Product Details

• Actors: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans
• Directors: Roman Polanski
• Writers: Roman Polanski, Ira Levin
• Producers: Dona Holloway, William Castle
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: August 25, 1998
• Run Time: 136 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (292 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300216101
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,821 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Psychological terrorism and supernatural horror have rarely been dramatized as effectively as in this classic 1968 thriller, masterfully adapted and directed by Roman Polanski from the chilling novel by Ira Levin. Rosemary (Mia Farrow) is a young, trusting housewife in New York whose actor husband (John Cassavetes), unbeknownst to her, has literally made a deal with the devil. In the thrall of a witches' coven headquartered in their apartment building, the young husband arranges to have his wife impregnated by Satan in exchange for success in a Broadway play. To Rosemary, the pregnancy seems like a normal and happy one--that is, until she grows increasingly suspicious of her neighbors' evil influence. Polanski establishes this seemingly benevolent situation and then introduces each fiendish little detail with such unsettling subtlety that the film escalates to a palpable level of dread and paranoia. By the time Rosemary discovers that her infant son "has his father's eyes" ... well, let's just say the urge to scream along with her is unbearably intense! One of the few modern horror films that can claim to be genuinely terrifying, Rosemary's Baby is an unforgettable movie experience, guaranteed to send chills up your spine. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

86 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "devilishly" good movie, March 2, 2000

By 

JLind555 - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Rosemary's Baby [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Ira Levin's classic tale of gothic horror in 1960's Manhattan is wonderfully brought to life by Roman Polanski in the film version. The movie has much more depth and strength of characterization than the book, and the biggest surprise, when the movie first opened, was Mia Farrow's absolutely great performance as Rosemary.

The movie stays very close to the book throughout, and the actors are terrific. John Cassavetes is excellent as Rosemary's low-life actor husband who sacrifices her to his ambition without a second thought; Ruth Gordon won a well-deserved Oscar for best supporting actress as the delightfully wacky witch next door; Sidney Blackmer gives a chilling performance as her sinister husband whose name is an anagram that sends Rosemary hurtling down a spiral chute of terror and panic, and Ralph Bellamy is total perfection as the evil Dr. Sapirstein.

The two best scenes in the movie are the scene in which Rosemary, who wants a baby more than anything else in the world, finds herself being impregnated by God-knows-what, and the scene toward the movie's end when she realizes just what she was impregnated with. The movie was shot mostly in and around the Dakota, the grand old Upper West Side co-op that lends itself remarkably well to the creepy projection of a haunted house, the cinematography and film editing are excellent, and Polanski's direction proves that a great horror movie doesn't have to be a slasher film to effectively scare the bejesus out of you. There's no blood, no gore, no violence; just a great psychological horror ride, and it works.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite Possibly The Greatest Horror Movie Ever Made, April 3, 2002

By 

leland6914 (Bremerton, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosemary's Baby (DVD)

The film is not in your face. In fact, Roman Polanski's visionary work is more subdued than many films at this time. But it is that tameness, and peace that makes the mood of this movie so uncomfortable. Everything is fine, only the opposite. The film starts slow enough, a young couple moving in together, trying to have a baby. While they come at the mercy of strange happenings. Whether it be Rosemary's friend 'jumping' to her death. Or it be her somewhat too nice neighbors. You begin to see the world through the eyes of Rosemary, and you grow terrified along with her. While the sheer horror really comes at the end, when we realize how easy evil can seduce us, the movie stays chilling until the last frame. While movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and The Thing try to capture a horrible beast in his most frightening stage, this movie teaches us that the scariest things in life may be the people we trust the most. This truly is Polanski's best work, and it has survived the test of time.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites. . . ., August 7, 2006

By 

Kendra - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rosemary's Baby (DVD)

I used to play the theme song on the piano when I was a kid. . . it was haunting, just like the film.

I always loved this film. It was almost perfect in every way. My Grandma used to remind me of Ruth Gordon, so I just adored Ruth Gordon. Here she was her New York yenta-ish self, but a Satanist, too. This is exactly why the film works so well. We all get scared of monsters and psychopaths running around with knives. In this movie, though, the villians are are New York yenta and her intellectual husband.

This does follow Ira Levin's excellent novel. Mia Farrow is perfect as gentle, almost timid Rosemary. The entire cast is wonderful.

I remember watching this movie as a child, and I'm almost certain that the ending here is changed. When Rosemary enters the neighbor's apartment with her knife, and goes over to the bassinet, then gasps in horror, there used to be a superimposed image of cat-like eyes while Rosemary screams, "What have you done to his eyes?" That really worked well, but it's gone here, or at least on the dvd I watched recently.

All in all, an excellent movie.

By the way, several years ago I was in the bookstore and came upon Ira Levin's sequel to this, "The Son of Rosemary". UGH! This is the most horrible novel EVER. Well, probably not ever, but definitely up there. What a disappointment that was!