 Thanks for checking out this movie review video. So this is for the 1968 film Rosemary's Baby done by Roman Polanski. It was actually written and directed by Roman Polanski when I say written I mean he just did the screenplay. It's actually based on a book by Ira Levin. So and apparently it's very very close to the actual book so much so that a lot of the dialogue was lifted directly from the book. In fact almost all of it from what I read doing my research ahead of time. So just so people know up front there will be spoilers with this. It's a very old movie so obviously all the spoilers with this one. This one also may go kind of long because it's a long movie. The movie clocks in at about two hours fifteen minutes somewhere in there which to be honest I actually think it should be cut down. I know that might not be a super popular opinion especially because it's such a well-known and beloved film and I understand why I really enjoyed it myself but if you haven't seen the film yet turn around right now go watch it then come back and watch this video because spoilers galore all of it. So we're gonna talk about it for a while. I will say because I'm always very up front with this stuff this is the first time I saw Rosemary's Baby. Yes I know much like with a bunch of other stuff most recently Rocky Horror Picture Show when I said I haven't seen it yet. I know people are gonna be like what you haven't seen Rosemary's Baby. Oh my gosh but guess what? I just remedied that so check box ticked. I have such a long laundry list of films that I need to see like Rosemary's Baby like Rocky Horror Picture Show. I'm slowly working through them. So here's Rosemary's Baby. So like I said done by Roman Polanski. He did the script and then he directed it. Some of the films he's known for Repulsion, Chinatown, The Pianist. Those are some of the bigger ones, but obviously Rosemary's Baby is potentially the the most well-known of all of his films. Said based on the book by R11 and there was actually a sequel done to the book. The movie was so popular and therefore the book was so popular that 30 years later R11 decided to go ahead and do another book. It didn't you know sell as well especially because probably was 30 years later, but that book was called Son of Rosemary. So if anyone wants to go out and check that book out go for it. The budget for the film was a total of three point two million dollars and it ended up making thirty three point four million in the box office. So obviously did quite well and you have to remember these are 1968 numbers so that amount of money meant a lot more back then. So don't compare it to nowadays. This film is so beloved and so acknowledged as being amazing and important that it's actually now in the National Film Registry. It was nominated or directed to be put there by the Library of Congress, so it shall be preserved forever or at least for as long as humanity exists or the United States or whatever. So here's some more back backstory on the film. William Castle actually brought the book to Paramount Pictures to be made as a movie. He was like look at this book. It's so good. This should be made as a film. Actually before it was actually published he brought a transcript of the book to Paramount saying this should be a film and he really wanted to make it but the deal became Paramount agreed. They're like this is great but you're not directing it because you are well known for low budget films and we don't want to do it like that. This has so much potential. We want it to be much bigger than that. So you can produce it, but you can't direct it. So they then went out and they got Roman Polanski who was very well known for doing a bunch of his European films at that point and he was very much thought of as this amazing auteur which when you watch this film seriously, like you can understand why. I think that some of the best stuff in this film is the fact that the cinematography looks phenomenal. The directing is outstanding. There's so many interesting shots that were used in this film. That's what kept me more than engaged with this film is how it looks. Aesthetically pleasing super super aesthetically pleasing. Already said that the the book and the dialogue dialogue from the film is so close to the book is actually lifted a lot. So Mia Farrow was chosen for the role and it was mainly because of her name recognition at that point. She was a regular on some TV show. I forget what the name was that was pretty well known at that point. So she was kind of household name. She had also married Frank Sinatra. So he was huge so people knew her as oh Mia Farrow's married to Frank Sinatra. So she took the role but then there was a problem. So she almost ended up backing out because Frank Sinatra divorced her over the fact that she was working on the film and that's because when they got married his whole idea was he didn't want her to work. He just wanted her to stay at home be a stay-at-home wife. Just you know very old school way of thinking which is interesting that that's what happened because her character in this film is very very controlled by a man and that's kind of one of the main underlying themes is that like her life is not even hers because she can't even do what she wants. She's being controlled at every turn and it's all about her husband. It's not about her at all and that seems like maybe that's what was actually going