Rosemary`s Baby - Blu-Ray

Film: Former dancer Rosemary Woodhouse (Zoe Saldana) and her husband, writer Guy (Patrick J. Adams), want nothing more than a baby. But when their much-anticipated offspring dies in the womb, a world comes crashing down for the young couple. The move to Paris, where Guy is to teach at the Sorbonne for a year, is supposed to give them a fresh start. But Rosemary doesn't really feel comfortable in her new home, especially since they have to live in a tiny apartment at the university. But then the tide turns when, by chance, she meets the wealthy Margaux Castevet (Carole Bouquet), whose husband Roman (Jason Isaacs) is on the board of the Sorbonne. Margaux introduces Rosemary to her circle of friends and then gets them a large apartment in her wonderful apartment building. When Guy is even offered a better job and Rosemary gets pregnant again, they seem to have arrived in paradise. But she senses something is wrong. And indeed Margaux and Roman have a sinister secret that will become a real nightmare for Rosemary.

Rosemary`s Baby was a huge success in 1968 for Polish director Roman Polanski, whose adaptation of Ira Levin`s novel is a landmark of the modern horror film. The acting of Mia Farrow, the disturbing atmosphere and the consequent finale - all this makes the film a timeless classic that still works really well today, despite some slight signs of age. A remake was not really necessary. Nevertheless, US broadcaster NBC has decided to remake the novel - this time as a two-part mini-series. Whether the decision to hire Agnieszka Holland, a filmmaker with Polish roots, is pure coincidence or an attempt to get as close as possible to Polanski's version remains to be seen. The fact is that the attempt to add new facets to the story by running it longer and relocating it to Paris unfortunately failed.

This is already due to the fact that a network channel like NBC is not allowed to cross certain lines, but they would have been necessary for some moments in the story to achieve a similar intensity that made Polanski's version so effective. To be sure, the filming locations in Paris and the décor of the apartment building are able to evoke a certain atmosphere. But this just isn't as menacing and suspenseful as the first film version was. The actors try hard to play against this. But unfortunately they don't really succeed. The German version also disappoints with a somewhat loveless sounding dubbing, which does not really want to fit especially with Rosemary and Margeaux.

Rosemary`s Baby is not completely bad. Taken for itself, the two-parter is quite exciting and also handsomely staged. However, since the comparison to Polanski`s original is almost imposing, this version, which is weaker in every respect, just doesn`t cut it very well. Still, if you don't know the '68 version and just want to see an atmospheric psycho-horror film of the somewhat restrained kind, you'll be thoroughly entertained here. Therefore, with deductions, there is just a: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical implementation of the Blu-ray is on a good to very good TV level. The image is clean, features punchy colors, and reveals good overall sharpness. Smaller details seem a bit washed out at times, but otherwise come across well. The sound is present as a pleasingly vibrant DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix in places, but with the dialogue generally dominating the proceedings. For a series with a relatively low budget, this is perfectly adequate, which is why the bottom line here is a more than satisfactory Good.

Extras: In addition to the trailer and a short making of (approx. 12:01 min.), the disc also has a featurette about the Paris set that is worth watching (approx. 6:33 min.). Not much, but well worth watching!

Conclusion: The remake of Roman Polanski`s classic Rosemary`s Baby tries to add a few new facets to the story. But at its core, nothing here is really new. Moreover, much of the oppressive and disturbing atmosphere that made Polanski`s film so timelessly good is lost. While not boring, this remake is unfortunately rather superfluous. The technical realization is decent and the two short documentaries in the bonus material are well worth watching. Nevertheless, there is a Recommendable only with reservations

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp