Rosemary’s Baby (Exclusive Series) (Hulu - Starz add-on)

Initial release date: June 12, 1968

Studios: Paramount Pictures/William Castle Enterprises

Tagline: It’s not what you’re expecting

Conceived in terror, born in fear

Pray for Rosemary’s Baby

Plot: A young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy move to a NYC apartment building with an ominous reputation and odd neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet. When Rosemary becomes pregnant she becomes increasingly isolated, and the diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth.

Cast

Mia Farrow - Rosemary Woodhouse

John Cassavetes - Guy Woodhouse

Ruth Gordon - Minnie Castavet

Sidney Blackmer - Roman Castavet

Maurice Evans - Hutch

Ralph Bellamy - Dr. Sapirstein

Victoria Vetri - Terry

Charles Grodin - Dr Hill

Writer/director: Roman Polanski

Rated R (137 min)

‘Rosemary’s Baby’ was one of the most strangest and chilling thrillers to ever come out of the 1960s. In fact, it’s just as thrilling now as it was then, and is scarier than most of the thrillers that come out today!

This suspenseful film from director Roman Polanski is really effective and most of it is really eerie. The incredible music that is heard throughout the film can get really creepy and helps with the film’s eerie atmosphere.

The ending of the film is truly amazing and wraps the film up perfectly. During the spooky season of Halloween, this is definitely one of those thrillers that’s an absolute must see!!

*** Slightly shorter than usual ***

Here are quite a few interesting tidbits about ‘Rosemary’s Baby’:

• According to Mia Farrow, the scenes where Rosemary walks in front of traffic is reported to have told her that “nobody will hit a pregnant woman.” The scene was successfully shot with Farrow walking into real traffic and Polanski following, operating the handheld camera since he was the only one willing to do it.

• Before the filming of the scene of Rosemary calling Donald Baumgart (the actor who mysteriously goes blind), Farrow didn’t know who would be speaking the lines. It was that of Tony Curtis, and in the scene, Farrow shows slight confusion, unable to place the voice. This confusion was exactly the effect Polanski hoped to capture by having Curtis read the lines.

• Ira Levin felt that this film 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 Polanski had ever adapted a writer's work unaware he had the freedom to improvise on the book.

• Farrow actually ate raw liver for a scene in the movie despite being a vegetarian at the time.

• The baby was born in June of ‘66, otherwise known as 6-66.

• The original cut ran over four hours. Polanski couldn’t decide what to cut so he let editor Sam O’Steen decide. O’Steen would later direct the TV sequel ‘Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby’ (1976).

• Entertainment Weekly voted this the tenth scariest film of all time.

• It’s based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Ira Levin.

• In 2014, it was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

• The 1976 TV sequel ‘Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby’ was disliked as a sequel by critics and viewers, and its reputation deteriorated over the years. The film is unrelated to the novel’s sequel, ‘Son of Rosemary.’

• A remake was briefly considered in 2008. The remake fell through later that same year.

https://youtu.be/BjpA6IH_Skc