on in Mia Farrow's life with Frank Sinatra. So she ended up staying on the divorce happened. So yeah, and that's why you have the performance that you do which by the way Mia Farrow I think did a really good job with her performance in this, but you also have to remember this is 1968 acting in 2019 acting is way better. That crash, that art form has evolved over time obviously and you become when you go back and watch these older films you become very jaded because you're just like oh that acting is not that solid. So I think Mia Farrow did the best acting. John Cassavetes as her husband Guy did did quite a good job and a few other small characters did well, but there are some smaller characters that you're just like ooh, that's rough like not not very great acting but you have to remember the time like Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes at this point in 1968 their performances people were like amazing so just keep that in mind and I did when I was watching I was just like yeah, you know, I see it and the fact that Mia Farrow was able to to actually kind of like act like she was really losing it and it'd be kind of convincing like she was very manic at times and she just played it so well. It was very very convincing. So the role of Guy that John Cassavetes ended up with almost went to Robert Redford. He initially had it and he backed out. It also almost went to Jack Nicholson. He was considered at one point, but in the end they went with Cassavetes, so I like I like hearing those types of things because it makes you think about what if what if like just imagine if that character was played by Robert Redford. Even better imagine if that character was played by Jack Nicholson. Crazy. And then later on he would go work with Roman Plansky though because Chinatown I believe was after Rosemary's baby. Good film by the way. I have seen it. Very good film. So there's a if you've seen the film you know about the one scene where she where Mia Farrow's character Rosemary's pregnant and she like walks out into traffic in the city that was actual walking out in the traffic like that's how they shot the scene and it took Roman Plansky a while to get Mia Farrow to agree to do that because she's like I'm afraid of getting hit by a car. Obviously that's that's a very real thing and so he was he was like look you know you're you're wearing this padding like you're pregnant no one's gonna hit a pregnant woman. So he was able to convince her and then he had to be the one to actually do the camera work to follow her because no one on The crew would do it because of safety concerns, which once again very legitimate. So some dangerous stuff going on there. A slew of movies actually ended up coming out after this about like witchcraft and Satan worship because of the popularity of the film and how well it did so that should really be no surprise to anyone because that's Still a thing nowadays is you know if one film does well then everyone tries to kind of copy their formula or at least their topic and make money So in 1976 there was a sequel that was on television that was called look what's happened to Rosemary's baby and that starred Patty Duke It actually wasn't received very well and actually it's kind of been forgotten for that reason now the funny thing to well Not funny, but the interesting thing to note is that Patty Duke had auditioned for the role of Rosemary in Rosemary's baby And did not get it lost it to Mia Farrow So the fact that Patty Duke then plays that role in this made for TV movies is kind of cool There was almost a remake of Rosemary's baby in 2008 and one of the producers was supposed to be Michael Bay So I feel like everyone probably dodged a bullet right there. Glad that didn't happen I hate Michael Bay if anyone doesn't know with a passion Understand there are a lot of people out there who are just like oh he makes movies for 14 year old boys. I'm like I get it I hate his stuff. I hate it. It's over the top is ridiculous Anyway moving on in 2014 NBC did a four-hour Rose Rosemary's baby mini series remake and it was Zoe Saldana as Rosemary I didn't see that. I didn't even know about that. This is the first I was hearing about it when I was doing this research so kind of Lightly interested in checking that out now that I've seen Rosemary's baby and know about this. So, I don't know All right, so so jumping in any actual movie. Sorry, that's a lot of backstory. It's a you know Like I said, this is gonna be a long one. Just you know, there's a lot about this film very highly touted So in the beginning the couple's friend hutch He's town. He tells him a story about witchcraft about a coven and about Satan worship and stuff like that So that's your cue Especially watching it now Because if you haven't seen the movie, I'm sure you've people have already heard a lot about it because it's so old but Yeah, that's like a huge foreshadowing moment where this guy like immediately in the film is just like let me tell you about these Satan worshipers and what went on. Why else would that be in the film because it's coming up? So I wrote down I'll tell you what that laundry setup in the building basement is pretty creepy It's actually put that down and then rosemary comments on that when she's talking to that character Terry Who ends up showing up dead? Yes, we all know about that. That's crazy, but that basement did look super creepy I