A young wife comes to believe that her offspring is not of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse (Mia Farrow) and her struggling actor husband Guy (John Cassavetes) move to a New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and odd neighbors Roman and Minnie Castevet (Sidney Blackmer, Ruth Gordon). When Rosemary becomes pregnant she becomes increasingly isolated, and the diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth.

For thoughts on Rosemary’s Baby, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/8LVGW1SoP0U?si=-tqNstzd6X3MfeDm&t=3766]

Video Quality

Paramount presents Rosemary’s Baby with a pretty decent 2160p transfer in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio graded in 4K HDR/Dolby Vision. The quality of Paramount’s catalog releases can swing wildly in either direction, but this release lands somewhere in the middle leaning positive. The application of Dolby Vision for increased color output takes this visually reserved film and harnesses every ounce of pigment-perfect nuance out of it. Some colors make a more substantial impression, while some of the dour gray and brown present with as much nuance as possible. Black levels are strong with very little in the way of crush popping up, and highlights are solid with no evidence of blooming. The film feels slightly darker, but more so in a way that feels like it tones down a previously over-brightened image.

The level of detail and clarity is increased with a fine amount of natural film grain intact outside of some fleeting management. The grain resolves pretty well outside of these fluctuations. The opening moments during the credits will raise some red flags, but the movie settles into a fine groove soon after. The textures on display in the costumes and within the setting are quite impressive. This transfer does not register anything in the way of print damage. This presentation is mostly true to the original look of the film with the added resolution bringing out additional nuance. Digital anomalies such as compression artifacts, banding, or any other such nuisances are kept to a minimum. This is not Paramount at their absolute best, but they do well enough for this classic.

Audio Quality

This 4K UHD Blu-Ray comes with a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 mono audio track very nearly replicates the original theatrical audio, but there are a couple of issues that keep it from being perfect. At some point during the remastering process, a couple of words or lines were inadvertently silenced. While casual fans may not notice, longtime fans will understandably be upset by any amount of dialogue missing. We can only hope that a replacement program will be implemented, but we are not holding our breath. This is a shame, though, as outside of these anomalies, the track allows the film to sound the best it arguably ever has – at least in the HD era. Dialogue comes through crystal clear without being overwhelmed by any sound effects or score. There are no issues with fidelity or damage to the track. This audio presentation is nearly flawless, but these couple of issues are keeping it from that benchmark. There are optional English, English SDH, and French subtitles provided.

Special Features

Rosemary’s Baby – A Retrospective: A pretty decent 17-minute archival retrospective in which Roman Polanski, producer Robert Evans, and production designer Richard Sylbert reflect on the production of the film, the performances, the film’s legacy, and more. You can always count on Evans to say something wild, and he doesn’t disappoint here.

Mia and Roman: A 23-minute archival piece that focuses on the dynamic between the director and the star of the film, the realities of the filmmaking process, how everything came together, and more.

Trailers: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (2:50) and the 50th Anniversary Red Band Trailer (0:36).

Final Thoughts

Rosemary’s Baby is one of the most unsettling films in mainstream horror history. Some films are more gory or visceral in their execution, but this is a picture that worms its way into your mind and does not let you go. This is thanks in large part to the fearless performance of Mia Farrow, who allows herself to be extremely vulnerable throughout. Roman Polanski is a real-life monster, but you cannot deny that the direction of this film is very impressive and aids in elevating it to what it is. It is a cinematic classic that has earned an indelible place in our history. Paramount Home Entertainment has released a 4K UHD Blu-Ray featuring a mostly great A/V presentation and a small array of special features. Recommended

Rosemary’s Baby is currently available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray and Digital.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Paramount Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.