Rosemary's Baby

Eine meisterhaft, Millimeter für Millimeter aufgebaute Spannung auf der Fläche einer Wohnung. Eine hervorragende Darstellung der Beklommenheit und Paranoia. Roman Polanski ist ein Teufel, dass er eine so sensible Frau, außerdem in ihrer empfindlichsten Lebensphase, so einem Druck aussetzt. Als begeisterter Zuschauer billige ich das und verbeuge mich gleichzeitig vor Mia Farrow und ihrer bravourösen Schauspielleistung. Das Einzige, was mich bei dem Film ein wenig gestört hat, ist das Ende, das ich nicht zufriedenstellend fand. (26.08.2004)

Except for the last ten minutes, a masterpiece, brilliant in the way it confuses the viewer and encourages them to interpret the story in their own way. You can take it as a thoroughbred satanic horror film or, on the contrary, as a psychological drama of a woman gradually sinking into her paranoia, and Polanski's thoughtful direction doesn't make it any easier. On the contrary, thanks to many clever hints that can be interpreted in multiple ways, it builds the same sense of insecurity and paranoia in the viewer themselves. Unfortunately I have to agree with some of the reviews here that the ending is unsatisfying, it was a terrible disappointment for me. The cards are laid on the table all too clearly, everything is explained in a half-hearted manner and the wonderful atmosphere of uncertainty and suspicion falls to dust. If Polanski had left it open at the end, in the more ambiguous level of the whole narrative, I wouldn't have hesitated a second with the maximum rating. Such a shame. (17.02.2008)

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. (14.11.2008)

After watching this film for the first time years ago, I considered it a powerful experience with an effective ending. The problem is that Polanski sticks faithfully to Levin's book, and that is the stumbling block. Polanski's film is strong where the viewer doesn't know whether it's the paranoia of a woman with a risky pregnancy or a real conspiracy and the intervention of supernatural forces. Theoretically, it would work if the twist weren't notoriously known. Rosemary's Baby is one of Polanski's most successful films, and this title is usually the first that comes to mind for an average movie fan when Polanski is mentioned. At the time, the film fascinated audiences precisely because of the combination of motherhood and the then immensely popular theme of Satanism. Levin's book is about the strength of maternal love, not the psychosis of an unhappy mother. The film would simply work much better as a psychological drama than as a horror, and the literal ending is disruptive and ineffective. Moreover, it is more of a dark grotesque now than a horror. In retrospect, I appreciate Mia Farrow's performance and, above all, Polanski's traditionally meticulous direction, but the script and twist are quite off for me, so I can't rate it higher than 3 stars. Overall impression: 60%. (02.06.2011)

Am meisten schätze ich an dem ganzen Rosemary-Phänomen, dass Polanskis Verfilmung so kurz nach der Veröffentlichung von Levins Text entstanden ist. So blieb die authentische Atmosphäre der Geschichte erhalten. Mit Levin ist es jedoch ein Vergnügen, sich durch die Marginalien des Lebens der verschiedenen Parteien im Haus und die Wechselfälle von Rosemarys und Guys junger Ehe zu wühlen. Die ganze spontane Paranoia kommt erst im letzten Teil des Buches ins Spiel, und bis dahin könnte der Leser denken, dass es sich nur um eine gewöhnliche Idylle handelt, die zum Zweck der Gesellschaftskritik geschrieben wurde. Die abschließende Katastrophe verändert dann das literarische Genre völlig, und man kann das Buch bis zur letzten Seite nicht mehr aus der Hand legen. Der Film ist dann eher von Levines Text bezaubert und ändert nichts grundlegend, das einzige, was ich vermisst habe, war das Kapitel von Rosemarys Trotz, in dem Hutch ihr ein Auto und ein Häuschen leiht, damit sie darüber nachdenken kann, ob sie weiterhin bei Guy bleiben will. So bleibt Rosemary mit dem Gesicht von Mia Farrow eine viel flachere Figur, was sehr schade ist. Und mit der neuen Frisur verliert sie ihren ganzen Charme, aber das ist völlig in Ordnung. Ich freue mich immer noch auf die TV-Fortsetzung - wenn Minnie weiterhin das gleiche hässliche Gesicht hat, wird das ein toller Film werden. (22.11.2012)

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. (30.06.2004)

Es ist schon länger her, dass ich Levins Buch gelesen habe. Deshalb kann ich nicht exakt vergleichen, inwieweit der Film seiner Vorlage treu ist. Die bedeutendsten Momente habe ich aber erkannt. Und was das Wichtigste ist – die Film-Rosemary hat in mir dieselben Gefühle wie das Buch hervorgerufen. Die beklemmende Paranoia ist dank Polański sowie der perfekten Mia Farrow fast greifbar, die Stimmung einzigartig schwül… Das alles wird durch die sehr seltsame und dabei passende Musik von Krzysztof Komeda verstärkt. Rosemary's Baby bildet zusammen mit Der Exorzist und Das Omen die "unheilige Dreifaltigkeit“ von unvergesslichen Filmen, die mehr als nur Horrorfilme sind. (03.01.2019)

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% (04.08.2013)

Levin's source material is famously well-drawn, apart from the slowly (but from a certain point onwards very intensely) escalating tension and unpredictability of the various characters, and – most importantly – the character of Rosemary is portrayed in such a sensitive and evocative way that identifying with her person, her suffering, and her fate must necessarily become an essential part of the overall experience (both of the book and the film, as Mia Farrow is wonderful under Polanski's direction). All the positives as I described them above are more or less successfully transferred to the film rendering (with excellent incidental music to boot), and at least in the first hour Polanski succeeds more than adequately in capturing the power of the atmosphere as depicted in the book (the first scene during Rosemary's dream is unforgettable.) But then it breaks somewhere (I can't pinpoint exactly where in the film), and what Levin managed to do in the novel (i.e. to keep a permanent sense of tension and uncertainty) doesn't strike me as credible in Polanski's rendition (of course, I'm very influenced by the book and its quality, but given the excellent first half of the film, my expectations were quite high afterwards) and the ending... Sure, it's the same as in the source material, but the overall odyssey to it and the final denouement just wasn't handled quite ideally, and honestly I was rather disappointed... However, as a whole, it's a very strong 4 stars somewhere in the 90% range. :) (24.11.2010)