was like who would want to do their laundry down there terrible at the dinner at dinner. Oh at the dinner get together that they have with the Cassavetta, I don't know the last thing it was close to Cassavetes, so I'll just say Cassavetes So the dinner plan the dinner party that she had with them those people were like shoveling food especially the old woman and Guy like they were just like pounding food, especially the cake at the end I was like, are they even like chewing? It was just like they were like and just swallowing the food I was like Who eats like that? It's so weird There's just a something that stood out to me because it was odd So there's a great uh-oh moment in this when rosemary receives The dead Terry's necklace as a gift because obviously she knows what it is. She's seen it It was talked about having that, you know smelly like What is it was this the tan it was the tannous route that's supposed to be in it actually So that's kind of the one of those first moments that adds an audience remember you're like Oh, this is first of all, it's tacky to like give someone a dead person's I Mean we do that as a society with like if it's your you know You're relative who passed away and they leave it to you or it's available but when someone like committed suicide and Then they're just like hey in the next day. Hey, this person's dead. Do you want this? That's weird So that's that's like a big red flag You get the idea rosemary isn't happy with her husband. She talks about him being self-centered. She actually talks about hating him basically And everything actually does seem to revolve around him Obviously you find out why that is further further down the road because he's very very Driven to become successful with his with this film career as an actor He wants to you know make a lot of money and he wants to move to Hollywood and live in Beverly Hills even says So he's so one-minded and so focused on that that he doesn't even have time to care about rosemary to be honest He actually he does here or there, but that's because he needs to get something from her which is being impregnated by Satan basically, so it's like But yeah, you just see it's a terrible relationship and she even admits it early on before all the worst stuff happens, so That's crazy The mix-up of the dream and reality was super creatively done the one where like she she gets drugged And then she's actually you know going to the ritual and that's when she's raped by Satan The kind of like intercutting of what she's dreaming about and like little flashes of reality What's actually happening to her that was really well constructed and very very creatively done I loved that portion of the film potentially my favorite portion of the film because of how it was set up It was very good For 1968 that devil rape scene must have been pretty intense I was thinking about that while it was going on like nowadays in 2019 You'll watch that scene in a movie and just be like yeah, I've seen stuff like this before plenty of times but think about it being Like kind of groundbreaking at that point like I don't people weren't doing scenes quite that intensely and it was intense for that time Here's a quote. It was kind of fun in a necrophile kind of way I was like really he said that like first of all Guy is a terrible husband and then he drops that line in the film after she wakes up because she was drugged and she's like Oh, when did I go to sleep? He's like oh you passed out and then she's just like Oh, what's you know, she notices the scratch marks and he's like oh it was on my fingers like I didn't want to miss baby making time Oh, which we you know, we know is a lie at that point because he didn't have sex with her was the devil but For that quote, it's just like there's so many things he could have said right then And that is like the creepiest most screwed up thingy. He could have said and that's what he said So it's just like wow, okay Uh, so the fact that rosemary actually ends up losing weight during her pregnancy with this It kind of gives you the idea that the the dark lord baby is basically feeding off her body It's even more so of a of a parasite than actual Regular human babies are because I mean there are parasites they just feed off of The the body so even more so a pair of a parasite and you even see it like her You know, she starts getting like circles under her eyes and everything she like She looks actually a little bit Um A little bit uh skinnier Yeah, so you can see that happening It gives you the idea that like there's something wrong here because when you're pregnant you should be picking up some weight So I like how guys is like if you want a second opinion about what's going on medically Go back to the same guy and tell him to look again When she's like trying she's trying to like argue for going to a different doctor because she's like I don't know if I really trust this guy anymore And he's just like well if you want a second opinion just go back That's not how things work guy like literally he's doing a terrible job Keeping her trying to keep her on the path that he needs her to stay on and the whole coven of witches need her to stay on Like he's doing an awful job. That's so many points like between this and the necrophile quote like There should be red flags going off Or throwing being thrown up in her mind being like, yeah, you know what? I don't think I should