Screenshot Saturday: Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

Roman Polanski’s use of Hitchcockian narrative development creates an extravagant thrill in his classic – Rosemary’s Baby. The truth obfuscated throughout the film by paranoia, Rosemary’s Baby leaves the viewer questioning not only the sanity of Rosemary but also their own – reminiscent of Rear Window. Much like Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein or Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, Polanski uses the unseen to his advantage, building the most chilling moods and landscapes. With very few plot elements available to reveal without spoiling the film, Rosemary’s Baby enigmatic, surreal, and existential construction conceals the true danger from the audience, and Rosemary. In this scene, we see Rosemary’s nightmare rapist, though Rosemary suspects that the attacker is all too real.

Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Guy Stridsigne  6/18/2011

For More with John Cassevetes:
Screenshot Saturday: A Woman Under the Influence