching? taroko
Bleeped word cynkat
Conception scene jeffwemmell
What happened to planned remake? mlraymond
Guy and the coven mlraymond
What's with the haircut? viewtiful_alan
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
The Omen The Omen The Exorcist The Kite Runner Village of the Damned
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb top 250 movies IMDb Horror section
IMDb USA section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.