be with this guy this needs that But you know, it was a different time and things were way more frowned upon at that point to actually Walk away from a marriage Um, you can see it a million miles away that hutch is gonna end up dead when he comes in and he starts like questioning things He's like, oh, you know as he's smoking his pipe Tannous route. Are you sure? Are you sure? That's what that is. Is there another name for it? Like you already see him like really poking and the fact that The older gentleman is there from the family. I think they live upstairs. I don't know if his upstairs are on the same level that he's like I have to take care of this you kind of see that coming Uh, the comment about the smell of dr. Saperstein is actually a really huge moment for the film like that's Rosemary's big aha moment and therefore should end up being one of the big aha moments for the audience as well And the music that they put to that moment and the expression on her face when she hears the The medical assistant being like, oh, you know, it smells exactly like dr. Saperstein who's just like Very impactful the music and the the reaction Done very very well You can see where other characters would actually think that rosemary is totally losing her mind in this film Her acting does a great job The writing of it is really good that you can kind of like step back Look from the perspective of one of these other characters or numerous characters and consider Yeah, she looks like she's losing it Especially the people who aren't involved in the coven of witches would look at her and just be like She's like rambling and she's like seems so manic and she just keeps like spouting all this stuff about witches and the devil and It seems nuts like apply that to modern day right now And if someone starts acting like that and saying those things You would 100% be like That person's off the rocker and they need help. So just consider that Uh or early on, you know, something's all uh, something's going on with that closet But so much ends up happening in the film that you end up forgetting about it and tell towards the end when she starts tearing it apart Uh, that was something that you know, it happens so early on and you're just like why is that has this dresser basically been moved in front of this closet door So you're looking for that for a while But so much transpires after that that you forget about it And then when you come back to it toward the end, you're like, oh, that's right. Yeah, what what's going on with this? So like, you know, there's something there, but you know, you forget for a little bit and I like that about it I love those types of things where it's like it gives you the cue It lets you know, there's something wrong or something there And then it does so much that you forget about that so that when it brings it back, you're just like Ah, I love that love that when they do it in films um So in the very end when she actually goes in she's got her knife and she's ready to I don't know. I did did she think she was going to stab everyone? I mean, that's a dangerous situation right there The witches I wrote down that the witches can be calm at the end because rosemary has basically been labeled as a crazy person I mean at that point they already achieved achieved their objective. They had the child She's already been labeled as basically nuts not not just to everyone in the building But to a bunch of people outside of the building because of her behavior And kind of what they you know the bs. That's been fed by This coven of witches to her and other people. So They're just like hey, we already achieved her objective. There's a really kind of low level um threat here, so Whatever, so they're very nice to her at that point Um, so I wrote at that point with you know from rosemary's perspective I said rosemary has to feel that she's been fully controlled and used And that's such a hopeless terrible feeling So you really kind of feel that during during that portion of the film where you're just like, oh my gosh Like think about the situation. She's in like she was controlled the whole time. She was used There's not absolutely nothing she can do about it, especially not at this point Which is probably why she just gives in at the end and starts being a mother to the spawn of satan because What are her options at this point? You know, she's she gave birth to the child already. She already feels Um, you know a connection with the child because it's actually is her child. She gave birth to it The witches already know that she knows about the situation. She's amongst all of them like She's not gonna be able to get away. So it's just like what are her options? Like so she just gives in like that's the only thing she can do at that point So she's just like well, I mean I might as well be a child to my son at this point and then we'll deal with the whole antichrist thing later Which I assume was addressed in that made for tv movie then Okay, so going going to some of the other stuff about this Story portions pretty much over for what I was talking about Like I said, it looks amazing directing cinematography Phenomenal the acting for the time quite good Um Watching this now. Oh, yeah or that was acting So the music is pretty well constructed and it creates moments of tension and disorientation So yeah, the soundtrack was really well executed It matches the situations