Product: Rosemary's Baby (El Bebe de Rosemary) [ NON-USA FORMAT, NTSC, Reg.4 Import - Latin America ] (1968)
Rating: 5.0
A potent brew of scary and funny
You have to pity Rosemary Woodhouse. There's not a single character in "Rosemary's Baby" who takes Rosemary seriously. Her concerns -- which start off trivial, and wind up concerning the future of mankind -- are routinely brushed off by those around her, usually with a non-sequitur or a limp joke. She's abused and misused, casually and cruelly, and yet she rarely ceases to be a strong individual"Rosemary's Baby" takes time to set the scenario -- it takes about a hour for Rosemary to first become pregnant -- yet there's not a single scene in the movie that's poorly written or acted. Even the minor players -- partcularly Charles Grodin as a young obstetrician -- shine through. The second half of the movie is nearly perfect, as the months pass with frightening speed, and as Rosemary discovers just what's going on."Rosemary's Baby" is deft, funny, and scary, and it speaks volumes that Rosemary uses a Scrabble set to help piece together the mystery. The chills are genuine, the humor is casual and offhanded but effective (especially whenever John Cassevetes is on the screen), and the final scene is riveting. Rosemary Woodhouse has been ignored, misled, and cheated for over two hours, yet by the end of the film she's still in control of her environment, and arguably in a position to redeem her baby. Many horror movies seek to cop out in the final scene, but thanks to the superior production here, we wind up with one of the most memorable finales in the genre or, indeed, anywhere.A must-buy, for both the casual horror buff and the film student. And for fans of Charles Grodin, of course.