and what's going on and I should be feeling quite well I really like that about it. Um, especially towards the end So this plays on so many fears this film the fear of the devil I mean, that's that's the thing with you know, people who are into religion I'm actually not religious at all. So I'm I don't have that kind of satanic Panic Inclination at at any point in my life because I don't believe that it's a real thing But it's a very real thing for a lot of people and you know, it plays to the fear of oh my gosh The devil like the devil's creeping into this person's life. I'm not creeping in just Crashing through the wall like the kool-aid man into this person's life. So that's very scary for some people The fear of something being wrong with your child. That's another thing Everyone experiences that if they're gonna have kids. I also don't have kids So, you know, I don't fully know what that's like I have a niece So I have like a little bit of an inclination because you know, whenever I go out with With my niece and go have fun go to davin busters and things like that I'm always very very mindful of you gotta make sure she's okay You know make sure that she's having fun, but also being very safe So that kind of fear of something being wrong with your child, especially when there's Through the pregnancy to make sure that you actually get to the birth because a lot of things can go wrong And then during birth People worry about these things a lot, especially nowadays as medicine keeps going Keeps progressing There are more and more things that that people are told about that can be potential issues with pregnancy and with birth And so that's just more things on the mind to make people anxious about and worried about So this movie plays on a lot of that as well Because think about that from the perspective of rosemary with this film And then the last thing I wrote down is the fear of being betrayed by your spouse And this is taken to a crazy level But everyone has a fear of of if they would be betrayed by their spouse, you know It's not necessarily on your mind all the time, but just every now and then if you think about man What would happen if you know, I found out my spouse cheated on me But in this instance, it's what would happen if I found out my spouse Um Didn't care about me at all and they just wanted to further their career So they made a deal with a coven of witches to have me raped by the devil so I could give birth to the spawn of satan Wow Yeah, I mean that's taking it to like a crazy level, but at its core It's about being betrayed by your spouse And you see the track being laid very early on in the film because He you see that he's he's hyper focused on himself and his career And he's just if he has time for her he'll throw her a bone here or there You know like attention wise or affection wise So you I mean you see how she's controlled and neglected and that's another one of the things that it gets to I think that's that was my last note is that Um, it's about kind of controlling marriages is another thing. Yeah, there's a statement about woman's independence Because it's taken away here basically. Okay. So yeah, so that's what I said. So Yeah So there's definitely a statement about a woman You know being independent and obviously in this film. She's super super controlled. So she has no choice of her own She's told who she's gonna consort with a lot of the time. She's she's kind of kept in the house She's told what she's gonna eat what she's gonna drink She's told who she's seeing for a doctor, you know, and in the end she's she's even kind of like forced into just Being a mother mother to the eventual antichrist. So Yeah, I mean if that isn't the personification of a woman being in a terrible controlling marriage I don't know what is this really hits it So, um, actually this didn't go as long as I thought it would that's kind of all I have to say about rosemary's baby If I watched it another time, I'm sure there are other things I could kind of unpack about it But um, I just like to do these after one viewing So it's more a little more reactive Um, I select it that way, but anyway, thanks everyone for checking this out. Uh, gonna give it the five star Or not out of my five stars. I'm not giving it five stars actually But out of five stars with half stars in play. I'm giving it a four and a half I think it is a very good film. Obviously it's it's very well done Like I said, the directing and cinematography is my favorite part of it Performances are really good. Music's really good. The story's really good at its core My only big issue with it is it's way too long and the pacing is pretty slow Now I understand that was kind of like a thing back then that it was more acceptable at that point and we've kind of become less patient as time's gone on but There really were a lot of places where they could have tightened that up and should have tightened that film up When it came to editing so four and a half stars I know someone's probably gonna be like what why wouldn't you give it five? It's rosemary's baby Well, because that's I don't know. It's just my opinion. No, so put your comments down there What are your thoughts on rosemary's baby? What are some interesting things I missed because I know I miss things I always miss things Put the comment down there. Help me out real quick. 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